Volitionrx Ltd., of Austin, Texas, was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Walloon Region in Belgium to support a collaboration with Giga at the University of Liege, Belgium. The project will study the use of telomere maintenance as a cancer diagnostic using Volitionrx's Nucleosomics platform.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) unveiled its preliminary list of potential assessment topics for next year. The list is based on the projected timing and likelihood of FDA approval, and whether an evidence review would suggest specific actions for payers, physicians, patients and policymakers to improve clinical practice. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday updated its list of essential medicines, with a focus on cancer and other global health challenges. WHO added 28 drugs for adults and 23 for children to the medicines list and specified new uses for 26 drugs already on the list. 

GNS Healthcare Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it raised $23 million in a series D fundraising led by Cigna Ventures, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Cigna Corp., with participation from Amgen Ventures, Celgene Corp., Echo Health Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments and former Caesar's CEO and Aetna Division President Gary Loveman. 

Cytomx Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, will receive a $10 million payment from Abbvie Inc., of North Chicago, for the selection of a second target under their 2016 collaboration to discover and develop Probody drug conjugates.

Batavia Biosciences BV, of Leiden, the Netherlands, received a follow-up grant of $2.2 million from the global nonprofit Path, to develop and manufacture novel oral poliovirus vaccines.