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Novo Holdings has concluded the acquisition of all outstanding shares of commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company Paratek Pharmaceuticals for nearly $462m (€433.67m) to bolster its antimicrobial resistance expertise. In June 2023, Novo Holdings announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Paratek. Paratek develops and commercialises new treatments for life-threatening ailments. Its speciality pharmaceutical platform aids in developing new therapeutics.

Hasten Biopharmaceutical has signed an agreement to acquire the rights for the development and commercialisation of LIB Therapeutics’ cardiovascular disease (CVD) drug lerodalcibep in Greater China.  Lerodalcibep is a PCSK9 inhibitor intended for treating patients who have greater CVD risk. It is being developed to address the limitations of existing low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) reducing therapies for treating and preventing CVD.

Medical and beauty care company Pierre Fabre Laboratories has partnered with HitGen’s UK subsidiary Vernalis to identify and develop multiple oncology drugs, in line with its shift towards cancer drug discovery. Vernalis plans to utilise fragment and structure-based methods to identify small molecules that target cancer indications and will receive milestone-based payments and a percentage of royalties from Pierre Fabre.

Idorsia has decided to reacquire the global rights for the oral endothelin receptor antagonist aprocitentan almost six years after they were sold to Janssen. Idorsia announced cost-reduction initiatives, including the sale of its Asia Pacific operations, in July due to “lower than anticipated” sales in H1 2023. The reacquisition of aprocitentan is expected to provide a boost to Idorsia’s profits.