Deals, Development and Manufacturing

Otsuka Pharmaceutical will acquire Visterra, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-based therapies, for approximately $430 million.

The company has received clearance from the United States Federal Trade Commission for the proposed acquisition of Shire, a deal valued at $62 billion.

Biogen will pay Samsung BioLogics approximately $700 million to increase its stake in Samsung Bioepis to approximately 49.9%.

The pharma major intends to spinoff Alcon as a stand-alone eye-care devices company.

Sanofi will sell Zentiva, its European generics business, to private equity investor Advent International.

The companies will partner to develop T-cell therapies for cancer.

The three-year collaboration will focus on developing vaccines for up to five infectious disease pathogens.

The companies will partner in research for HIV and hepatitis B immunotherapies, and Hookipa will manufacture arenavirus-based vectors for clinical development by Gilead.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Complement Pharma will partner to develop a preclinical C6 complement inhibitor to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

The company will provide the first FlexFactory manufacturing platform for cell therapy manufacturing.

The gene therapy company is expected to invest $55 million in a new manufacturing facility that will produce therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases.

WuXi Biologics will build a biologics manufacturing facility in Singapore that will use both fed-batch and continuous perfusion-based single-use bioreactors.

The new company will develop proprietary RNA-based therapeutics and will provide broad lentiviral development and manufacturing expertise and support.

The companies expanded their partnership to develop and commercialize messenger RNA (mRNA) cancer vaccines to include shared-antigen mRNA cancer vaccines such as mRNA-5671.

Takeda expands its global and therapy base with announced acquisition of Shire.

The companies will partner to develop smart connected monitoring and support solutions for injectable drugs.

The new platform is expected to speed up cell line development.

Global investment firm Advent to acquire and invest in Sanofi’s European generics business, Zentiva, to boost its position in European market.

The transaction is part of Merck KGaA’s strategy to actively shape its product portfolio and focus on innovation-driven business.

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen partners with Bristol-Myers Squibb to advance next-generation therapies for cardiovascular diseases.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech will supply equipment for Penn State’s new Fermentation Facility in the university’s Center of Excellence in Industrial Biotechnology.

The new facility, to be built in Toronto, Canada, will significantly increase capacity for pediatric and booster vaccines.

ReForm Biologics and KBI Biopharma will collaborate to improve biopharmaceutical formulations and development.

The biopharmaceutical firm has chosen Rhode Island as the site of its next-generation biomanufacturing plant, which will offer flexibility, speed, and efficiency.

The acquisition is expected to accelerate progress towards personalized cancer healthcare.