PharmaDeals Review Business Commentaries
Dr Fintan Walton, PharmaVentures’ CEO, provides monthly comment on topical biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry issues. Includes access to Fintan’s commentaries broadcast on PharmaTelevision.
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AVEO Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca: A Platform for Collaboration
From issue 83 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-05-01)
In the context of the business models of platform technology companies – in particular pharmacogenomics-based companies – this feature discusses the recent deal between AVEO Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough to develop and commercialise AV-299, AVEO’s humanised monoclonal antibody. AV-229 targets hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), the ligand for the c-Met cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase, which is mutated or over-expressed in a number of cancers, and is linked to tumour metastasis. An important factor in this collaboration, which is potentially worth US$477.5 M to AVEO, is the company’s Human Response Prediction™ (HRP) technology platform, which will be used to identify the biomarker profiles of potentially responsive vs. non-responsive tumours, and so guide the clinical development of AV-299, which is presently at the preclinical stage.
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Roche and Synosia: Spinning Out a Future
From issue 83 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-05-01)
Roche, as a world leader in diagnostics and drug development, is in the fortunate situation of having more candidates in its portfolio than its resources can handle. Its solution is its partnering culture. In January 2007, Roche signed a licensing agreement with newly created Synosia Therapeutics, giving Synosia five CNS compounds. This article, based on an interview between Fintan Walton of PharmaVentures and Tom Woiwode of Synosia, examines Synosia’s unusual origins (within a venture capitalist firm), the significance of its Roche-friendly management team, the maintenance of the deal with Roche, and the future of Synosia and its compounds.
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Technology Focus - Drug Discovery in Fragments
From issue 83 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-05-01)
The development of small molecules into NCEs continues to be of vital importance in the drug discovery business. Despite the fact that the number of approved NCEs has seen a decline in recent years, small molecules continue to dominate the percentage of overall novel drugs that make it into the market. These two factors are driving the need for innovative new technologies to small molecule drug discovery. Fragment-based drug discovery is one such technology that has been developed in the last decade. This article discusses the major deals made by companies that utilise the technology in their drug discovery efforts, and the prospects of this technology for the industry.
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BioCryst: The Fall and Rise of Peramivir
From issue 82 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-04-01)
Each new outbreak of H5NI bird flu serves to remind us that we may only be a short step away from the next global influenza pandemic. Led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global preparedness plan has driven the market for influenza vaccines and antivirals far beyond its natural boundaries. Concerns with the safety and effectiveness of current antivirals have created a clinical need which BioCryst’s novel neuraminidase inhibitor peramivir could fill. This article looks at BioCryst’s recent deal with Shionogi to develop peramivir for the Japanese market, discusses the drug’s long and arduous development journey so far and places it into the context of the current influenza market.
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Cytyc - A Positive Outlook
From issue 82 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-04-01)
Cytyc, headquartered in Massachusetts, was founded in 1987 by Stanley Lapidus, and has become pre-eminent in the women’s health industry. Its products cover a range of women’s health applications, including cervical cancer screening, treatment of excessive menstrual bleeding, radiation treatment of early-stage breast cancer and breast cancer risk assessment. The company’s domestic diagnostics segment developed and markets the ThinPrep® Pap test in the US. However, in the face of growing competition from TriPath Imaging’s cheaper liquid-based Pap test, and in order to expand its product portfolio, Cytyc has recently acquired two companies: Adeza Biomedical and Adiana. This article discusses Cytyc’s development of the breakthrough ThinPrep test, and its diversification through acquisition strategy, with particular emphasis of the two most recent acquisitions.
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