Eli Casdin and Icahn protégé find a home for their $450M SPAC, merging with Sema4

Keith Meister (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

February 10, 2021 09:44 AM ESTUpdated 10:10 AM

Eli Casdin and Icahn protégé find a home for their $450M SPAC, merging with Sema4

Jason Mast

Editor

All the blank check companies from the summer of SPACs technically have two years to find a company to merge with, but why wait, when there’s a $2 billion company available today?

Casdin Capital, having raised one of the largest ever life science SPACs, announced today that it’s merging the shell corporation with Sema4, the J&J and Sanofi-partnered patient data, testing and genomics platform. The deal will value the company at $2 billion, offering current shareholders $793 million and raising an additional $350 million from Casdin, Perceptive Advisors, SoftBank’s SB Management and others to inject into the company. The SPAC itself had $443 million in its coffers.

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At the Inflection Point for the Next Generation of Cancer Immunotherapy

Willem Overwijk, Ph.D.

Vice President, Oncology Research, Nektar Therapeutics

While oncology researchers have long pursued the potential of cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, it was unclear whether these therapies would ever reach patients due to the complexity of manufacturing and costs of development. Fortunately, the recent successful development and regulatory approval of chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T (CAR-T) cells have demonstrated the significant benefit of these therapies to patients.

Stéphane Bancel, Moderna CEO

November 30, 2021 07:15 AM EST

R&D

'This is not going to be good': Moderna CEO Bancel warns of a 'material drop' in vaccine efficacy as Omicron spreads

John Carroll

Editor & Founder

Even as public health officials remain guarded about their comments on the likelihood Omicron will escape the reach of the currently approved Covid-19 vaccines, there’s growing scientific consensus that we’re facing a variant that threatens to overwhelm the vaccine barricades that have been erected.

Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, one of the leading mRNA players whose quick vault into the markets with a highly effective vaccine created an instant multibillion-dollar market, added his voice to the rising chorus early Tuesday. According to Bancel, there will be a significant drop in efficacy when the average immune system is confronted by Omicron. The only question now is: How much?

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Philip Dormitzer, new GSK global head of vaccines R&D

November 30, 2021 08:30 AM ESTUpdated 03:30 PM

People

GlaxoSmithKline poaches Pfizer's viral vaccines lead in rush to capitalize on future of mRNA

Kyle Blankenship

Managing Editor

GlaxoSmithKline has appointed Philip Dormitzer, formerly chief scientific officer of Pfizer’s viral vaccines unit, as its newest global head of vaccines R&D, looking to leverage one of the leading minds behind Pfizer and BioNTech’s RNA collaboration that led to Covid-19 jab Comirnaty, the British drug giant said Tuesday.

Dormitzer had been with Pfizer for a little more than six years, joining up after a seven-year stint with Novartis, where he reached the role of US head of research and head of global virology for the company’s vaccines and diagnostics unit.

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ENDPOINTS CAREERS

Lead Manager / Associate Director of Statistical Genetics

Deep Genomics

Boston, MA, USA

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November 30, 2021 07:25 AM EST

Publisher's note

Introducing Endpoints Studio, a new way to advertise with Endpoints-crafted branding campaigns

Arsalan Arif

Publisher & Founder

Since our start in 2016, Endpoints has grown fast while executing our mission to cover biopharma’s most critical developments for industry pros worldwide. As readership has grown, our advertising business has too. Endpoints advertising partners support the mission and engage their desired audiences through announcements on our email and web platforms, brand recognition in our event coverage and sponsorships of Endpoints daily and weekly reports.

December 1, 2021 07:00 PM EST

Deals

Cell/Gene Tx

With only burns to show in gene therapy, Astellas inks deal with AAV specialist Dyno in push for a better capsid

Josh Sullivan

Associate Editor

On the hunt for a better AAV capsid for gene therapy, Eric Kelsic’s Dyno Therapeutics has set itself apart with its focus on machine learning to help speed discovery. Now, Japanese drugmaker Astellas — fresh off a slate of gene therapy burns — is taking a bet on Dyno as it looks to the future.

Astellas and Dyno will work together as part of an R&D pact to develop next-gen AAV vectors for gene therapy using Dyno’s CapsidMap platform directed at skeletal and cardiac muscle, the companies said Wednesday. Under the terms of the deal, Dyno will design AAV capsids for gene therapy, while Astellas will be responsible for conducting preclinical, clinical and commercialization activities for gene therapy product candidates using the capsids.

December 1, 2021 03:59 PM ESTUpdated 04:22 PM

Coronavirus

As first Omicron case in US crops up, researchers wonder: which antibodies, vaccines will hold up?

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

As Covid-19 drug and vaccine developers race to figure out which of their products might be hampered by the new variant, the CDC on Wednesday afternoon announced the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) in the US, found in San Francisco.

The unidentified individual was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22, 2021, was fully vaccinated, and had mild symptoms that the CDC described as improving. All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative, the centers said.

December 1, 2021 10:34 AM ESTUpdated 04:28 PM

Coronavirus

Moderna loses latest battle in key vaccine delivery patent fight as federal appeal falls flat

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday rejected Moderna’s attempt to overturn key patents related to the delivery vehicle for its Covid-19 vaccine after the biotech sought to preempt a potentially risky infringement lawsuit.

For years, Moderna has been battling a tiny Pennsylvania biotech known as Arbutus over patents for a technology required to deliver its mRNA drugs and vaccines, known as lipid nanoparticles or LNP. Moderna is concerned there’s a substantial risk that Arbutus will assert the ’069 patent in an infringement suit targeting Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, particularly as Arbutus has boasted of its patent protection and refused to grant a covenant not to sue Moderna.

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ENDPOINTS CAREERS

Executive Director - Data Analysis - Science & Technology

Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Pasadena, CA

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Lan Huang, BeyondSpring CEO

December 1, 2021 09:09 AM EST

FDA+

Months after shocking investors with lung cancer win, BeyondSpring's lead drug hits roadblock at the FDA

Kyle Blankenship

Managing Editor

BeyondSpring shocked investors in early August after its once-marginal lead drug suddenly showed a lot of promise in a common form of lung cancer. With hopes high, the FDA has now slammed the door on that drug in another indication — does that spell bad news for BeyondSpring’s Cinderella story?

The FDA issued BeyondSpring a complete response letter for its plinabulin in combination with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, effectively shutting down the drug’s immediate chances at a marketing approval, the biotech said Wednesday.

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December 1, 2021 08:00 AM ESTUpdated 08:23 AM

Pharma

What's fair? New ICER report shows payers generally ensuring fair access to drugs

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

The nonprofit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review on Wednesday released a new report highlighting the ways in which payers are generally ensuring fair access to prescription drugs, even when based on a set of criteria set by the nonprofit.

While noting the lack of transparency hindered the report’s results, ICER said that the “great majority” of payer policies in the formularies evaluated are structured in a way to support many key elements of how ICER defines “fair access.”