Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals is set to acquire Achillion, a clinical-stage biopharma focused on the development of oral small molecule Factor D inhibitors to treat complement alternative pathway-mediated rare diseases. Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, […]

Cambridge-based Ra Pharmaceuticals is being acquired by UCB, a global biopharma focused on diseases of the immune system or the central nervous system. Under the terms of the agreement, Ra Pharma shareholders will receive $48 in cash for each Ra Pharma share at closing. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the […]

Flagship Pioneering has unveiled Cambridge-based Cygnal Therapeutics which was founded in 2017 in Flagship Labs. Cygnal is the first company to develop drugs in the field of exoneural biology, a new understanding of how nerves and neural signaling drive human health and disease. The company has discovered biologically relevant pathways and advanced starting points for […]

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and RNA therapeutics developer Ribometrix, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, have entered into a strategic collaboration to discover and develop novel RNA-targeted small molecule therapeutic candidates for serious diseases. The collaboration will combine Ribometrix’s proprietary discovery platform for identifying and optimizing small molecule therapeutics that modulate RNA function by targeting three-dimensional (3D) RNA […]

Cambridge-based, clinical-stage biotech Moderna has announced a multi-year research collaboration with Harvard University to identify and develop novel therapeutic approaches that could improve the lives of patients with immunological diseases. Additional funding from Moderna to Harvard Medical School (HMS) will establish an initiative at HMS called the Alliance for RNA Therapies for the Modulation of […]

Boston-based Akcea Therapeutics, a majority-owned affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, has announced that its board of directors has appointed Damien McDevitt, Ph.D., a member of its board of directors, as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. In addition, Michael J. Yang and Joseph ‘Skip’ Klein III have joined the Company’s board of directors. The company also […]

Bayer and Partners HealthCare’s founding members Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have announced the launch of a joint lab to research new drug candidates to treat chronic lung diseases. The joint lab will host scientists from all three parties and Bayer is investing more than $30 million to fund joint […]

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Semma Therapeutics for $950 million in cash, with the acquisition expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. With locations in Cambridge and Providence, Semma is a privately-held biotech pioneering the use of stem cell-derived human islets as a potentially curative […]

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has announced that Celgene Corporation, in connection with its merger agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb, has entered into an agreement with Amgen under which Amgen would acquire the global rights to Otezla® (apremilast) for $13.4 billion in cash. BMS previously announced the decision to divest Otezla in connection with the ongoing regulatory approval […]

Woburn biotech Frequency Therapeutics has announced the closing of a $62 million Series C financing. Frequency will use the proceeds to support the clinical development of FX-322, a regenerative therapeutic for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss that is moving into a Phase 2a study, and to advance discovery programs in other therapeutic areas using […]