GlaxoSmithKline’s entire stake in Innoviva was sold back to the U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company for about $392 million, the British drugmaker said on May 20, as GSK simplifies operations ahead of a split into two businesses.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ Empaveli as the first targeted C3 therapy for the treatment of adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
Incyte Corp. said on May 17 the company’s ruxolitinib cream to treat pigmentation disorder vitiligo met the main goal in a late-stage study.
PerkinElmer Inc. expanded the company’s presence in cell biology with the $260 million acquisition of Massachusetts-based Nexcelom Bioscience.
AbbVie Inc.’s Allergan Aesthetics announced the acquisition of Soliton Inc. in a definitive agreement that is valued at $550 million. Allergan Aesthetics will pay $22.60 per share for each outstanding Soliton share.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. said the company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate was safe, well-tolerated and produced immune response against the new coronavirus in a mid-stage clinical trial, sending the drug developer’s shares up over 3 percent.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on May 6 and expects demand for the company’s Covid-19 antibody therapy to hold up even as vaccination efforts across the United States intensify.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a briefing document on May 4 citing concerns regarding clinical data for ChemoCentryx’s investigational rare autoimmune disease therapy avacopan. ChemoCentryx is seeking approval from the FDA for the drug as a therapeutic agent for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic auto-antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV).
After filing plans for an initial public offering earlier in April, U.K.-based Vaccitech raised $110.5 million in the company’s IPO and on April 30 announced the pricing of 6.5 million American Depositary Shares at $17 per share.
Merck & Co. Inc. said on April 29 the company would take a bigger hit to sales during 2021 than previously expected due to a resurgence in Covid-19 cases that has hurt demand for drugs that need to be given by doctors.
