(Reuters) – Belgian biotech group Ablynx on Wednesday said it had tripled its research deal with U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co leading to potential milestone payments of about 4 billion euros ($4.38 billion).
Large pharmaceutical groups such as Merck & Co often team up with smaller companies like Ablynx to develop new treatments. A so-called milestone payment is due whenever a programme passes a certain trial phase or clinical tests are successful.
Ablynx, which produces so-called nanobody medicines derived from llama antibodies, said it had expanded its research agreement with Merck & Co by 12 programmes for which it could receive up to 340 million euros each if successful.
The group added it would get a 13 million euro upfront payment for signing the deal expansion. The initial agreement with the U.S. group, signed in February 2014, contained payments of up to 1.7 billion euros. ($1 = 0.9142 euros) (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Anand Basu)
Avivi joins Bayer fresh off a yearlong stint as chief marketing officer of Advance Auto Parts, which followed about three years spent as marketing chief of another auto parts company, Tenneco. Rounding out her nearly 30-year career in marketing are leadership roles at consumer goods giants Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble.
Air Liquide S.A. (Paris) is continuing its development with the acquisition of Homecare activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The two entities acquired in Belgium and the Netherlands support 10,000 patients living with respiratory insufficiency, sleep apnea syndrome or requiring infusion or nutrition treatments.
US-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay approximately $4.9 billion in cash to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences, a compatriot biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative, protein-based immunotherapies.
