Drug Discovery

In the third PharmaVentures Business Review of 2007, we focus our attention on the drug discovery sector. In the Business Report, we take a look at some of the key trends in drug discovery deal making across the past five years and review the key stages of the drug discovery process as well as the key technologies that have been boosting deal making in this important sector of the pharmaceutical market.

In the Month in Review, we review the industry's key deals during February 2007 and their likley impact on the companies involved and the market sector. In Face-to-Face, Fintan Walton talks to Tim Mitchell, of Sareum, about the company's set up, its future plans for internal product development and fee-for-service.

The Month in Review

Learn about the key deals in February 2007 and what they have meant for the companies involved. Featured deals include those between Shire and New River Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and Xenoport, Cytyc and Adeza Biomedical, and others.

To learn more about the major deals and transactions from the previous month’s industry activity, you should view PharmaDeals Intelligence bank, a comprehensive and global source of deals information. With financial information, news alerts and legal agreements, this searchable resource, which is compiled by analysts and consultants, is an essential deal making tool.

• Quest Diagnostics acquires the Swedish point-of-care testing company, HemoCue, for approximately 420 million dollars
• Cytyc acquires Adeza Biomedical, a manufacturing and marketing company for women’s health products, for 452 million dollars
• GlaxoSmithKline and Xenoport enter into a 640 million dollar co-development and commercialisation agreement on late-stage compound, XP13512, for the treatment of Restless legs syndrome and neuropathic pain
• GW Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka enter into a major long-term strategic cannabinoid alliance worth up to 291 million dollars
• Shire acquires New River Pharmaceuticals for 2.6 billion dollars and gains full control of Vyvanse™ for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The Business Report

In the business report this month, we take a look at the trends in drug discovery deal making over the last decade, investigating the changes in deal value well as in the types of companies involved. We also provide an overview of the drug discovery process, and of the various techniques that are used at each of the different stages. In addition, we discuss the trends in deal making for the enabling technologies that are being used to improve the drug discovery process, and compare the types of companies acting as innovators and investors in this commercially valuable business sector.

Face-to-Face

Fintan Walton talks to Tim Mitchell, CEO, Sareum, about founding the company with David Williams and John Reader, as a spin-out from Millennium Pharmaceuticals' Structure-based Discovery Department. Tim explains how the company's success is based on the excellent track record and relationships the management established at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and at Cambridge Discovery Chemistry and the efficient structure-based drug discovery services they have refined over the years.