Aevi Genomic Medicine (GNMX +7.3%) to merge with Cerecor (CERC -0.5%) in an all-stock transaction valued at ~$16.1M, plus CVRs, for up to an additional $6.5M in subsequent milestone payments.
Michael Cola will become CEO and Garry Neil will become Chief Medical Officer, of the combined company.
The integration of Aevi’s pipeline programs is expected to enhance Cerecor’s pipeline and broaden inflection points for Cerecor’s rare disease portfolio.
The merger is expected to close by Q1 2020.
Lilly to combine Loxo with oncology research group
Aimed at scaling up its discovery and development efforts in cancer, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) will combine Loxo Oncology, acquired in February, with the Lilly Research Laboratories oncology unit which will operate under the Loxo Oncology moniker.
The organization will be jointly led by Josh Bilenker, M.D., Jacob Van Naarden, and Nisha Nanda, Ph.D. and will report to Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., Lilly’s chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories.
Bayer to collaborate with Philadelphia pediatric hospital on hemophilia treatments
Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY) inks a three-year collaboration agreement with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for the discovery and development of oral small molecule non-replacement therapies for hemophilia A & B.
Under the terms of the partnership, Bayer will invest $5M in joint research over the three-year period and will have an option to exclusively license results from the research.
Illinois and New Jersey on board with Centene/WellCare tie-up
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, the Illinois Department of Insurance and the New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services have signed off on Centene’s (NYSE:CNC) planned merger with WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG).
Centene continues to expect the deal to close in H1 2020 subject to conditions including the divestment of legal entities in Illinois and Nebraska.
AstraZeneca’s Lynparza OK’d in China for 1st-line maintenance of ovarian cancer
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) and collaboration partner Merck (NYSE:MRK) announce that China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved Lynparza (olaparib) for the first-line maintenance treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed advanced germline or somatic BRCA-mutated epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemo.
