// Biotech and Pharma Therapeutics
Clinical Trial Diversity: Pharma Takes Action to Address Disparities
June 26, 2024 / Pharma / Clinical Trial / FDA
Trinity Life Sciences, a leader in global life sciences commercialization solutions, has released a new white paper titled “Diversity in Clinical Trials: Life Sciences Initiatives and Challenges in Light of the FDA’s Latest Guidance.”
Women with a common hormonal disorder have few good treatment options. Could GLP-1 drugs help?
June 26, 2024 / Women’s Health / Hormonal Disorders / GLP-1
Ozempic and GLP-1 drugs like it became household names due to their potent weight loss benefits, and are now proving useful in a slew of other chronic conditions.
Three months into bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in response
June 26, 2024 / Bird Flu / Outbreak
The country still does not have a sufficient testing infrastructure in place, nor a full understanding of how the virus is moving within herds and to new herds, experts say. Government officials also have not secured the cooperation from farmers and dairy workers that would be required to rein in the outbreak.
Lab-as-a-service for biotech startups opens in Basel, Switzerland
June 26, 2024 / Startup / Switzerland
To that effect, Superlab Suisse operates facilities where biotech startups, scaleups, and their staff can access state-of-the-art equipment according to a “lab as a service” business model. The company today announced the opening of its second space in biotech hub Basel, Switzerland.
Exsilio debuts with $82M, pitching a ‘leap’ forward for genetic medicine
June 25, 2024 / Exsilio / Genetic Medicine / Moderna
The Boston-based company is debuting with $82 million from a group of investors that include Novartis’ venture arm and the gene editing biotech CRISPR Therapeutics. It’s led by interim CEO Tal Zaks, who was Moderna’s chief medical officer when the company successfully developed a messenger RNA-based vaccine for COVID-19.
// 4th Industrial Revolution
Lilly Teams With OpenAI to Tackle Threat of Drug-Resistant Bacteria
June 26, 2024 / Eli Lilly / OpenAI / Partnership
The companies did not reveal specific terms or details of the deal, such as its payment structure, priority targets and expected timeline, only disclosing that Lilly will leverage the tech firm’s generative AI technology to “invent novel antimicrobials” for drug-resistant pathogens.
Healthcare leaders worldwide counting on AI to close ‘critical gaps’ in patient care
June 25, 2024 / AI / Patient Care / Healthcare
Healthcare leaders from points around the globe are pretty much “all in” on generative AI. A full 85% of 2,800 surveyed across 14 countries say they’re investing in the technology now or planning to do so within three years.
Ex-Meta experts at AI-biotech startup offer tool to create new molecules
June 25, 2024 / AI / Ex-Meta / Startup / Molecules
An AI-meets-biotech company launching Tuesday is releasing a tool to help scientists craft entirely new molecules in a process they say mirrors half a billion years of evolution.
Vendor Notebook: Novel AI for staff turnover, mental health robots and more
June 26, 2024 / Novel AI / Mental Health / Primary Care
Artificial intelligence tools are helping primary care doctors diagnose skin cancer, home care providers retain employees and hospital doctors get early warnings about potential patient mental health episodes in stories we’re reading this week.
Leveraging AI to lower drug discovery cost and more briefs
June 21, 2024 / AI / Drug Discovery / Digital Twin
PSICHIC was able to “effectively screen new drug candidates and perform selectivity profiling” in a study, which findings have been published in Nature Machine Intelligence. It was also able to “distinguish the functional effects of the compound” or the way it affects the human body, according to Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Dr Lauren May, co-lead author of the study.
// Business & Markets
Sanofi asks for private equity bids for its consumer health unit: Bloomberg
June 26, 2024 / Sanofi / Consumer Health / Buyouts / Divestment
Private equity firms Advent International of Boston and PAI Partners of Paris are believed to be the most serious potential suitors, according to Bloomberg’s report. CVC Capital Partners of Luxembourg and U.S. firms Blackstone, TPG and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice are vying as well, with Swedish investor EQT AB no longer in the mix, the report said.
Alexis Borisy-founded VC raises $380M for early-stage biotechs
June 26, 2024 / Biotech Venture Capital / Alexis Borisy / VC / Early-stage
Venture capital firm Curie.Bio has fueled up, raising $380 million for biotech founders and promising to stretch the runway of seed money for better long-term results.
Biotech Company FOXO Technologies Buys Addiction Provider Myrtle Recovery Centers
June 26, 2024 / Biotch / FOXO Tech / Myrtle Recovery Center
FOXO is an unusual acquirer for an addiction provider. Typically, M&A deals in this space are conducted between private equity investors, larger providers, and even venture capital firms.
HKSTP’s Startup BioMap Secured Funding from HKIC for AI and Biotech Development
June 24, 2024 / Startup / AI / Partnership
Hong Kong Science Park Corporation (HKSTP) congratulates BioMap, a Park company, on its strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to jointly propel innovation across multiple sectors including biopharmaceuticals, green technology, and new industrialisation, further cementing Hong Kong’s position as an international hub for innovation and technology.
Sun Pharma completes Taro merger to make it a wholly-owned private company
June 24, 2024 / Sun Pharma / Merger / Private Company / Shareholders
As part of this merger, Sun Pharma acquired all outstanding ordinary shares of Taro other than the shares already held by Sun Pharma or its affiliates. As a result of the merger, Taro is now a private company and wholly-owned by Sun Pharma, the company announced.
// Legal & Regulatory
Duchenne approval exposes FDA rift over Sarepta gene therapy
June 21, 2024 / FDA / Gene Therapy / Sarepta
Peter Marks is again at the center of a controversial Food and Drug Administration decision on a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Twice now, the high-ranking FDA leader has pushed aside objections from agency reviewers to grant an approval to Sarepta Therapeutics’ treatment for the muscle-wasting condition.
Teva Pays $750M to Resolve Israeli Tax Issues Going Back More Than a Decade
June 26, 2024 / Teva / Israeli / Tax Issues
Teva Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to pay $750 million to put an end to what it calls a “historical income tax issue” in Israel.
After stock crash and staff cuts, Amarin wins bid to revive Vascepa patent lawsuit
June 26, 2024 / Amarin / Vascepa / Hikma Pharma / Patent Litigation
The loss of patent protection on Amarin’s sole commercial product Vascepa in 2020 has led to a roller coaster ride for the Dublin-based company over the past few years.
Novo Nordisk wins approval in China for GLP-1 obesity drug Wegovy
June 25, 2024 / Novo Nordisk / Wegovy / GLP-1
On the market for three years in China, Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) is racing toward blockbuster sales in the world’s second most populous country. With that success in place, the Danish company looks to double down with its obesity treatment Wegovy.
Buffalo biotech firm gets key FDA approval on cancer drug
June 25, 2024 / Cancer / FDA Approval
The approval comes 12 years after the company spun off from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Plus, news on a dental school expansion at UB, new services at McGuire Group sites and changes at Brothers of Mercy Sacred Heart Home.
// Research & Development
First-of-its-kind Intellia data suggest CRISPR drug could be given more than once
June 26, 2024 / CRISPR Drug / Gene Editing / Patient Health
For all of the progress made with genetic medicines over the last decade, they’re still generally viewed as one-and-done treatments. The body can develop immunity or have a dangerous response to the viruses often used to deliver the complex therapies, making redosing impractical or risky.
Lyell Reports Patient Death in Early-Stage CAR T Trial, Shows Otherwise Strong Response Rate
June 26, 2024 / Patient Death / Early-stage / Lyell Immunopharma / CAR-T
Lyell Immunopharma on Wednesday unveiled initial Phase I data for its investigational CAR-T therapy LYL797, touting promising response rates marred by safety concerns including one patient death.
Novo’s kidney disease drug fails to improve blood pressure in phase 3, spurring $816M loss
June 26, 2024 / Novo Nordisk / Chronic Kidney Disease / Kerendia
Novo Nordisk’s late-stage kidney disease drug has failed to evoke significant change in systolic blood pressure, a loss that will cost the Danish drugmaker more than $800 million.
Study shows cholesterol-lowering drug reduces diabetic retinopathy risk
June 25, 2024 / New Study / Diabetes / Oxford
A study conducted by Oxford Population Health has demonstrated that a cholesterol-lowering drug could help reduce the risk of eye disease in people living with diabetes.
How gene-therapy treated mice in space may help shape the science of vision loss diseases
June 17, 2024 / Takeda / Dravet Syndrome Trial / Partnership
This week, biotech Oculogenex landed an early, but essential, endorsement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company’s CEO and founder Hema Ramkumar told Fast Company, for a therapy to treat an eye-wasting disease that’s the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in elderly Americans. The regulatory milestone isn’t an approval for the drug itself, but a significant “go-ahead” in the minutiae of how any drug is developed that stands on its own merits. It’s an endorsement of Oculogenex’s strategy for a planned mid-stage clinical trial in intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
// Politics
Pharma companies challenge lawsuit alleging terrorism funding activities in US Supreme Court
June 24, 2024 / Lawsuit / Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court gave boost on Monday to a challenge by 21 pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies led by AstraZeneca to a lawsuit accusing them of illegally helping to fund terrorism that killed or injured hundreds of American troops and civilians in Iraq.
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Biden’s use of bully pulpit to fight Covid misinformation
June 26, 2024 / Supreme Court / Biden / Covid
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuffed states and anti-lockdown advocates who said the government violated their First Amendment rights by asking social media giants to remove or limit coronavirus misinformation.
House panel proposes new strategy for Medicare to cover weight loss drugs Wegovy, Zepbound
June 26, 2024 / House Panel / Medicare / Wegovy / Zepbound / Weight Loss
As weight loss medications have exploded in popularity, a bill to allow Medicare to cover the drugs has languished virtually unchanged in Congress for a decade.
Cybersecurity roundup: U.S. to ban Kaspersky antivirus; Cost of healthcare breaches way up
June 26, 2024 / Cybersecurity / Healthcare / White House
The White House this past week announced its plans to ban new sales of antivirus software from Kaspersky Lab, after years of pushback against the Russia-based company and fears that its tools themselves pose a security risk to critical U.S. infrastructure, including healthcare.
The Supreme Court appears set to reject Idaho’s near-total abortion ban
June 26, 2024 / Supreme Court / Idaho
The Supreme Court appears ready to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg Law.