Novartis is buying privately held drugmaker Ziarco Group for an undisclosed sum to gain access to its investigational eczema medicine, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant said on Friday.
The acquisition adds UK-based Ziarco’s once-daily oral H4 receptor antagonist, ZPL389, that is being developed for the chronic, itchy inflammatory skin condition to Novartis’s existing portfolio of approved and investigational dermatological drugs.
“There is an unmet need for innovative, effective and safe oral treatment options for people living with eczema,” Vasant Narasimhan, Novartis’s head of drug development and chief medical officer, said in a statement.
By John Miller
Source: Reuters
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.
