Drugs and Licensing - Drug Discovery Digest

Investors put $400M into biotech licensing obesity drugs from China

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MAY 16, 2024

The biotech, tentatively named Hercules CM Newco, has rights to three incretin drugs discovered by Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, two of which are in clinical testing.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs Pharmaceuticals

How to Identify Branded Drugs with a Low Likelihood of Generic Entry as Targets for In-Licensing

Drug Patent Watch

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Identifying branded drugs with a low likelihood of generic entry has become a crucial strategy for companies looking to expand their product portfolio through in-licensing. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the intricacies of identifying such drugs and leveraging them for successful in-licensing opportunities.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs Biosimilars

Roche licenses Sangamo’s technology for another shot at Alzheimer’s drugs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

AUGUST 6, 2024

Through a new deal, Roche has exclusive rights to Sangamo molecules designed to repress the gene that makes “tau,” a protein many scientists view as a main driver of Alzheimer’s.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Biogen strikes RNAi deal with City; Aurion withdraws IPO

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MAY 27, 2025

Elsewhere, Angelini Pharma licensed a rare disease therapy and the FDA refused to review a Savara lung drug. City will receive $46 million from Biogen under the alliance.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing FDA Therapies

Reproductive health startup raises $65M for infertility drugs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MAY 21, 2025

Founded in 2021, ReproNovo has licensed rights to two drugs from Mereo BioPharma and ObsEva that it thinks could address fertility issues in men and women.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Takeda pays $300M to license Protagonist drug for blood disorder

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

The agreement gives Protagonist an experienced hand in Takeda, which can help the former commercialize its product.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Production Drugs

GSK to pay $300M to license drug it sees as potential lupus treatment

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The licensing deal with China’s Chimagen Biosciences is the latest example of drugmaker interest in exploring the potential of “T cell engagers” in autoimmune disease.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Treatment Disease

Astellas application rejected by FDA; Cytokinetics strikes licensing deal with Bayer

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The agency turned back Astellas’ attempt to update its drug Izervay’s labeling. Elsewhere, former NCI director Ned Sharpless founded a new startup and Novartis licensed another radiopharma drug.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing FDA Drugs

Novartis wagers billions of dollars on PTC Huntington’s drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

DECEMBER 2, 2024

At the center of a new licensing deal is an experimental medicine, PTC518, which is currently being tested in a roughly 250-person study that should produce results next year.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

FTC, in unusual move, leads Sanofi to terminate a drug research deal

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Just before clearing Pfizer’s buyout of Seagen, the regulator threatened to block Sanofi’s licensing deal with Maze Therapeutics, a challenge the biotech called ‘‘unprecedented.”

Drug Research

Drug Research Licensing Licensing Research

Gilead bets on Xilio cancer drug as biotech restructures

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 28, 2024

Xilio will get just over $40 million from Gilead in return for a license to its experimental IL-12 immunotherapy. The biotech is also discontinuing other work and laying off staff.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Benefits of Drug Patent Licensing Agreements

Drug Patent Watch

JULY 30, 2024

The Power of Patent Licensing: Unlocking Innovation and Access to Medicines Patent licensing agreements have become a crucial tool in the pharmaceutical industry, allowing companies to collaborate and…

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Pharmaceuticals Drugs

Sanofi licenses immune disease drugs from startup Earendil

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

APRIL 17, 2025

The startup, affiliated with China-based antibody designer Helixon Therapeutics, is developing bispecific drugs aimed at multiple popular immune disease targets, such as TL1A and IL23.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Disease Drugs

Verdiva starts up with $411M and a portfolio of obesity drugs from China

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JANUARY 9, 2025

The newly launched biotech is equipped with rights to a trio of weight loss medicines licensed from China-based Sciwind Biosciences, led by an oral therapy ready for Phase 2 testing.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Therapies Drugs

Ono pays $280M to license Ionis rare disease drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 12, 2025

Ionis’ drug, sapablursen, is currently being tested in a Phase 2 trial in patients with polycythemia vera.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Disease Drugs

GSK targets neurodegenerative diseases with latest licensing deal

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

APRIL 7, 2025

The pharma giant is wagering potentially billions of dollars on technology from ABL Bio that’s designed to get drugs across the blood-brain barrier.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Disease Drugs

Treatments for poxviruses -- including those causing mpox and smallpox -- may already exist in licensed drugs

Science Daily: Pharmacology News

AUGUST 9, 2023

The drug tecovirimat is currently in use for the treatment of mpox -- the disease caused by monkeypox virus -- that spread worldwide in 2022. Tecovirimat is an anti-poxviral drug, and its use is driving the emergence of drug-resistant variants of the monkeypox virus.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Treatment Virus

Biotech startup pulls in $187M to make ‘multi-payload’ ADCs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 3, 2025

Callio Therapeutics is launching with an ADC technology and programs licensed from Singapore-based antibody drug developer Hummingbird Bioscience.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drug Development Drugs

Mallinckrodt, Endo to combine in $7B deal

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 13, 2025

The merger will give the combined entity the financial flexibility to pursue drug licensing deals and broaden its therapeutic focus, executives said on a conference call.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Novavax sells Czech plant to Novo; Relay licenses out a cancer drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Elsewhere, Roivant dropped a drug program and Takeda acquired a blood disease therapy. Novo will pay $200 million to gain control of the protein manufacturing factory.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs Therapies

PTC rebuffed again by EMA; Novartis licenses China-based biotech’s cancer drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 18, 2024

European regulators have for the fourth time issued a negative opinion on PTC's Translarna. Elsewhere, Amylyx read out data and Leqembi hit a roadblock in Australia.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Regulations Drugs

Gilead agrees to license new HIV drug in low-income countries

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 2, 2024

The company will permit six generic drugmakers to make and sell lenacapavir in 120 countries that have high incidence of the disease but limited resources.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Disease Drugs

Roivant reveals positive immune drug data, share buyback plans

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

APRIL 2, 2024

A Pfizer drug licensed to a Roivant subsidiary surpassed expectations in a type of uveitis, while a stock purchase plan will see Roivant buy out shares owned by Sumitomo Pharma.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

A venture firm breathes new life into an old NGM drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

DECEMBER 19, 2024

An startup formed by KdT Ventures intends to test the drug, which was once licensed to Merck and evaluated in multiple metabolic disorders, for an unspecified rare conditon.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

From siloed data to breakthroughs: multimodal AI in drug discovery

Drug Target Review

JUNE 11, 2025

Drug development is plagued by complex challenges, but multimodal AI is unlocking new opportunities. By integrating diverse data sources – from genomics to clinical insights – this approach is accelerating drug discovery, improving patient stratification and boosting success rates.

Drugs

Drugs Clinical Trials Drug Development Pharmaceuticals

Jazz drug for tremor fails study; Radiopharma drug developer ITM swaps CEOs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JUNE 21, 2024

Elsewhere, Vanda rejected two takeover bids and Ashibio emerged from stealth with an antibody licensed from Gilead. A medicine Jazz acquired in 2019 missed the goal of a Phase 2 study.

Drug Development

Drug Development Licensing Licensing Drugs

TG shares tumble following licensing deal for MS drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

AUGUST 1, 2023

Some on Wall Street believe the New York-based biotechnology company is now less likely to get acquired after agreeing to sell partial rights to its only marketed product.

Licensing

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AbbVie gets into obesity with $350M deal for once-weekly shot

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 3, 2025

A licensing deal with Denmark’s Gubra gives the immunology giant control of an experimental therapy that could compete with drugs from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Zealand.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Therapies Drugs

Takeda secures FDA approval for colon cancer drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

NOVEMBER 9, 2023

The pharma paid $400 million to license the drug from Hutchmed earlier this year in an effort to bolster its oncology business.

FDA Approval

FDA Approval Licensing Licensing FDA

Novo adds to obesity drug pipeline via $200M deal with China-based biotech

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 24, 2025

The licensing pact adds a second so-called "triple agonist" to the Danish drugmaker's portfolio as competition with Lilly and other contenders heats up.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Royalty Pharma pays startup $525M for stake in Sanofi MS drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MAY 9, 2024

The deal gives the company milestone payments and royalties to a medicine, frexalimab, that Sanofi licensed from biotech ImmuNext and expects to be a future blockbuster.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Neurocrine scores surprise win with depression drug

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

APRIL 23, 2024

Shares of the biotech rose about 5% after a medicine licensed from Takeda hit the main and key secondary goals of a mid-stage study focused on major depressive disorder.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Leqembi sales inch higher; Spark’s pivot leads to layoffs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JULY 12, 2024

Sales data suggest forecasts for the Alzheimer’s drug may be in reach. Elsewhere, Ipsen is licensing an ADC and Novartis is closing a San Diego site.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Bayer gains cancer drug from China’s Puhe; Axsome gets mixed ADHD data

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

MARCH 26, 2025

The German firm licensed a PRMT5 inhibitor that’s now in Phase 1 testing. Elsewhere, GSK is testing an intriguing hypothesis and Novo fine tuned its Wegovy cash-pay program.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Sarepta rebuilds drug pipeline with Arrowhead deal

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

A broad licensing and research alliance will hand Sarepta four clinical-stage candidates, while Arrowhead receives $500 million in cash and another $325 million in equity investment.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs Research

Queen’s University Belfast enters collaboration and licensing agreement with Ipsen to progress FLIP inhibitor project which has been supported by Domainex

Drug Discovery Today

JANUARY 26, 2022

a leading provider of integrated drug discovery services to life science organisations globally, is delighted that Professors Daniel Longley, Tim Harrison and colleagues at Queen’s University Belfast have entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Ipsen. Saffron Walden, 26th January 2022 / Domainex Ltd.,

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Licensing Licensing Science Research

Lilly partners with AI specialist Insitro to develop metabolic medicines

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 9, 2024

The latest deal in AI drug discovery is a twist on the usual big pharma-startup collaboration model, with Insitro licensing technology and Lilly eligible for royalties.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

AbbVie joins in latest gastrointestinal drug chase

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JUNE 14, 2024

Following Roche, Merck and others into a hot field, the Humira maker will pay $150 million to license a preclinical TL1A antibody for IBD.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

Viking says biopsy data confirm MASH drug’s benefit

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JUNE 4, 2024

The company may look to license the experimental liver disease drug as it focuses on an obesity treatment that's shown early promise.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Treatment Disease

Lingering cholesterol can keep heart risk high. Marea Therapeutics has $190M to target it.

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

JUNE 18, 2024

With a drug licensed from Novartis, the new biotech startup aims to reduce the ‘remnant’ cholesterol it says existing medicines can’t address.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drugs

LianBio to shut down, return cash to investors

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

The biotech is planning to dissolve less than four years after launching with plans to license drugs and market them in China and other Asian countries.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Marketing Drugs

Effective Drug Patent Prosecution Strategies: Securing Your Pharmaceutical Innovations

Drug Patent Watch

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Drug patent prosecution is a complex and critical process that can make or break the success of a new medication. As a business professional in the pharmaceutical industry, understanding and implementing effective strategies for drug patent prosecution can be the difference between market domination and missed opportunities.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals Drugs Drug Development Marketing

Merck moves into obesity with deal for Hansoh’s GLP-1 pill

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

DECEMBER 18, 2024

News of Merck’s licensing of Hansoh’s preclinical medicine pressured shares in Viking and other obesity drug developers seen as likely buyout targets.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Drug Development Drugs

Merck allies with Daiichi Sankyo in major bet on antibody cancer drugs

BioPharma Drive: Drug Pricing

OCTOBER 20, 2023

The deal is worth up to $22 billion in total, making it one of the largest pharmaceutical licensing agreements by value.

Licensing

Licensing Licensing Pharmaceuticals Drugs

Investors put $400M into biotech licensing obesity drugs from China

How to Identify Branded Drugs with a Low Likelihood of Generic Entry as Targets for In-Licensing

Trending Sources

Roche licenses Sangamo’s technology for another shot at Alzheimer’s drugs

Biogen strikes RNAi deal with City; Aurion withdraws IPO

Reproductive health startup raises $65M for infertility drugs

Takeda pays $300M to license Protagonist drug for blood disorder

GSK to pay $300M to license drug it sees as potential lupus treatment

Astellas application rejected by FDA; Cytokinetics strikes licensing deal with Bayer

Novartis wagers billions of dollars on PTC Huntington’s drug

FTC, in unusual move, leads Sanofi to terminate a drug research deal

Gilead bets on Xilio cancer drug as biotech restructures

Benefits of Drug Patent Licensing Agreements

Sanofi licenses immune disease drugs from startup Earendil

Verdiva starts up with $411M and a portfolio of obesity drugs from China

Ono pays $280M to license Ionis rare disease drug

GSK targets neurodegenerative diseases with latest licensing deal

Treatments for poxviruses -- including those causing mpox and smallpox -- may already exist in licensed drugs

Biotech startup pulls in $187M to make ‘multi-payload’ ADCs

Mallinckrodt, Endo to combine in $7B deal

Novavax sells Czech plant to Novo; Relay licenses out a cancer drug

PTC rebuffed again by EMA; Novartis licenses China-based biotech’s cancer drug

Gilead agrees to license new HIV drug in low-income countries

Roivant reveals positive immune drug data, share buyback plans

A venture firm breathes new life into an old NGM drug

From siloed data to breakthroughs: multimodal AI in drug discovery

Jazz drug for tremor fails study; Radiopharma drug developer ITM swaps CEOs

TG shares tumble following licensing deal for MS drug

AbbVie gets into obesity with $350M deal for once-weekly shot

Takeda secures FDA approval for colon cancer drug

Novo adds to obesity drug pipeline via $200M deal with China-based biotech

Royalty Pharma pays startup $525M for stake in Sanofi MS drug

Neurocrine scores surprise win with depression drug

Leqembi sales inch higher; Spark’s pivot leads to layoffs

Bayer gains cancer drug from China’s Puhe; Axsome gets mixed ADHD data

Sarepta rebuilds drug pipeline with Arrowhead deal

Queen’s University Belfast enters collaboration and licensing agreement with Ipsen to progress FLIP inhibitor project which has been supported by Domainex

Lilly partners with AI specialist Insitro to develop metabolic medicines

AbbVie joins in latest gastrointestinal drug chase

Viking says biopsy data confirm MASH drug’s benefit

Lingering cholesterol can keep heart risk high. Marea Therapeutics has $190M to target it.

LianBio to shut down, return cash to investors

Effective Drug Patent Prosecution Strategies: Securing Your Pharmaceutical Innovations

Merck moves into obesity with deal for Hansoh’s GLP-1 pill

Merck allies with Daiichi Sankyo in major bet on antibody cancer drugs

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