Top news
* Novartis AG's Sandoz International GmbH unit obtained the rights to commercialize a proposed biosimilar of multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab, sold by Biogen Inc. under the brand Tysabri. The biosimilar is being developed by Poland-based drugmaker Polpharma Biologics to treat multiple sclerosis — a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord.
* Many large-cap pharmaceutical companies have backed out of the high-risk, high reward area of central nervous system drug development. This leaves smaller biotechs to step up with their own novel approaches to difficult-to-treat central nervous system disorders, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports.
* The U.S. and China have limited cooperation on investigating and prosecuting fentanyl-related substances, a Chinese narcotics official said amid complaints that the Asian country was not doing enough to help fight the opioid crisis in the U.S., Reuters reported. A U.S. official had earlier said certain Chinese "kingpins" were running an international drug trafficking operation that directly contributed to the opioid epidemic.
* The U.S. recorded 19 new measles cases in the week ended Aug. 29, taking the total number of cases for the year to 1,234 spread across 31 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 75% of the cases this year are linked to outbreaks in New York, while the majority of total cases are among people who were not vaccinated against measles.
* Obese patients with type 2 diabetes who had weight-loss surgery were less likely to experience cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, strokes and heart failure, among others, according to a study published in medical journal JAMA.
On the policy front
* The Trump administration must demonstrate why its plan to reference foreign prices in paying for medicines under Medicare would be better than market-oriented, flexible approaches to reduce costs, drug industry lobbyists told officials last week, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports in this week's edition of Capitol Checkup. We also take a look at Florida's drug importation proposal and the revolving door between the U.S. government and the drug industry.
M&A and capital markets
* Roche Holding AG has once again extended the tender offer period to acquire all shares of Spark Therapeutics Inc. The tender offer period, for the $4.3 billion deal, has seen several extensions from the initial April 3 deadline.
* Pleasanton, Calif.-based life science technology company 10x Genomics Inc. filed for an IPO on Nasdaq, hoping to sell 9 million class A common shares between $31.00 and $35.00 each
* Satsuma Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market to raise up to $92 million. The South San Francisco, Calif.-based migraine treatment developer is offering 5 million shares for a price of between $14 and $16 apiece and granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares.
* IGM Biosciences Inc. is planning to raise up to $152.7 million in an IPO of 7,812,500 common shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The Mountain View, Calif.-based biotechnology company expects to price the offering at a price between $15 and $17 per share.
* Bankrupt INSYS Therapeutics Inc. has signed an agreement to sell the worldwide rights to its opioid painkiller Subsys in all strengths, doses and formulations to BTcP Pharma LLC.
* Mylan NV must wait for certain issues at Biocon Ltd.'s production facilities in Malaysia to be resolved before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decides to approve its application for insulin glargine, the U.S. regulator noted in a complete response letter. Biocon is supposed to manufacture Mylan's generic diabetes medicine, which, once approved, will compete against Sanofi's Lantus.
* Mundipharma International Ltd. has received the rights to Cidara Therapeutics Inc.'s antifungal treatment rezafungin in a transaction valued at over $568 million, including a $30 million up-front payment and $9 million equity investment in Cidara.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.39% to 25,527.85, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% to 20,625.16.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.30% to 7,259.44, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.47% to 1,061.71.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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