Shares of Nuvalent Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVL) were trading at $122.82, up $34.33, or 38%, on word that GSK plc is paying $10.6 billion to take over the firm. Specifically, London-based GSK is offering to acquire all of Nuvalent’s outstanding class A and B common stock for $124 per share, a 40% premium to Nuvalent’s last closing price and a 26% premium to the 30-calendar day amount. Net of cash acquired, GSK’s investment will total about $9.4 billion. Nuvalent, of Cambridge, Mass., brings to GSK two late-stage products: ROS1 inhibitor zidesamtinib and ALK blocker neladalkib, both under U.S. FDA review to treat non-small-cell lung cancer.

Wuxi Apptec insists it’s ‘not a Chinese military company’

Wuxi Apptec isn’t going down without a fight after the U.S. Department of War added it to its Section 1260H list yesterday as a designated “Chinese military company,” which makes it a “biotechnology company of concern” under the Biosecure Act. “Such designation is mistaken and baseless,” the global contract research, development and manufacturing organization said in an open letter to its life sciences partners. “We will pursue every available avenue to correct this mistake.” If the listing stands, the designation would bar U.S. government agencies from contracting with Wuxi directly or with entities that use the company’s services. The impact wouldn’t be immediate, though.

GLP-1s and more weigh in at ADA

GLP-1 receptor agonists remained center stage at the 2026 Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association with Roche Holding AG, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Astrazeneca plc and Amgen Inc. joining the leaders, Eli Lilly and Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S, in presenting data for their GLP-1 drugs. But other targets also shined through, including GLP-1 drugs that also hit GIP and/or glucagon as well as drugs that mimic amylin.

Japan backs Oncolys virus therapy for esophageal cancer

Japan has granted marketing approval to Oncolys Biopharma Inc.’s oncolytic adenovirus product, Telomelysin (suratadenoturev, OBP-301), for treating esophageal cancer in patients who are not eligible for curative resection or chemoradiotherapy. The approval marks the first oncolytic adenovirus product approved for esophageal cancer. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare granted Telomelysin a full marketing approval, rather than conditional or time-limited approval, which is often the case for novel modalities, especially in oncology or regenerative medicine. Oncolys submitted the marketing authorization application on Dec. 15, 2025. Telomelysin was designated for Japan’s Sakigake fast-track examination system in April 2019.

Pumps, patches and fixes at the ADA

Dexcom Inc. and Insulet Corp. reported new clinical trial data on their diabetes technologies at the 2026 Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans, offering insights that could aid in clinical adoption. Abbott Laboratories, meanwhile, highlighted the risks of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and presented data showing the growing challenge of identifying DKA as it can develop quickly and mimic common illnesses.

NMPA gives conditional nods to drugs by Lupeng, Vcare, Staidson

China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on June 4 granted conditional approvals to two oncology drugs from Lupeng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Vcare Pharmatech Co. Ltd., as well as one hemophilia drug developed by Staidson Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, also secured the NMPA’s approval of sibeprenlimab (VIS-649) in subcutaneous formulation as an APRIL-targeting monoclonal antibody for patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The U.S. FDA first granted accelerated approval to sibreprelimab under the brand name of Voyxact Nov. 25, 2025, to treat adults with primary IgAN at risk of disease progression.

Researchers: embryo base editing avoids damage from DNA cuts

Scientists at Columbia University have used base editing to make precise changes in the genomes of human embryos, avoiding the damage to chromosomes seen following two-stranded DNA cuts with conventional Crispr-Cas9 editing. The researchers, led by Dietrich Egli, associate professor of developmental cell biology, used an adenine base editor which converts an adenine-thymine base pair to a guanine-cytosine pair, to change three genes. Two of these, HBG1 (hemoglobin subunit gamma) and HBG2, on chromosome 11, are involved in the production of hemoglobin during fetal development, but are silenced after birth. The exact edit was to convert A to G in the promoter regions of the HBG1/2 genes, mimicking a naturally existing variant, which leads to fetal hemoglobin expression in adulthood and reduces the symptoms of beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The third gene edited by Egli and colleagues is PCSK9 (protein convertase subtilisin kexin 9), located on chromosome 1, which regulates blood lipid levels and is a target for treating high cholesterol.

Med-tech IPO window holds as $1.51B raised through May in 2026

Total med-tech financing through the first five months of 2026 reached $11.01 billion, falling between 2024's $12.76 billion and 2023's $8.95 billion and reflecting a sector that has stabilized but not yet regained its momentum. With two consecutive years now above $1 billion in IPO proceeds through May after the prolonged drought of 2023 and 2024, the med-tech IPO window appears to be holding rather than fading.

Pre-disease plasma signature may help redefine lung cancer risk

Researchers have identified a 14-protein blood signature that can predict lung cancer risk as much as five years before diagnosis, and the findings could help identify people who could benefit from preventive drugs. Published in Cell, the study was a collaboration between the Francis Crick Institute and University College London. It was co-led by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute laboratory head Clare Weeden, who conducted the research while at the Crick. Rather than detecting cancer, the discovery flips the paradigm to detecting risk-state biology: “It’s not about detecting cancer earlier, it’s about detecting risk,” Weeden told BioWorld.

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