Essential adds neuroblastoma drug with Renaissance buy

Essential Pharma has bought fellow UK drugmaker Renaissance Pharma, adding its first development-stage drug candidate, a therapy for hard-to-treat rare cancer neuroblastoma.

The takeover of Renaissance comes just a few months after the company was set up to develop Hu14.18K322A (Hu14.18), a neuroblastoma therapy discovered at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US.