AstraZeneca has invested €25m (£23m) into gene messenger drug development, through a research tie-up with German biotech Ethris.
The FTSE 100 drugmaker has agreed to pay Munich-based Ethris the sum upfront, with further payments and royalties possible depending on development progress.
Ethris, which was founded by two German scientists in 2009, specialises in RNA drugs, which instruct human cells to produce therapeutic proteins.
The alliance with AstraZeneca and its biotech division MedImmune will focus on asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Scientists believe the RNA approach holds potential to treat a range of conditions, including cancer and heart disease.
It is not AstraZeneca’s first investment in the field. Last year the company invested a further $140m (£109m) in RNA specialist Moderna Therapeutics, upping its stake to 9pc.
AstraZeneca is looking to bounce back after a negative readout from its lung cancer drugs trial Mystic last month led to its biggest single day share price fall, wiping £10bn from the company’s market value.
By Iain Withers
Source: Telegraph
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
