Johnson & Johnson has announced that it is acquiring privately-held, clinical-stage biopharma Novira Therapeutics, but has kept financial details of the deal firmly under wraps.
The move gives the healthcare giant access to Novira’s portfolio of novel antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which affects 350 million – 400 million people worldwide, including lead candidate NVR 3-778.
NVR 3-778 is a small molecule, direct acting antiviral, that inhibits the HBV core, a new and promising drug target involved in multiple activities required for viral replication and persistence.
The orally-administered drug “offers the potential for efficient suppression of virus production and replication, which could help address the remaining unmet medical needs,” says J&J.
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015.
Source: Pharma Times
A monkeypox outbreak is emerging in the U.S. and Europe, and at least one country is amping up countermeasure preparedness. Bavarian Nordic has secured a contract with an unnamed European country to supply its smallpox vaccine, called Imvanex in Europe, in response to the emergence of monkeypox cases, the Danish company said Thursday.
Moderna’s recent chief financial officer debacle—in which Jorge Gomez departed on his second day on the job—raised questions about the company’s hiring process given its rush to global biopharma prominence. The most obvious one: How was it possible for Gomez to be hired when he was under investigation by his previous employer, Dentsply Sirona of Charlotte, N.C.
Merck & Co. is plucking a cancer project from the branch of Chinese-based Kelun Pharmaceutical for up to $1.4 billion, but details from the New Jersey-based Big Pharma have been hard to come by. The deal, first disclosed Monday on the Shenzhen stock exchange, has Merck handing over $47 million in upfront cash in exchange for ex-China rights to a “macromolecular tumor project.”
