One in six common bacterial infections diagnosed worldwide in 2023 were resistant to treatment with antibiotics, according to the latest surveillance data gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO). Drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria that cause bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death are an increasing threat globally.
In one of the biggest deals of the waning year, Novo Nordisk A/S is buying Akero Therapeutics Inc. to bolster its metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-treatment portfolio. In the $5.2 billion deal, Akero brings its fibroblast growth factor 21 analogue, efruxifermin, which is in a phase III study for treating those with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis and those with cirrhosis.
Newco Trogenix Ltd. has emerged from incubation and raised £70 million (US$94.1 million) in a series A, as it prepares the ground for a U.S/U.K. clinical trial of a novel gene therapy construct in glioblastoma multiforme that is due to start at the beginning of 2026.
In a deal that could bring more than $2.1 billion in payments to Arbor Biotechnologies Inc., 90-year-old Chiesi Group gained exclusive and global rights to develop and commercialize ABO-101 for primary hyperoxaluria type 1, an ultra-rare disease caused by a mutation in the AGXT gene, as well as an option to go after a limited number of additional targets.
Synendos Therapeutics AG has delivered initial clinical data demonstrating the potential of its lead compound to selectively modulate the endocannabinoid system in the brain and to relieve anxiety symptoms without triggering a psychoactive response.
While the discussions and votes at the past two meetings of the U.S. CDC Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) have generated a lot of controversy and resulted in some states and medical groups issuing their own vaccine schedules, the truth is that the newly reconstituted committee’s recommendations to date are still in line with, or more generous in some instances than, global norms.
Full-Life Technologies Ltd. announced Sept. 29 the completion of a $77 million financing, comprising $50 million in series C equity and $27 million in debt financing, which will be used to advance a portfolio of radiopharmaceuticals and radionuclide-drug conjugates worldwide.
Pharma companies are collaborating to boost the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery by allowing access to proprietary structural data to train a large language model.
Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria who remain symptomatic despite H1 antihistamine treatment now have a new oral treatment option, with the U.S. FDA’s approval of Novartis AG’s Rhapsido (remibrutinib), a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor administered by pill twice daily.
Bar what it described as a “placebo wobble,” Moonlake Therapeutics AG turned in positive results from the phase III trials of sonelokimab in treating hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), only to see its share price take a complete battering. The stock (Nasdaq:MLTX) fell 90%, or $55.75, to close Sept. 29 at $6.24, after the Zug Switzerland-based company published 16-week data from two identical trials, Vela-1 and Vela-2.
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