Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Micromet, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI) today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amgen will acquire Micromet, a biotechnology company founded inGermany with its research and development (R&D) center in Munich and headquarters in Rockville, Md., for $11 per share in cash. The transaction, which values Micromet at approximately $1.16 billion, was unanimously approved by both the Amgen and Micromet Boards of Directors.

The acquisition includes blinatumomab, a Bispecific T cell Engager (BiTE) antibody in Phase 2 clinical development for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is also in clinical development for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), and could have applications in other hematologic malignancies.

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In 2006, long-time journalists Victoria English and William Ellington decided to quit their jobs and to establish their own publication, the biomedical trade journal MedNous (pronounced Med-Nows). A year later, in September 2007, the first issue appeared alongside with the website www.mednous.com.

akampion: Why did you establish MedNous?

Victoria English: Both of us thought Europe’s very innovative life science industry needed better communication. Back then, everyone was thinking in clusters and areas, and we felt by connecting the dots we could support the industry in its efforts to increase efficiency. Second, at that time the European Commission and the EMEA were very worried about the decreasing productivity of the biopharmaceutical industry, and Europe developed the Innovative Medicines Initiative, similar to the FDA’s Critical Path policy. This, too, called for better collaboration, and we wanted to capture this shift in official politics to encourage collaboration and translation of discoveries into products. Third, after working for many years in big corporations such as Reuters, DowJones, McGraw Hill and Informa, I thought it is time to start my own company.

akampion: What kind of preparations were necessary?  » Read more...

NGOs such as Greenpeace and BUND as well as Green politicians such as Rhineland-Palatinate State Minister Ulrike Hoefken, responsible for the environment, agriculture, food, viniculture and forests, hailed the recent decision by German chemical company BASF to move its plant science activities from Limburgerhof, Rhineland-Palatinate/Germany, to Raleigh, North Carolina.

BASF said the decision was made because of “lack of acceptance for this technology in many parts of Europe”, adding it did “not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this market.” As a result, development and commercialization of all products targeted solely at cultivation in the European market will be halted.

In response to this decision, Minister Hoefken said that “the research by BASF has not been constrained by any means”, adding the decision was caused by lack of success of genetically engineered products in cultivation and marketing. She also stated, “agrogenetic engineering is not able to comply with statutory provisions. Agrogenetic engineering is no worthwhile future technology.”  » Read more...

- Transaction creates new Nanohale subsidiary named Formycon GmbH -

Scil Technology GmbH and Nanohale AG today announced that Nanohale has acquired the entire R&D, contract development and manufacturing organization of Scil Technology GmbH in an asset deal, effective December 31, 2011. Employees and inventory of Scil Technology GmbH have become part of Formycon GmbH, a fully-owned subsidiary of Nanohale AG. The rights to the tissue regeneration projects, which were out-licensed by Scil Technology to Medtronic, Inc. and Sanofi, will remain with Scil Technology GmbH, which will be sustained as an independent company to manage its existing collaborations. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Scil Technology recently out-licensed its cartilage regeneration program for the treatment of osteoarthritis and osteochondral defects to Sanofi. The company has strong expertise in protein drug development, formulation and analytics, which is highly complementary to Nanohale´s existing protein formulation platform and will enable Nanohale to strengthen its biopharmaceutical development expertise.

Christian Nafe, CEO of Scil Technology, who was responsible for the transaction together with Klaus Binder (COO), said that the agreement creates an excellent exit opportunity for Scil Technology´s investors at BioNet Holding.  » Read more...

Manfred Lindinger in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) introduces a giant molecule the size of a virus. It is not a macromolecule – instead, it consists of just two rubidium atoms glued together by one electron.

Forget about “good” cholesterol, writes Nicola von Lutterotti, also in FAZ. Latest studies revealed that drug therapies to increase HDL failed to reduce the risk for cardiovascular events and did not prolong life.

Klaus Sievers in Die Welt explains how sewage plants can be used to produce electricity. The trick is done by microbial fuel cells populated by metal-reducing bacteria.

Garage biotech is approaching fast, writes Ted Greenwald in Forbes. He introduces OpenPCR, a $599 build-it-yourself PCR machine and PersonalPCR, a $149 2-tube PCR thermocycler by a company called Cofactor Bio. The DNA analysis is performed by Cofactor. Already, the machines have been used by high school students to identify tilapia fish sold as white tuna in a sushi restaurant.

The Economist features Ron DePinho, the new president of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, a serial entrepreneur who us planning to use the results of the International Cancer Genome Consortium to develop new drugs against five cancers. The effort is financed by a $3 billion cancer-research fund created by the state of Texas and local philanthropists.  » Read more...