Astellas Pharma has agreed to acquire privately-held Belgian drug discovery group Odega in a deal worth up to 800 million Euros.
Ogeda is a clinical-stage drug discovery company that discovers and develops small molecule drugs targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
The firm’s lead investigational candidate is fezolinetant, a selective NK3 receptor antagonist with positive data from a Phase IIa study for the non-hormonal treatment of menopause-related vasomotor symptoms.
Under the deal, Astellas will make an initial payment of 500 million euros in consideration of 100 percent of the equity in Ogeda at the closing of the transaction.
Ogeda shareholders are also eligible to receive an additional 300 million euros with attainment of certain clinical development and regulatory milestones for fezolinetant.
If the transaction, which remains subject to certain conditions, is successfully completed, Ogeda will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas, expanding the Japanese drugmaker’s late-stage pipeline and contributing to its mid-to-long term growth.
By Selina McKee
Source: Pharma Times
Airnov provides critical healthcare industries with high-quality, controlled atmosphere packaging, to protect their products from moisture and oxygen. The business has manufacturing facilities in the USA, France, China and India and employs around 700 people.
Takeda of Japan has partnered with Hong Kong-based Hutchmed, gaining the commercial rights to colorectal cancer drug fruquintinib outside of China for $400 million up front, plus $730 million in potential milestone payments. Takeda also will help develop fruquintinib, which can be applied to subtypes of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, regardless of biomarker status, the companies said.
On April 3, Scangos, who’s been chief executive officer at Vir since the start of 2017, will hand over the reins to Marianne De Backer, Ph.D. De Backer comes over from Bayer, where she currently heads up pharmaceutical strategy, business development and licensing. Alongside her CEO appointment, De Backer is set to join Vir’s board of directors, the company said Wednesday.