If the recent hantavirus outbreak wasn’t enough to keep public health officials busy, a new Ebola virus disease outbreak has been confirmed by authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While sequencing is ongoing to identify the Ebola strain, experts have noted early results suggesting it appears to be different from the Zaire strain that has caused previous outbreaks, including the deadliest outbreak in West Africa a decade ago, meaning existing vaccines and antibody treatments likely will not be effective. The Africa CDC said it is closely monitoring the latest outbreak, which was reported in the Ituri province, located in the northeastern corner of DRC and adjacent to both Uganda and South Sudan.

Sonomind raises €20M for ultrasound neuromodulation technology

Sonomind SAS raised €20 million (US$23 million) in a series A funding round for its ultrasound-based neuromodulation technology for depression. The funds will be used for clinical trials of the non-invasive device which uses a custom-made acoustic lens to precisely target deep regions within the brain to bring relief to patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression.

EU reaches Critical Medicines Act pact to tackle drug shortages

In further fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU has now reached agreement on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA), which aims to boost European manufacturing capacity for drugs and their active ingredients, and enable member states to organize joint procurement to improve access to orphan drugs. The CMA requires member states to prioritize supply chain security and diversification of supplies over paying the lowest price in public procurements. There will be “buy European” incentives favoring suppliers that manufacture in the EU, and fast track permitting and access to EU funding to build and modernize manufacturing facilities. The EU’s dependency on external suppliers of critical medical supplies and drugs was brought into sharp relief by COVID-19, when multiple products were in short supply.

Biopharma M&A rebounds toward 2024 levels in early 2026

Biopharma M&A value in the first four months of 2026 totaled $50.7 billion, approaching 2024's $51.82 billion over the same period and well above 2025's $28.87 billion, with activity spread relatively evenly across the months. April's largest transaction was the closing of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s acquisition of Arcellx Inc., valued at up to $7.8 billion.

ASGCT 2026: Directed evolution in gene therapy

Directed evolution has become a central pillar in gene therapy. This engineering strategy enables the generation of more efficient variants of genetic editors and delivery vectors. Molecular diversification methods are increasingly sophisticated and are now accelerated by machine learning and AI tools, as showcased at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) held in Boston this week. On May 14, 2026, three presentations highlighted how these advances are redefining design approaches during the ASGCT Scientific Symposia, “Directed evolution of gene editors and delivery systems.”

Validity of Actelion patent hinges on temperature

Temperature matters when determining pH levels. Whether that level is measured at room temperature or refrigerated matters even more, at least in Actelion Ltd.’s infringement litigation against Mylan Inc. According to Johnson & Johnson’s Actelion, the pH level in epoprostenol, the key ingredient in its hypertension drug Veletri, should be measured at a refrigerated temperature, but it doesn’t specify that in the patent claims it asserted against Mylan. A U.S. district court and the Federal Circuit disagreed with Actelion, saying that unless otherwise specified, room temperature is the standard.

Tracking hantavirus across the globe

The recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has brought increased attention to an infection for which there are no widely available or FDA-approved therapeutics or vaccines, with limited research occurring only at the earliest stages. The rare Andes strain identified in the outbreak is known for human-to-human transmission, although the original infection comes from rodents. While hantavirus does not spread as easily as an infection like COVID-19, the mortality rate, at 30% to 40%, is significantly greater, and serves as another example as to why biopharmas must be at least two steps ahead with technology that can pivot to quickly address the spread of infectious diseases. Read BioWorld’s ongoing coverage of the current hantavirus outbreak.

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