HONG KONG – Korea’s Celltrion Inc. aims to wrap up its first major M&A deal with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Inc. by the end of 2020, pending approvals.

Beta cell regeneration has been a holy grail for type 1 diabetes researchers for several decades. Despite some promising results in animal models, progress in patients has remained frustratingly elusive, however.

The U.S. FDA finally granted Abbott Laboratories' Freestyle Libre 2 clearance as an integrated continuous glucose monitor (iCGM) for adults and children age 4 and older with diabetes. Abbott received CE mark for the device more than 18 months ago and discussed its submission to the FDA in an earnings call over a year ago. Abbott expects the device to be available at pharmacies and durable medical equipment suppliers within weeks.

Royalty deals by an investor into a particular pharmaceutical company program are not unheard of. This structure allows the investor to secure a portion of that specific anticipated upside, while enabling the pharma to fully fund R&D for that program without having to sacrifice other priorities to do so.

HONG KONG – Korea’s Celltrion Inc. aims to wrap up its first major M&A deal with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Inc. by the end of 2020, pending approvals.

San Diego startup Glysens Inc., which is developing implantable continuous glucose monitoring (ICGM) technology, closed a $15 million incremental financing. The funds will be used to support ongoing clinical trials and development of the company’s fully implanted, long-term CGM systems.

Medtronic plc, of Dublin, has gained CE-marking approval for its Minimed 780g system, a next-generation closed-loop insulin pump for people with type 1 diabetes between the ages of 7 and 80 years old. The advanced hybrid closed-loop system (AHCL) features an advanced autocorrection algorithm and Bluetooth connectivity.

The FDA Thursday approved Mylan NV’s Semglee (insulin glargine), adding another player to the U.S. insulin space that has been pretty much controlled by three companies – Eli Lilly and Co., Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA.

In a bid to expand its presence in the cardiometabolic disease space and strengthen its core business in diabetes and obesity, Novo Nordisk A/S is buying Corvidia Therapeutics Inc., of Waltham, Mass., for $2.1 billion, which includes a $725 million up-front payment.

Investigators are working to develop electrogenetic devices that use remote-controlled electrical stimulation to elicit specific behaviors in engineered cells. They are following in the footsteps of optogenetics, which use specific wavelengths of light to control cell function remotely. A new study published in Science used such a device paired with encapsulated, engineered human pancreatic beta cells to express enough insulin to restore normal glycemic levels in mice models of diabetes.