Teva talks tough on cuts; Takeda bolsters startup with a dedicated cardio discovery team
→ With its share price plummeting as the revenue numbers deteriorate at a rapid pace, Israel’s troubled Teva talked up deep cuts today, with plans for axing thousands of jobs as well as a complete revamp on manufacturing that includes shuttering or divesting nine facilities.
→ Cambridge, MA-based startup Cardurion is getting started with a creative alliance with Takeda. The pharma company — which has been revamping R&D — is providing the little biotech with a 12-person cardio research team in Japan for its discovery work, looking to kindle some R&D magic in the alliance of a global player and a biotech upstart. Cardurion is run by two industry veterans: CEO Daniel Bloomfield and Michael Mendelsohn, founder and executive chairman. The creation of this partnership with Cardurion follows Takeda’s strategy to leverage external innovation by placing selected assets and outstanding scientists into entrepreneurial environments,” said Andrew Plump, chief medical and scientific officer, Takeda. “By leveraging the high level of therapeutic expertise at Takeda’s Shonan Research Center to support drug discovery, we’re motivating scientists to come together to deliver on our promise of serving patients with existing unmet needs.”
→ Israel’s Intec Pharma touted Phase I results for AP-CBD/THC, its Accordion Pill platform with cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol, the two primary cannabinoids contained in Cannabis sativa.