Pipelines

Lonza and Moderna shoot for billion COVID-19 vaccine doses

05-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Moderna announces it has partnered with Lonza with the aim of producing one billion doses annually.

Ajinomoto to produce potential COVID-19 treatment for CytoDyn

05-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Ajinomoto agrees partnership to manufacture leronlimab, which is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

Pfizer’s $308m buy-in for Lyme disease vaccine

04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Pfizer partners with Valneva to progress Phase II-stage vaccine candidate for Lyme disease.

Immunomedics closes $459m stock offering to launch drug, scale manufacture

04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

April saw the company add new CEO, receive approval for lead ADC drug, and launch a public offering of stock.

COVID-19 vaccine in one year ‘wishful thinking’

04-May-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The likelihood of an effective vaccine being developed and scaled up in less than 12 months is unrealistic, suggests GlobalData analyst.

Catalent takes on manufacture of J&J’s coronavirus vaccine

30-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Catalent announces partnership with J&J to manufacture lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate, plans to hire 300 staff and manufacture 24/7.

AZ and Oxford University partner to develop coronavirus vaccine

30-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Under the agreement, AZ will develop, manufacture and distribute the vaccine that has already begun Phase I trials.

World leaders work on $8bn vaccine fund effort

28-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The WHO and world leaders commit to a fund to accelerate development of vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19.

AskBio buys BrainVectis for early-stage gene therapies

27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

AskBio acquires gene therapy biotech working on treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.

Takeda agrees license to strengthen plasma pipeline

27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Takeda in global licensing agreement with ProThera to develop plasma-based therapies for inflammatory conditions.

J&J strikes CDMO deal to add capacity for COVID-19 vaccine

27-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

J&J agrees a manufacturing partnership with Emergent, as it looks to hit its target of one billion doses.

Mogrify and Sangamo in license agreement for ‘off-the-shelf’ CAR-Treg

23-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Sangamo plans to utilize Mogrify’s cell conversion technology to develop CAR-Treg cell therapies.

Regeneron’s Ebola treatment given US priority review

21-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Regeneron’s triple antibody treatment for the Ebola virus has been provided US FDA priority review to speed regulatory action.

LNC Therapeutics acquires rights to develop Christensenella-based therapy for mood disorders

21-Apr-2020 By Will Chu

French biotech firm LNC Therapeutics is to enter into a licence agreement with the University of Valencia for a patent outlining the Christensenella gut bacteria's role in addressing mood disorders.

Manufacturing alliance set to scale Oxford University coronavirus vaccine

20-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Halix joins a consortium to produce Oxford University’s vaccine, after first patient enrolled to clinical trial.

UK forms COVID taskforce to bring vaccine to public

20-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

UK government brings together AZ, BIA and Wellcome to speed up clinical trials and scale manufacturing of potential vaccines.

BARDA awards $483m to scale production of Moderna’s COVID vaccine

17-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

With recruitment for Phase I trials complete, Moderna receives funds to expand manufacturing capacity ready for late-stage trials.

‘No company can go it alone’: GSK and Sanofi partner against coronavirus

15-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Two of the largest companies in the pharma industry, and specialists in developing vaccines, pool resources to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

Takeda taps Evotec for gene therapy discovery

14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Looking to expand its pipeline of gene therapies, Takeda announces a long-term research partnership with Evotec.

Vir continues to build production for COVID-19 antibody

14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

In its latest manufacturing partnership, Vir announces that it will work with Samsung Biologics for large-scale production.

Pfizer and BioNTech preparing ‘millions’ of COVID mRNA vaccines

14-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Pfizer and BioNTech provide further details on their work against COVID-19, including clinical trial plans and scaling of manufacture.

ElevateBio closes $170m Series B financing round

09-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The accelerator for cell and gene therapy startups reveals the closure of its second financing round and how the funds will be used.

GSK and Vir launch collaboration on coronavirus

07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

In two separate announcements, GSK unveils that it will partner with Vir to combat COVID-19, as well as investing in the biotech.

Servier acquires Symphogen to pick up oncology pipeline

07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Servier buy outs its former partner to bolster its antibody discovery and development capabilities within oncology.

Gilead agrees microbiome deal with Second Genome

07-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Gilead announces partnership to identify microbiome biomarkers associated with a clinical response in compounds within its portfolio.

J&J signs deal with Fate for off-the-shelf immunotherapies

06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Fate Therapeutics and J&J will collaborate to progress candidates against four tumor-associated antigens.

FDA looks to accelerate plasma therapies for coronavirus

06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

US FDA looks to coordinate and speed up the development of blood-derived therapies to treat patients with COVID-19.

Daiichi pays $225m to access gene therapy production platform

06-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Daiichi partners with Ultragenyx to utilize its HeLa producer cell line platform for commercial-scale gene therapy production.

Arch Venture raises $1.4bn fund to spur ‘healthcare revolution’

02-Apr-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Arch Venture announces that it raised the sum across two funds, with the capital earmarked for early stage biotechs.

Avectas partners with Vycellix to speed cell therapy production

31-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The partners will combine expertise to progress the novel RNA immunomodulator, VY-M.

Latest industry developments against COVID-19

30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

In the face of the threat from the novel coronavirus, industry momentum is gathering to produce a solution.

J&J chooses lead coronavirus candidate, sets up manufacturing for 1 billion doses

30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The company provides update on its coronavirus plans, which includes $1bn in funding to research and expected Phase I trial commencement date.

Takeda taps Evox for exosome therapeutics

30-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The partners will focus on developing five potential exosome treatment for rare diseases.

Gates Foundation in ‘unprecedented’ coronavirus partnership with industry

26-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

‘Collective action is critical,’ says Novartis CEO on industry partnership with Gates Foundation to accelerate treatments for COVID-19.

Astellas and CytomX team up to target solid tumors with T-cells

26-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The two partners will work to develop clinical candidates for the treatment of cancer.

Roche ups Actemra production anticipating increased demand

25-Mar-2020 By Vassia Barba

Roche looks to maximize production of its arthritis treatment as the drug enters late-stage trials to evaluate its effectiveness against COVID-19.

CGTC in ‘third phase’ expansion of cell and gene manufacturing site

20-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

CGTC will add seven laboratories to its manufacture site in the UK, with most of the work taking place off-site.

Roche’s treatment for coronavirus enters Phase III

19-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Roche looks to repurpose its arthritis medicine for use against the coronavirus, after China previously endorsed its use.

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine enters Phase I, ‘accelerates’ manufacturing capabilities

17-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

A vaccine for the virus has reached first-in-man stage, as companies race to find a solution to the global crisis.

Pipeline of cell and gene therapies expands by 25%

16-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

During the course of just one year, the US pipeline of cell and gene therapies has developed rapidly, as approvals increase.

Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard partner to combat coronavirus

12-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The three organizations set up the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, backing the initiative with $125m.

LSP closes European record $600m fund for life sciences

11-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

In further positive signs for the European biotech market, LSP exceeds its funding target to raise largest ever sum in Europe.

Amicus opens gene therapy ‘research engine’ in Philadelphia

11-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Amicus announces the opening of a gene therapy center that has been established in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.

Gut bacteria could improve cancer treatment efficacy

11-Mar-2020 By Nikki Hancocks

Bifidobacteria can accumulate in tumours and improve the efficacy of cancer treatment, according to a new study in mice.

First in-vivo gene therapy administered in ‘historic event’

05-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Allergan and Editas commence a first-in-man trial for CRISPR gene therapy for patients with inherited eye condition.

Avectas collaborates with CCRM on cell engineering tech

04-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The two partners will look to accelerate the development of Avectas’ Solupore platform for the development of immuno-oncology and gene therapies.

Samsung Biologics signs deal for development of next-gen PD-L1

04-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The Korean CDMO signs a partnership deal with STCube for the development of a STT-003 targeting antibody, which is approaching the IND stage.

Biogen dives deeper into Alzheimer’s with $350m deal

04-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

Biogen signs a partnership agreement with Sangamo for the use of zinc-finger technology to progress various neurological disease candidates.

George Scangos to lead BIO’s efforts against coronavirus

02-Mar-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

The ex-Biogen CEO will coordinate the biotech organization’s response to the virus.

No one predicted rapid growth of gene therapy market, says CEO

26-Feb-2020 By Ben Hargreaves

After posting revenue growth of 39%, Repligen CEO suggests this was driven by filtration and chromatography franchises, particularly customers in gene therapy.