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Big Pharma M&A: Vertex expands endocrinology footprint
Vertex Pharmaceuticals moved to buy Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $10 billion, picking up Crinetics’ commercial endocrinology portfolio and late-stage pipeline. The companies said the deal would...
ADC platform expansion: Novartis acquires Myricx Bio
Novartis agreed to acquire Myricx Bio in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion, aiming to expand its antibody-drug conjugate pipeline with a differentiated payload approach. The Swiss company will pay...
Regulatory and market access: CMS proposes new 340B cuts
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed additional cuts to hospital reimbursement rates for drugs purchased under the 340B program, reviving a reimbursement rule framework...
Oncology outcomes: Krazati confirmatory study fails in colorectal cancer
Bristol Myers Squibb disclosed that a confirmatory study for Krazati failed in colorectal cancer, detailing the setback in what the company characterized as part of ongoing evidence generation for...
Specialty biologics and AI platform moves: Insilico adds Takeda discovery collaboration
Insilico Medicine extended its dealmaking by signing a discovery collaboration with Takeda valued at up to $600 million in biobucks, including a $60 million upfront payment. Takeda will use...
Chinese late-stage results: Kailera’s oral GLP-1 hits Phase 3 endpoints
Kailera Therapeutics reported that its oral GLP-1 candidate met primary endpoints in two Chinese Phase 3 obesity and diabetes trials, positioning the asset for regulatory filings in China via its...
Innovative diagnostics: Thermo Fisher wins FBI NDIS approval for rapid DNA profiling
Thermo Fisher Scientific said it received approval from the FBI’s National DNA Index System (NDIS) for its Applied Biosystems RapidIntel Plus cartridge for rapid DNA profiling. The cartridge, used...
Lab and platform technology: DNA synthesis via temperature-only control
A KAIST research team reported a foundational technology for DNA synthesis using only temperature instead of chemical reagents, challenging a long-held assumption in biotechnology manufacturing....
Gene therapy financing: French biotech Cyllene raises €33 million to follow HSV model
Cyllene Therapeutics raised €33 million to test its approach in the HSV-based gene therapy space, taking aim at a different therapeutic area as it seeks to replicate the “Krystal Biotech...
Private equity scrutiny: nonprofit joint ventures raise oversight calls
A new report says private equity firms are increasingly using joint ventures with nonprofit health systems to expand in healthcare, drawing calls for greater oversight. The investigation...
ADC platform expansion via Myricx acquisition
Novartis agreed to acquire UK biotech Myricx Bio for $1.1 billion upfront, with up to $400 million more in milestones, expanding the Swiss company’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) portfolio. The...
Vertex’s $10B move into commercial endocrinology with Crinetics
Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced it will acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $10 billion, or about $85 per share, in a deal designed to strengthen the Boston company’s commercial portfolio in...
Alzheimer’s Phase II setback for Neuphoria’s CHRNA7 modulator
Neuphoria Therapeutics said it terminated its Merck-partnered Phase II Alzheimer’s study of MK-1167 after the trial was marked “terminated for business reasons” on ClinicalTrials.gov, putting the...
AI platform opens Open Drug Discovery Engine for community use
Aureka released Open Drug Discovery Engine (OpenDDE), an open-source, all-atom biomolecular foundation model aimed at AI-driven therapeutic discovery. The company says the model is designed to...
EMA begins work on gender representation in clinical trials
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it is analyzing women’s representation in clinical trials as part of a wider effort to embed women’s health considerations into medicines development and...
U.S. FDA clears first at-home multi-virus flu and COVID PCR test from Visby
Visby Medical received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for an at-home PCR test that detects and distinguishes influenza A, influenza B, and SARS-CoV-2, with results reported in about 30 minutes. The...
U.S. CMS advances second attempt at 340B reimbursement cuts
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed another round of cuts to Medicare payment rates for 340B drugs, aiming to update reimbursement to better reflect what hospitals actually...
Preclinical AI protein-to-text system highlights new paths to function prediction
Researchers from Technion and Tel Aviv University published work describing BetaDescribe, an AI system that translates protein sequences into natural-language descriptions intended to summarize...
Genfleet discloses PI3K inhibitor series from China
Genfleet Therapeutics reported new phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors with potential utility across oncology and additional therapeutic areas including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes,...
Thymus regeneration deal: United Therapeutics buys Thymmune
United Therapeutics agreed to acquire Thymmune Therapeutics for $300 million in a regenerative medicine deal aimed at restoring immune function by generating thymic cells in vivo. The transaction...