The disjointed health care system that patients face today blocks a significant proportion of them from accessing life-changing, innovative drugs, prompting many in the biopharma industry to explore more direct-to-consumer pathways. The efforts can reduce costs by removing middlemen like pharmacy benefit managers, insurance providers and distributors, make patients feel more in control of their own health, and help companies direct their own growth outside of government pricing controls. During Pharma USA, a Reuters Events meeting held in Philadelphia March 16-17, executives from Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, Amgen Inc. and consulting firm ZS Associates, among others, offered glimpses into a future in which R&D is no longer enough: Innovators must become architects of care.

Enodia jumps ahead in Sec61 targeting with the acquisition of Kezar's program

Enodia Therapeutics has been working on developing drugs targeting Sec61 since it was spun out of Institut Pasteur. The company came out of stealth in February 2025 and announced a seed round of €20.7 million (US$25 million) about a year later. Now, the newco is taking a big leap forward toward entering the clinic with the acquisition of the Sec61 program from Kezar Life Sciences Inc. The preclinical program is only costing the company $1 million up front, although it’s on the hook for up to $127 million in milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales on drugs that result from the program.

Boston Sci’s Rezūm therapy superior to drugs in treating BPH

Boston Scientific Corp.’s Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy is superior at providing symptom relief for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia than combination drug therapy, according to 12-month data from the Vapeur clinical trial. Patients treated with Rezūm, a minimally invasive therapy, also saw a better preservation of their sexual function.

Amplifon acquires GN hearing business for €2.3B

Amplifon SpA signed a definitive agreement with GN Store Nord A/S to acquire its entire hearing business for €2.3 billion (US$2.64 billion) on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The move by Amplifon will see it become a fully vertically integrated global player poised to transform the hearing-care industry.

G2gbio secures license deal, ₩20B investment from Samsung Epis

G2gbio Inc. secured a ₩20 billion (US$13.35 million) investment from Samsung Epis Holdings Co. Ltd. and a joint research and license agreement for two assets, including a long-acting obesity treatment, with subsidiary Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. March 16. The investment and partnership with the Samsung Epis Holdings companies were expected to support Cheongju-si, South Korea-based G2gbio’s ongoing R&D and facility expansion, including the construction of the microsphere injectables biotech’s second manufacturing plant in South Korea.

Kanaph’s $27M IPO to aid multi-modality cancer, immune portfolio

Multi-modality platform company Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. raised ₩40 billion (US$26.7 million) through its Kosdaq stock sale March 16, becoming the first Korean biotech to go public this year. The company’s shares (KOSDAQ:0082N0) climbed to ₩70,000 in intraday trading before closing at ₩50,600 – 153% higher than the offering price. Kanaph expects to receive about ₩38.84 million in net proceeds. About 86% of the funds raised will support pipeline research and development.

Digital model simulates the first fully functioning living cell

Entering a cell and watching its entire inner machinery at work, how DNA is copied, how proteins are assembled, or how it splits in two, has been, for decades, an impossible dream. Now, scientists at the University of Illinois have recreated everything that happens inside a cell at molecular scale in an unprecedented computational model. Syn3A is the first 4D digital cell, capable of combining time and space to simultaneously represent all the internal processes that drive the life cycle of a minimal prokaryotic organism.

Also in the news

AMC Robotics, Aminex, Aptar, Beren, Cinctus, Cinclus Pharma, Covirix, eClinical Solutions, Eclinical Solutions, Equillium, Firefly, Geovax, GSK, Hive, Immutep, Indivior, Insight Molecular Diagnostics, Inovio, Insulet, Koelis, Koru Medical Systems, Mineralys, Novonesis, Novozymes, Oncopeptides, Pfizer, Prism Biolab, Ratio, Receptor.AI, Sana Biotechnology, Takeda, Ultragenyx, Vistagen, Xcath