Galapagos, a biotechnology company headquartered in Belgium, plans to split into two entities: a newly formed company (name to be announced at a later date) that will focus on building a pipeline of innovative drugs through transformative transactions, and Galapagos, which will continue to develop its cell therapy manufacturing platform in oncology.
US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences is to acquire CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3 billion. Gilead offered to purchase all outstanding shares of CymaBay for $32.50 per share in cash.
Gilead has exclusive rights for the advancement and commercialization of anti-IL18 binding protein antibodies targeting various tumor types. Gilead commits to a significant deal, including a €55 million ($60 million) upfront payment and a €27 million ($30 million) milestone payment in the near term, with a total potential value of up to €775 million ($848 million).
Gilead Sciences and Tentarix Biotherapeutics established three multi-year collaborations using Tentarix’s proprietary Tentacles platform to discover and develop multi-functional, conditional protein therapeutics for oncology and inflammatory diseases.
Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire MiroBio, a privately held UK biotech focused on treating inflammatory diseases, for about $405 million in cash.
Germany’s BioNTech, best known publicly for the Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty it developed in partnership with US drugs giant Pfizer, has announced plans to buy a cell therapy R&D platform and clinical manufacturing plant from Gilead Sciences’ Kite Pharma subsidiary.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) announced the 2021 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Category Winners—including two winners of Special Recognition Awards for Operational Agility: Covid-19 Impact.
As India’s Covid-19 infections soar and the death toll nears 200,000, wealthier countries – including the US, UK, Germany, France and Australia – are rushing supplies of oxygen, ventilators and protective gear to the subcontinent.
Gilead Sciences is to acquire Immunomedics for approximately $21 billion. The deal, unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, will be funded by $15 billion in cash and $6 billion in new debt, and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2020.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under fire again as the federal health agency issued its third Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a Covid-19 treatment since the beginning of the pandemic. This extended the authorization for Gilead’s remdesivir, which it markets as Veklury.
After teaming up with Germany’s BioNTech to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, US drugs giant Pfizer is joining US Gilead Sciences on the therapeutic side. The biopharma company’s antiviral remdesivir is currently favored as a treatment for the novel coronavirus.
The European Commission has signed a €63 million contract with Gilead Sciences to deliver batches of Veklury, Gilead’s name for the antiviral remdesivir, to the EU’s 27 member states as well as the UK, starting in early August.
After it emerged last week that the US federal government had nailed down the lion’s share of the world’s supply of the antiviral remdesivir, Gilead Sciences’ new drug being touted as a promising treatment for Covid-19, the EU has held talks with the US drugmaker.
As the global coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of abating, the US “America first” approach to preventing and treating Covid-19 has again provoked worldwide concern.
