BMS’ capture of Celgene caught much attention, due to the size and scale of the acqusition, but rival companies have taken the chance to snap up employees that have left after the deal.
Vertex agrees to acquire Exonics and to expand its collaboration with CRISPR Therapeutics, which sees it invest $420m in upfront payments to develop its position in gene therapy.
An executive at Samsung is issued an arrest warrant, as prosecutors in South Korea continue to look into the accounting case leading up the IPO of Samsung BioLogics.
Fujifilm Life Science Strategic Business Office will open a site in Cambridge, Massachusetts in an aim to further link up with the surrounding pharmaceutical and biotech community.
Bluebird has received EU conditional marketing approval for patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, becoming the first treatment from its pipeline to receive approval.
The private equity firm Ampersand Capital has acquired Vibalogics with plans to increase development and manufacturing capabilities for complex viral products.
Novartis receives US FDA approval for its gene therapy, Zolgensma, which is a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, and prices the drug at $2.1m per patient.
The Senate has passed a bill authorising spending on the development of products to protect the US against pandemic influenza and other biological threats to public health.
Celltrion plans to invest across its pharmaceutical business up to 2030, creating an estimated 110,000 new jobs in the process and launching 20 products.
Roche’s acquisition of Spark was announced at the start of the year but closing the deal has proved difficult after a third delay incurred to give the FTC extra review time.
