Almost three months to the day after Protara Therapeutics Inc. made known positive interim data from the phase II trial testing cell-based therapy TARA-002 in pediatric patients with macrocystic and mixed cystic lymphatic malformations (LMs), Palvella Therapeutics Inc. scored positive top-line results from the phase III Selva study evaluating Qtorin 3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel for microcystic LMs.

Gilead Sciences Inc. is acquiring partner Arcellx Inc. at a value of up to $7.8 billion, consisting of $115 per share up front and a potential payment of $5 per share through a contingent value right.

Harbour Biomed is spinning out newco Solstice Oncology and is outlicensing its CTLA-4 antibody, porustobart (HBM-4003), to the newco in a cash and equity deal worth more than $1.2 billion.

Grail Inc.’s share price dropped more than 50% in premarket trading Feb. 20 after it reported late the day before that the NHS-Galleri trial did not meet its primary endpoint. The U.K study, done though the National Health Service with 142,000 individuals enrolled, evaluated the ability of Grail’s Galleri multicancer early detection test to look for cancer-specific methylation patterns in blood.

SLAMF6 is an immune cell receptor whose function was not clear. Does it activate or inhibit cells? The results so far have been contradictory. Now, scientists at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal have unveiled evidence that SLAMF6, a protein of the SLAM family that binds to copies of itself, is regulated by interactions between molecules of the same receptor within the same cell.

Med-tech companies with an AI component in their solutions will certainly find investors willing to back them. AI after all, is being used to develop more effective, smarter technologies. However, investors will only deploy capital into innovations that address genuine clinical needs. The aging population is driving interest in devices targeting cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders, and other solutions geared toward neurological conditions, women’s health and diagnostics are also attracting investor attention.

Gilead Sciences is stepping deeper into synthetic lethality, licensing a clinic-ready MAT2A (methionine adenosyltransferase 2a) inhibitor from Suzhou, China-based Genhouse Bio Co. Ltd. in a deal worth up to $1.53 billion.

Less than four months after company officials said they would explore options to find ways of maximizing shareholder value, Sensei Biotherapeutics Inc. disclosed the buyout of Faeth Therapeutics Inc. by way of a stock-for-stock deal – news that sent shares (NASDAQ:SNSE) to a closing price Feb. 18 of $26.25, up $17.12, or 187.5%.

A project that started as a bioreactor to assist astronauts in deep space to keep medications safe in a microgravity environment could help pharma companies model how drugs behave in the human body. Omnigeniq unveiled at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference the first computer model of a human protein as it exists in the body, confirming that native protein topology can be calculated directly from physics.