The week in pharma: action, reaction and insight – week to July 15

By Barbara Obstoj-Cardwell. Managing editor

M&A news last week featured Vertex Pharmaceuticals announcing last Monday that it has agreed to acquire fellow USA-based ViaCyte for $320 million to boost its development of type 1 diabetes therapies. On the deal-making front, Finland’s Orion Corp last Wednesday revealed a major collaboration with US pharma giant Merck & Co for its prostate cancer candidate ODM-208. Theravance BioPharma entered into an arrangement to sell its royalties on asthma drug Trelegy, marketed by GSK, for around $1.5 billion. Also, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally approved Novavax’ Covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, but the firm’s shares crashed 26% to $51.62.

Vertex acquiring ViaCyte adds T1D cell therapy pipeline and manufacturing