Shire’s proposal to acquire Baxalta for around $32 billion and create “the global leader in rare diseases” has now been approved by both sets of shareholders.
Earlier this year the firms announced a definitive merger agreement giving Baxalta shareholders $18.00 in cash and either 0.1482 Shire ADSs or 0.4446 Shire Ordinary shares per Baxalta share.
According to the firms, the marriage will create the number one rare diseases platform in revenue and pipeline depth, which is predicted to generate annual sales of more than $20 billion by 2020.
The combined portfolio will house more than 60 programs in development, including over 50 that will address rare diseases, and Shire anticipates more than 30 recent and planned product launches from the combined pipeline, contributing around $5 billion in annual revenues by 2020.
“The combination will allow us to realise our goal of building the leading global biotechnology company focused on rare diseases and other highly specialized conditions, offering greater opportunities for our patients, healthcare partners and employees,” noted Shire’s chief executive, Flemming Ornskov.
The transaction is now expected to close in June 3.
By Selina McKee
Source: Pharma Times
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
