Johnson & Johnson pays $140m for virus firm BeneVir Biopharm

Johnson and Johnson’s pharma group Janssen Biotech is buying BeneVir Biopharm , together with its portfolio of oncolytic viruses designed to infect and destroy tumour cells, and a pipeline of therapies at preclinical stage.
There are challenges getting approval for oncolytic virus therapies, and the only company to have received approval to date, Amgen, has seen only small sales. Nevertheless, J&J and other big pharma companies continue to try and break into this area.
The head of cancer R&D at J&J, Peter Lebowitz, says the approach has “exciting potential in the treatment of solid tumours through the priming and augmenting of an anti-tumour immune response”.
BeneVir will maintain its R&D operations in Maryland, US, and become part of the Janssen Oncology division post acquisition, which is expected before the end of June.