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Glioblastoma Start-Ups Get Specific

 
• By Ellen Licking

For start-ups developing novel and risky medicines to treat glioblastoma, a rare, invasive form of brain cancer, the Pfizer/Avant deal was a watershed moment: It signaled the vigorous interest of a pharmaceutical behemoth in a disease where patients number in just the tens of thousands. The positive effects are likely to be felt in executive suites of biotechs developing therapeutics for this grievous disease.

As adverse side effects or potential safety signals trigger increasing regulatory scrutiny of primary care drugs, large pharmaceutical companies have increasingly looked to obtain—either via licensing deals or acquisitions—access to specialty drugs, particularly in the area of oncology where high unmet medical need and a dearth of treatments offer the promise of an easier path to market. This spring, for instance, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. spent $8.2 billion to acquire Takeda Oncology to obtain rights to bortezomib (Velcade), while Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ponied up $235 million for Kosan Biosciences Inc., adding two new classes of drugs, epithilones and Hsp90 inhibitors, to its stable of cytotoxic oncology medicines. [See Deal][See Deal]

Pfizer Inc. has been on its own oncology dealmaking odyssey. In addition to announcing the formation of its new...

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Aurobindo Expects Lannett Acquisition To Pass FTC Scrutiny; Q1 US Revenue Falls

 
• By Vibha Ravi

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• By Anju Ghangurde

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Aurobindo Expects Lannett Acquisition To Pass FTC Scrutiny; Q1 US Revenue Falls

 
• By Vibha Ravi

Aurobindo is confident its planned Lannett acquisition will pass US FTC scrutiny after an attempt to acquire Sandoz assets was called off in 2020 post a delay in approval. The deal could widen Aurobindo’s US manufacturing presence at a time when its US Q1 revenue saw a year-on-year decline

Aurigene Oncology CEO On Biotech Valuations, CAR-Ts And Reimbursement Models

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

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BioNTech Outlines Development Plan For PD-L1xVEGF-Targeting BNT-327

 
• By Jessica Merrill

The company, with partner Bristol Myers Squibb, has a three-wave development strategy for BNT-327: “establish, combine, broaden.”