Mainz, Germany-based Biontech SE has struck two deals in its Project Lightspeed, one for inside China and one for outside China, to develop and commercialize a COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) prevention vaccine. The agreements caused the stock (NASDAQ:BNTX) to soar 29.3%, or $9.07, to close at $40 on Monday in the midst of a bear market.
TORONTO – If Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital and the W. Garfield Weston Foundation get their way, a CA$33 million (US$24 million) initiative unveiled March 2 dramatically will increase patient access to made-to-measure ultrasound technology for penetrating the blood-brain barrier to treat Alzheimer's disease and brain cancer.
BEIJING – Eye disease specialist Arctic Vision (Shanghai) Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has in-licensed from Clearside Biomedical Inc., an U.S. ophthalmology biotech, the commercialization and development rights of Xipere (triamcinolone acetonide suprachoroidal injectable suspension) for greater China and South Korea. Under the license agreement, Clearside will receive $4 million up front plus additional milestone payments from Arctic Vision for achieving specified events before Xipere wins approval in the U.S.
Pharma has not gotten terribly serious yet about integrating digital health tools into clinical trials, let alone into their product offerings, despite the potential benefits they could offer when it comes to patient adherence, compliance and experience. Still, oncology giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has made a small step in that direction by partnering with Paris-based digital therapeutics company Voluntis SA.
San Francisco-based Invitae Corp. is putting pedal to the metal in its quest to bring comprehensive genetic testing into mainstream clinical practice, reporting the acquisition of three companies – Diploid, Youscript Inc. and Genelex Labs LLC – following Tuesday’s market close. The total bill for the three deals comes to $195 million, $57 million of which is in cash.
HONG KONG – U.S., China and the Netherlands-based Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. has teamed up with Mount Sinai Health System, New York City's largest academic medical system, to develop novel biotherapies in oncology and immunology. The two parties will also be using Harbour’s H2L2 Harbour Mice platform to develop a monoclonal antibody (MAb) against the coronavirus that has turned into a global epidemic.
LONDON – The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust have joined forces with financial services specialist Mastercard in establishing a $125 million seed fund to accelerate development of drugs to treat COVID -19.
South Korea's Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. has enlisted San Francisco-based AI drug discovery shop Atomwise Inc. to help it identify up to 13 small-molecule inhibitors of Pellino proteins and other targets in an effort to develop new therapies for inflammatory diseases. Atomwise stands to receive an up-front payment of undisclosed value, as well as milestone and royalty payments under terms of the deal. Presuming success, it estimates the partnership's payoff could reach up to $1.08 billion.
Pharma has not gotten terribly serious yet about integrating digital health tools into clinical trials, let alone into their product offerings, despite the potential benefits they could offer when it comes to patient adherence, compliance and experience. Still, oncology giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has made a small step in that direction by partnering with Paris-based digital therapeutics company Voluntis SA.
TORONTO – Newpro3D Inc., of North Vancouver, British Columbia, is making its ultra-fast 3D printing technology available to Düsseldorf, Germany-based Henkel AG & Co. KGaA to help it expand into production scale, additive manufacturing of medical devices. Newpro3D’s digital light processing (DLP) system enables its customers to manufacture hard and soft anatomical models used in surgical planning “at record speeds,” said Newpro3D COO Gabriel Castanon, eliminating the slow mechanical processes in more conventional 3D printing techniques.
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