June 16 Quick Takes: Takeda out-licenses neurology pipeline to Neurocrine; plus Illumina challenge blocks BGI, FDA approves a pair of firsts and more

Takeda receives $120M up front for seven neurology therapies
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK) granted Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) an exclusive, worldwide license to seven neurology programs: three mood disorder therapies that have completed Phase I testing, and four preclinical candidates. Takeda will receive $120 million up front and be eligible for up to $1.9 billion milestones, plus double-digit royalties. Takeda may forgo milestones and opt into 50-50 profit share scheme at an undisclosed development stage for each program.

Illumina’s patent challenge blocks BGI’s U.S. sales
Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) said the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting five subsidiaries of BGI Group, including Complete Genomics Inc., from launching sequencing instruments and related reagents in the U.S. Illumina filed suit in February alleging the Chinese company’s CoolMPS sequencing products infringe on patents for its sequencing-by-synthesis technology. Illumina previously sued Complete Genomics for sequencing technology patent infringement before it was acquired by BGI in 2013...