Global Briefs: BMS, BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Roche & More
A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring BMS, BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Roche and Novartis. Highlights below.
Reorganization News
* BMS Revamping R&D Organization; Names New Head of R&D
M&A News
* BioNTech To Acquire Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher from Scholar Rock for $205 M
* AstraZeneca Acquires Vaccine Company Omniose
* Imvionix Acquires US, Canadian Rights to Novartis’ mAb Retinal Drug
Partnering News
* Roche, Chai in AI-Based Protein Drug Discovery Pact
Reorganization
BMS Revamping R&D Organization Names New Head of R&D
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is revamping its research and development organization and has named Cristian Massacesi, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at BMS, to lead the new organization, effective January 1, 2027. The new unified R&D organization, which will take effect January 1, 2027, will bring together the company’s scientific and clinical expertise as one organization as a means to strengthen collaboration from discovery through development. As part of this planned transition, Robert Plenge, MD, PhD, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer, will remain with BMS in an advisory capacity through March 2027 to support a transition before departing the company.
Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb
M&A News
BioNTech To Acquire Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher from Scholar Rock for $205 M
BioNTech, a Mainze, Germany-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has agreed to acquire a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher (PRV) from Scholar Rock, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on neuromuscular diseases, for $205 million.
Under the FDA voucher program, a sponsor who receives an approval for a drug or biological product for a rare pediatric disease may qualify for a voucher that can be redeemed to receive priority review for a different product. The sponsor may also transfer or sell the voucher to another sponsor. FDA awards rare pediatric disease PRVs to sponsors of rare pediatric disease products that are approved and meet certain criteria.
Scholar Rock received the PRV from FDA in September (September 2026) following the approval of Isembyld (apitegromab-mstn), which was approved for treating spinal muscular atrophy a rare, severe neuromuscular disease, in adults and pediatric patients aged two years and older who are already receiving a survival motor neuron 2 targeted therapy/
A PRV grants FDA priority review for a single application, which reduces the target FDA review timeline and could lead to expedited approval. BioNTech intends to use the PRV to support a future filing of an asset in its late-stage oncology pipeline.
The closing of the PRV transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act.
Source: BioNTech
AstraZeneca Acquires Vaccine Company Omniose
AstraZeneca has acquired Omniose, a preclinical bio/pharmaceutical company developing polysaccharide conjugate vaccines using its proprietary bioconjugation platform.
Conjugate vaccines attach bacterial polysaccharides to engineered carrier proteins. Bioconjugation relies on single cells that simultaneously produce a polysaccharide antigen along with an engineered carrier protein and a conjugating enzyme to link them together. Omniose’s bioconjugation approach enables these components to be produced and linked within a single E. coli cell to enable enzymatic attachment of a wider range of bacterial polysaccharide antigens to the engineered carrier proteins, according to information from the company.
The acquisition follows a three-year exclusive research collaboration between the companies. Omniose is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca and a part of the company’s Infectious Disease Unit.
Source: Omniose
Imvionix Acquires US, Canadian Rights to Novartis’ mAb Retinal Drug
Imvionix, a bio/pharmaceutical company focused on retinal therapies, has acquired exclusive commercial rights in the US and Canada from Novartis for Beovu (brolucizumab-dbll), a drug for treating neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema (DME) Under the agreement, Imvionix will become the marketing authorization holder for Beovu in the US and Canada. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Source: Imvionix
Partnering News
Roche, Chai in AI-Based Protein Drug Discovery Pact
Roche and Chai Discovery, a San Francisco, California-based company with a computer-aided design suite using AIfor protein-based therapeutics, have announced a collaboration for Roche to use Chai’s AI models and platform in a number of drug-discovery programs across Roche’s therapeutic areas.
Source: Chai Discovery
