// Biotech and Pharma Therapeutics
Avidity drug for muscular dystrophy shows promise; Syntis takes new approach to weight loss
June 12, 2024 / Avidity Biosciences / Muscular Dystrophy Treatment / Weight Loss Therapy
Avidity’s del-brax shows >50% gene reduction in muscular dystrophy, increasing patient strength; Nodthera’s drug reduces inflammation markers in obese patients; Syntis Bio’s SYNT-101 mimics gastric bypass effects for weight loss.
Biophytis Announces the Successful Industrial Transfer of BIO101 (20-hydroxyecdysone) Production by its Service Provider Seqens
June 12, 2024 / Biophytis BIO101 / Muscular Dystrophy Treatment
Biophytis successfully scales BIO101 production for treating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; Seqens produces first GMP-compliant batch for clinical trials, targeting improved respiratory capacity in advanced-stage patients.
Pfizer, Flagship name first target for multibillion-dollar collaboration: obesity
June 12, 2024 / Pfizer / Obesity Drug / ProFound Therapeutics
Pfizer and Flagship Pioneering’s first collaboration target is developing new obesity drugs using ProFound Therapeutics’ ProFoundry Platform, aiming to discover therapeutic proteins and advance research through their partnership.
Europe taps CSL Seqirus to produce bird flu vaccines for pandemic preparedness efforts
June 11, 2024 / CSL Seqirus Bitd Flu / Vaccine / HERA Pandemic
CSL Seqirus to supply 665,000 bird flu vaccine doses to 15 European countries under a four-year contract with HERA, enhancing pandemic preparedness for avian influenza.
Full-body MRI helps Hackensack Radiology Group boost quality, find growth opportunities
June 7, 2024 / Hackensack Radiology Group / MRI Screening / AI / Ezra Cancer Detection
Hackensack Radiology Group uses Ezra’s AI-powered full-body MRI technology for rapid, high-quality cancer screening, enhancing patient care and detecting early-stage cancers, while increasing clinic growth opportunities.
// 4th Industrial Revolution
Mile Bluff clinicians save 7.5 minutes in prep per patient with help from Meditech AI
June 12, 2024 / Mile Bluff Medical Center / Meditech AI / Healthcare Efficiency
Mile Bluff Medical Center uses Meditech AI to save 7.5 minutes per patient in pre-visit prep, reducing clinician burnout by efficiently managing and summarizing patient health records.
Interpretable machine learning helps clinicians classify EEG anomalies
June 11, 2024 / Machine Learning / EEG Anomaly Detection / Duke University
Duke University developed an interpretable machine learning tool to help clinicians classify EEG anomalies, enhancing seizure detection accuracy from 47% to 71% and improving patient outcomes in intensive care.
Wheel Launches AI-Powered Platform for Virtual Care, Horizon
June 12, 2024 / Wheel Horizon / AI / Virtual Care / Patient Care / Healthcare Delivery
Wheel launches AI-powered Horizon platform to enhance virtual care, offering scalable, personalized, data-driven healthcare solutions for improved patient outcomes and efficiency.
US researchers develop AI liquid biopsy test to help identify lung cancer earlier
June 11, 2024 / John Hopkins / AI Liquid Biopsy / Cancer / DNA/ Early Detection
Johns Hopkins researchers developed an AI liquid biopsy test to detect lung cancer early, showing a 99.8% negative predictive value, potentially improving screening accessibility and reducing mortality.
Anterior grabs $20M from NEA to expedite health insurance approvals with AI
June 8, 2024 / AI Health / Anterior Funding / NEA Investment
Anterior secures $20M Series A funding to enhance AI-driven health insurance approvals, reducing denial rates and expediting patient care access through automated medical documentation.
// Business & Markets
Flagship taps startup to hunt for obesity drugs that might interest Pfizer
June 12, 2024 / Flagship Pioneering / ProFound Therapeutics / Pfizer / Obesity Drug / Drug Discovery
Flagship Pioneering partners with ProFound Therapeutics to discover obesity drug candidates for Pfizer, leveraging ProFound’s ProFoundry platform to identify novel proteins, aiming to advance promising therapies under their strategic alliance.
Biogen’s HI-Bio Buy Is Latest Biopharma Spending Spree in Projected $257B Immunology Market
June 12, 2024 / Biogen / Immunology Market Growth / AI-powered Health Insurance / Autoimmune Disease Treatments / Vertex Alpine Acquisition
Biogen acquires HI-Bio for $1.15 billion to strengthen its immunology pipeline, particularly targeting severe immune-mediated diseases and de-risking its strategy amid patent expirations and previous clinical trial challenges.
Headspace partners with Uwill to expand mental health offerings to students
June 12, 2024 / Uwill Headspace Partnership / Mental Health Services / Virtual Therapy
Uwill partners with Headspace to expand its Urise wellness offerings, integrating on-demand mental health services and wellness content to support students, faculty, and staff in managing mental health challenges across 300 colleges.
ICL receives £10m donation to advance heart and lung research
June 12, 2024 / Imperial College London / Heart and Lung Research
Imperial College London receives a £10m donation from the Victor Dahdaleh Charitable Foundation to enhance heart and lung research facilities, establish a Graduate Centre, and fund fellowships at the National Heart and Lung Institute.
Foresite raises $900M to make big bets in ‘one of the best biotech investment environments’
June 12, 2024 / Foresite Capital / Biotech Investments / Precision Therapeutics
Foresite Capital raises $900M for its sixth fund to invest in biotech innovation, focusing on precision therapeutics, life science infrastructure, and healthcare delivery, aiming to leverage advancements in biology, genomics, and AI.
// Legal & Regulatory
Teva Loses Inhaler Patent Case Against Amneal, Must Delete or Amend Orange Book Listing
June 12, 2024 / Teva Pharmaceuticals / ProAir HFA Inhaler / Amneal Pharma
A New Jersey court ruled that Teva’s patents for its ProAir HFA inhaler are improperly listed on the FDA’s Orange Book, allowing Amneal Pharmaceuticals to develop a generic version of albuterol sulfate, the active ingredient.
After 33 years, Geron finally crosses FDA finish line with blood cancer med Rytelo
June 7, 2024 / Geron Corporation / Rytelo Imetelstat Approval / FDA / Blood Cancer
After 33 years, Geron Corporation secures FDA approval for Rytelo (imetelstat), a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor for treating myelodysplastic syndromes in patients with transfusion-dependent anemia.
Roche alleges counterfeit diabetes medical devices were sold on Amazon
June 10, 2024 / Roche Counterfeit / Lawsuit / Fake Devices / Amazon / Blood Glucose Monitoring
Roche accuses Indian manufacturers of selling counterfeit Accu-Chek diabetes devices on Amazon, posing severe health risks due to expired test strips with fake labels. A U.S. court has issued a restraining order against the defendants.
British company accused of supplying NHS ‘faulty’ Covid tests pays UK £5m
June 11, 2024 / Novacyt / Covid-19 / Settlement / PCR Tests
Novacyt agrees to pay the UK government £5m to settle claims that its Covid-19 tests were defective, ending a lawsuit over allegations that the tests had an unacceptable failure rate and were never rolled out by the NHS.
Gilead forks over $40M to settle thousands of claims in web of litigation over alleged delay of safer HIV meds
June 11, 2024 / Gilead Sciences / Settlement / HIV Lawsuit / Drug Delay
Gilead Sciences agrees to a $40 million settlement to resolve claims from over 2,000 plaintiffs alleging the company delayed safer HIV drugs, causing kidney and bone damage from older medications.
// Research & Development
Pfizer gene therapy for Duchenne fails to meet goals of key trial
June 12, 2024 / Pfizer / Gene Therapy / Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Trial / Phase 3 Trial / Motor Function Improvement
Pfizer’s gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy failed to improve motor function in a Phase 3 trial, missing both primary and secondary endpoints. Despite mild to moderate side effects, the study is paused after a patient’s death in another trial.
Cellectis Unveils a Non-Viral Gene Therapy Approach for Sickle Cell Disease in Nature Communications
June 12, 2024 / Cellectis / Gene Therapy / Sickle Cell Disease Treatment / Gene Editing
Cellectis unveils a non-viral gene therapy for sickle cell disease using TALEN® technology, achieving over 50% normal hemoglobin expression in edited cells, published in Nature Communications.
NodThera’s NLRP3 inhibitor shows further anti-inflammatory promise in phase 1b/2a obesity trial
June 12, 2024 / NodThera NLRP3 Inhibitor / Obesity Trial / Chronic Inflammatory Diseases / CRP Reduction
NodThera’s NLRP3 inhibitor NT-0796 shows significant anti-inflammatory effects in a Phase 1b/2a obesity trial, reducing CRP and other biomarkers, supporting its potential for treating obesity and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Avidity Bio’s RNA Therapy Flashes Early Signs of Treating a Muscular Dystrophy’s Root Cause
June 12, 2024 / San Diego Biotech / Avidity Biosciences / RNA Therapy / DUX4 Gene Reduction / Clinical Trial
Avidity Biosciences’ RNA therapy, del-brax, shows early Phase 1/2 trial success by reducing DUX4 gene expression by over 50% in FSHD patients, with signs of muscle function improvement and no serious adverse events.
New study reveals how brain cell communication is linked to Alzheimer’s disease
June 12, 2024 / Alzheimer’s Disease / New Research / Brain Cell Communication / Disease Study
A study links Alzheimer’s disease to disrupted brain cell communication between astrocytes and microglia, showing increased astrocyte toxicity and reduced brain activity around amyloid plaques in mouse models.
// Politics
BIOSECURE Act Left Out of Department of Defense Spending Bill by House Rules Committee
June 12, 2024 / Biosecure Act / House Rules Committee / Department of Defense Budget / Chinese Biotech / US National Security
The House Rules Committee excluded the BIOSECURE Act from the Department of Defense’s spending bill. The act aimed to restrict U.S. taxpayer dollars from reaching Chinese biotech companies due to national security concerns.
With Microsoft and Google, White House offers cybersecurity tools for rural hospitals
June 11, 2024 / Rural Hospital Cybersecurity / White House / Microsoft Google Partnership / Healthcare / Cybersecurity
The White House, partnering with Microsoft and Google, announces cybersecurity initiatives to aid small and rural hospitals vulnerable to cyberattacks. The program offers free and discounted security tools and training to bolster hospital defenses.
Pharma, pharmacies debate drug price reform in Michigan House committee
June 6, 2024 / Michigan House Bill 5350 / 340B Drug Pricing Program / Low-income Patients / Contract Pharmacy Access
Michigan’s House Bill 5350, aimed at ensuring access to discounted drugs for low-income and uninsured patients, faces opposition amid concerns of abuse within the 340B drug pricing program. The bill requires drug manufacturers to provide 340B discounts to all affiliated contract pharmacies.
White House hopes $180M will solve science, tech gaps in commercial fusion power
June 7, 2024 / Biden Administration / Fusion Innovation Research Engine / Fusion Energy Development
The Biden administration announced $180 million in funding under the Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) program to address scientific and technological gaps in developing a commercial fusion power pilot plant, aiming to support its decadal vision for fusion energy.
US Senate panel to weigh Novo Nordisk subpoena over Ozempic, Wegovy prices
June 11, 2024 / Novo Nordisk / Ozempic Wegovy Prices / Senate Health Panel / US Drug Pricing / Bernie Sanders Investigation
The U.S. Senate health panel will vote on June 18 to subpoena Novo Nordisk’s U.S. President Doug Langa over high U.S. prices for weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, significantly higher than in other countries.