Look back at pharma news in the week to July 16, 2021

Licensing agreements featured heavily in last week’s news, starting with US biotech Biogen entering into an agreement that could cost it $1 billion to get rights to a BTK inhibitor – orelabrutinib for multiple sclerosis – from China’s InnoCare Pharma. Denmark’s Novo Nordisk in-licensed rights to Prothena’s ATTR amyloidosis program, and PRX004, in a deal worth up to $1.2 billion. Also, Ionis Pharmaceuticals last Tuesday exercised an option on fellow USA-based Bicycle Therapeutics’ oligonucleotide targeting the transferrin receptor 1. On the M&A front, Eli Lilly revealed on Wednesday it was acquiring privately-held US company Protomer Technologies for what could be a $1 billion transaction, getting rights to its glucose-sensing insulin project. Additionally, the US Food and Drug Administration took issue with Amgen’s promotion of its cancer drug Neulasta, which the agency said could undermine confidence in biosimilars.

Biogen’s search for improved BTK inhibition lands orelabrutinib

In licensing InnoCare’s BTK inhibitor orelabrutinib for multiple sclerosis, Biogen might look like it is following the lead of  Sanofi, which last year bought Principia for the same purpose. But Biogen has actually been in the BTK game for some years. Not only did it license the now abandoned non-covalent vecabrutinib for oncology use to Sunesis in 2014, it has its own MS contender, BIIB091, in Phase I, commented Jacob Plieth writing on Evaluate Vantage.