BJ Bioscience has contracted CMAB Biopharma to provide research, development and manufacturing services for a candidate therapeutic antibody called BJ-005. Under the deal, CMAB will conduct CMC development and manufacturing to support the planned submission of an IND for the candidate drug in China and the US. No further details about BJ-005 were provided. According to BJ Biosciences’ website the drug is a bi-functional antibody intended for the treatment of “cancer.” On the firm’s pipeline page the timing for IND…

In a big week for Big Pharma M&A, Alexion has agreed to buy Factor D inhibitor developer Achillion and UCB will add a late-stage FcRn targeting antibody through its acquisition of Ra Pharmaceuticals. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which itself has been in the news recently as a potential target for M&A-hungry Amgen, announced today it has agreed to buy clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Achillion Pharmaceuticals for approximately $930 million (€842 million). The deal adds oral small molecule Factor D inhibitors to treat people…

CDMO Lonza will make clinical batches of an allogeneic CAR-T cell candidate from its facility in the Netherlands for French firm Cellectis. Cellectis has a range of ‘UCART’ off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies in development for hematological malignancies, based on its TALEN gene-editing technology. To support this, the French biopharma has selected Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza to supply clinical materials from its facility in Geleen, added to its cell and gene therapy network through…

Secure health data services firm Bowhead Health has won a startup pitch competition run jointly by the Xcelerate and Biopharm America conferences. Bioprocess Insider brought live commentary of the event at Biotech Week Boston. Presided over by seasoned journalist Mike Ward from the EBD Group, twelve participants – well, eleven as one didn’t show – pitched their startup healthcare focused companies in four-minute slots on stage at Biotech Week Boston. Last week’s event, a collaboration between Xconomy’s Xcelerate conference and…

Danish biopharma Lundbeck says it expects to launch the potential blockbuster migraine biologic eptinezumab early next year after agreeing to buy Alder BioPharmaceuticals. The cash deal, expected to close in Q4 2019, is worth $1.95 billion (€1.78 billion) and falls into Lundbeck’s “expand and invest growth strategy” announced by the Danish biopharma firm in February 2019, aimed at expnding its breadth in brain disease therapies and rebuilding its pipeline. Since then the firm acquired Abide Therapeutics, adding a serine hydrolases…

Citryll BV has partnered with CDMO Lonza to help develop and supply final drug product for its Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) biology targeting antibody candidate. Under terms of the deal, financials of which have not been divulged, Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza will provide Dutch biotech firm Citryll in silico preclinical services used to assess manufacturability and immunogenicity, and final drug product in finished format for clinical material. Citryll’s candidate CIT-013 is a tACPA therapeutic antibody targeting…