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Transactions and Financing
Belgium's UCB (OTCPK:UCBJF, OTCPK:UCBJY) announced plans to divest its entire current portfolio of five drugs in China, narrowing its focus on China to commercialize late-stage clinical assets coming soon (see history). He will sell this “mature” neurology and The company has bought a portfolio of allergy drugs for $680 million from CBC Group, a Singaporean healthcare investor, and its partner, Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. Meanwhile, UCB has eight neurology and immunology candidates in clinical development, most of which are expected to report late-stage data before the end of 2024. The company plans to bring these assets to China, likely through partnerships.
Shanghai-based YolTech Therapeutics has sold the rights in China to its base-editing therapy targeting PCSK9 to Shenzhen Salubris Pharma in a $145 million deal (see history). YOLT-101 is a single-cycle in vivo liver base editing drug that is designed to permanently inhibit the PCSK9 gene in the liver. reduce disease-causing LDL cholesterol. The candidate is currently being evaluated in several trials led by researchers in China. YolTech will continue preclinical development of YOLT-101, while Salubris will be responsible for clinical trials in mainland China. YolTech will receive $30 million upfront and up to $115 million in milestones, plus tiered royalties.
New Jersey's Navigator Medicines raised $100 million in seed funding to develop an OX40L-targeting pipeline that was licensed by Korea's IMBiologics (see history). RA Capital Management and Forbion, a Dutch life sciences investor, formed Navigator and initiated the deal with IMBiologics earlier this year, signing a $995 million deal for global rights (excluding Asia) to the immunological disease candidate. Last week, IMBiologics licensed China rights to the dual-target molecule to Hangzhou-based Huadong Pharmaceutical in a $383 million deal. IMBiologics is currently conducting a Phase I trial of the candidate in the U.S. among healthy volunteers.
Bora Pharmaceuticals, a Taiwanese CDMO, continued its acquisition of US-based CDMOs by acquiring a 30.5% stake in San Diego-based Tanvex Biopharma (see history). Bora will pay for the acquisition with new stock, though it did not disclose further details. The acquisition will expand Bora’s large-molecule CDMO services, adding 1,000-liter reactors to its own 500-liter devices. Bora also noted that the acquisition increases its presence in the United States, avoiding U.S. government interference from the proposed U.S. BIOSECURE Act, a cloud hanging over Chinese CDMOs doing business with American biopharmaceutical companies. Bora will become Tanvex’s largest shareholder, and Bora Group Chairman Bobby Sheng will take over as Tanvex chairman in early 2025.
Shanghai DualityBio plans to hold an IPO in Hong Kong to support its ADC Therapeutics (ADCT) portfolio for cancer and autoimmune diseases (see history). Founded in 2019, DualityBio has created an innovative and differentiated pipeline of 12 internally discovered ADC candidates. These include six clinical-stage ADCs targeting indications with unmet medical need, two next-generation bispecific ADCs (BsADCs), and one autoimmune ADC planned for clinical trials over the next two years. The company has forged partnerships with BioNTech SE (BNTX), BeiGene, Ltd. (BGNE, OTCPK:BEIGF), and Adcendo ApS with a total transaction value of over $4.0 billion.
Divulgation: none.
Editor's note: The summary points in this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.