Ipsen has inked a worldwide collaboration pact with BAKX Therapeutics to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize the biotech’s asset BKX-001 as a potential treatment for leukemia, lymphoma and solid tumors.

A surprise surge in Roche's R&D spending this year reflects high quality in-house innovation opportunities as well as high prices for external M&A targets, management said.

Roche unveiled a strong Q2 performance driven by new medicines and continued strong growth from its diagnostics division but analysts were most keen for clues on plans for gantenerumab, now in Phase III studies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Sweden-based Anocca AB will use a just completed $47m Series B financing to advance its industrialized cellular biology platform and pipeline of TCR-T cellular therapies into Phase I/IIa oncology clinical trials, its CEO tells Scrip. 

Swedish biotech Amniotics is developing a broad pipeline of unique stem cell therapeutics based on technology that is broadly applicable to major disease markets which should eventually draw the attention of big pharma players, its CEO tells Scrip.

Despite legacy cancer drug sales still being hurt by biosimilars, Roche at the half-year mark is expected to give another good overall performance and underscore its growing product diversity and an increasing interest in rare diseases.