Drug Companies Update Jan 2008
Mergers, acquisitions & Joint Ventures
- Eisai Corporation has acquired MGI Pharma which will remain a wholly-owned subsidiary.
- Cubist Pharmaceuticals has acquired privately-owned Illumigen.
- ReNeuron has acquired AmCyte, cell therapy company focused on treatments for diabetes.
- Private biotech company Ester Neurosciences has been acquired by Amarin.
- Biopharmaceutical company BAS Medical, has changed its name to Corthera.
- GeneLogic has changed its name to Ore Pharmaceuticals and is now focused on the drug repositioning and development.
- Access Pharmaceuticals has acquired Somanta, a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in oncology.
- Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, has acquired US-based Reliant Pharmaceuticals.
New Companies
- Anza Therapeutics is a company formed around the spin-off of Cerus' immunotherapy assets, which include Listeria and KBMA platform technologies.
- Derma Sciences is a fully-integrated manufacturer, marketer and supplier of a complete line of products for wound and skin care.
- Swiss company, Molecular Partners is a biotechnological company, which develops repeat proteins using the DRP technology, for biological and medical applications.
- N30 Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company engaged in drug discovery, development and commercialization, with a particular focus on respiratory drugs targeting endogenous S-nitrodothiols.
- Valletta Health is focused on semisynthetic anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly topical corticosteroid and urocanic acid derivatives for dermalogical conditions.
- Compellis Pharmaceuticals is developing novel medicines for life-threatening diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
- Alder Biopharmaceuticals identifies, develops and manufactures novel antibody therapeutics in the autoimmune and inflammatory disease areas.
- UK-based AsterTherix is engaged in the development of compounds using Therseer, its pathway-based screening system.
- Axentis Pharma is a Swiss biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of protein-folding diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
- Celladon is a molecular cardiology company, developing new therapeutics for heart failure.
- NovaBiotics focuses on the design, development and application of novel antimicrobials to treat infectious diseases.
- NuRx Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company, engaged in the development of oncology products licensed from Vitae Pharmaceuticals.
- PaxVax is developing candidate vaccines for influenza and other key infectious diseases.
- ProGenetics produces recombinant proteins in the milk of pigs.
- Prosensa is a biotechnology company focused on the development of RNA-based compaounds for the treatment of genetic disorders and as anticancers and anti-infectives.
- Receptor biopharma is developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer.
- Ras Therapeutics is developing targeted therapies for a number of cancers.
- Relypsa is developing non-absorbed polymeric drugs for applications in renal and cardiovascular diseases. It was spun out from Ilypsa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen.
- Sequel Pharmaceuticals is developing and commercializing drug candidates for cardiovascular diseases.
- C2X Pharma is a biotechnology company that develops novel recombinant protein-based therapeutics for the treatment of coagulation disorders.
- Cellectar is focused on the development of radiolabled products for the detection, monitoring and treatment of cancer.
- CoNCERT is a company dedicated to creating therapeutics through a novel approach utilizing deuterium.
- CureVac is a German-based company engaged in the development of mRNA for therapeutic applications.
- Gabriel Sciences is focused on advancing treatment and understanding of mental illness through translational research.
- Privately-owned HemaQuest develops orally-acting, small molecules for the treatment of serious blood disorders.
- Massacheusetts-based Magen BioSciences identifies and develops novel therapeutics for the treatment of poorly-served dermatological disorders.
- SynDevRx develops and commercializes therapeutic compounds in high value diseases with an initial focus in cancer.
