Sanofi is betting the genetic technology behind the fast development of two highly effective coronavirus shots last year will lead to vaccines for other viruses as well as drugs for diseases of the lung and liver, announcing Tuesday a deal to buy research partner Translate Bio for $3.2 billion.
The acquisition is the latest sign large pharmaceutical companies view messenger RNA, which BioNTech and Moderna used to create the COVID-19 vaccines now cleared for use in dozens of countries, as a crucial drugmaking platform.
Pfizer partnered with BioNTech early on in the pandemic and aims to develop mRNA vaccines for other infectious diseases, beginning with influenza. GlaxoSmithKline is working with German mRNA specialist CureVac, while the executive chairman of Novartis recently said his company was considering investment in the technology, too. READ MORE
by Ned Pagliarulo
Source: biopharmadive.com
UCB (Euronext: UCB) and Zogenix (NASDAQ: ZGNX) announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which UCB would acquire Zogenix, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing therapies for rare diseases.
argenx SE, a global immunology company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases, announced that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved VYVGART™ (efgartigimod alfa) intravenous infusion for the treatment of adult patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) who do not have sufficient response to steroids or non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapies (ISTs).
GSK has rejected three offers from Unilever to buy GSK’s consumer health unit, the company said Saturday. The latest offer from the fellow U.K. consumer goods giant, received Dec. 20 for a total value of 50 billion pounds ($68 billion), “fundamentally undervalued” the business and its prospects, GSK said.
