Europe’s first “blank cheque” company focused on acquiring companies that make medicines for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry launched on May 9, with plans to raise 150 million euros.
Pfizer Inc. said the company is in talks to shift more of medicine production to outside contractors while preparing for large-scale production of an experimental vaccine to prevent COVID-19, should it prove safe and effective.
Eleven drugmakers led by Pfizer and Novartis have set aside a combined $2 billion to invest in gene therapy manufacturing since 2018, according to a Reuters analysis, in a drive to better control production of the world’s priciest medicines.
Catalent Inc. will buy privately held Paragon Bioservices Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash, bolstering the contract drugmaker’s capabilities to make gene therapy drugs for biotech clients.
