Sanofi’s Amunix acquisition adds to an active year of dealmaking for the French pharma, which has spent more than $6 billion in 2021 to buy Kymab, Tidal Therapeutics, Translate Bioand Kadmon Holdings.
The acquisitive streak is part of a plan by Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson to reenergize the company’s research and development work, particularly in areas like oncology and immunology. Along with Tidal and Amunix, both of which are focused on immuno-oncology, Sanofi has also previously bought cancer biotechs Kiadis Pharma and Synthorx under Hudson’s leadership.
Those deals have helped fill out a cancer drug pipeline that now includes about 20 molecules in development, including several that Sanofi expects could become future top-sellers.
Amunix appears to have drawn Sanofi’s interest for its technology as much as its lead drug candidate, which is aimed at the well-known breast cancer target HER2. Specifically, Amunix is working on what are known as T cell engagers, proteins that link immune cells to cancerous cells, and cytokine-based therapies. 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.
