A research report by global investment bank Jefferies has found increased investor optimism in the health care market amid COVID-19, with respondents expecting stocks to rise throughout 2022. The Jefferies Healthcare Temperature Check summarizes the views of 500 leaders across the health care sector. Sixty percent of respondents said they believed the MSCI World Health Care Index would be higher by the end of 2022 than at present.
LONDON – Intensive monitoring of health care workers at two hospitals in London showed that despite having a blood biomarker of infection, 58 of them did not test positive for COVID-19 at any point, suggesting they may have been clearing subclinical infections before seroconversion.
PARIS – Royal Philips NV has signed a deal to acquire Cardiologs Technologies SAS and its artificial intelligence technology. The financial terms surrounding the transaction have not been disclosed. The two companies expect to close the deal in the coming months.
LONDON – A pilot study has shown that whole genome sequencing can pinpoint the genetic causes of rare diseases, even in people who had previously not been given a diagnosis after undergoing sequencing of their protein coding exome.
PARIS – The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicinal and Healthcare Products (ANSM), has published its latest annual report on the drugs and medical devices market in France. This body, placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, is responsible for monitoring all healthcare products throughout their cycle, for collating and analyzing reports of adverse reactions, and for implementing corrective action across the nation.
Investors have injected $8.4 million into Swedish startup Sigrid Therapeutics AB to speed development of its oral medical device Sipore15. The technology is a tasteless and odorless white powder taken with water to reduce blood sugar levels in people at risk of developing diabetes.
The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said in a new health technology assessment that cardiac resynchronization devices using the Enduralife battery by Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), are ready for prime time in the U.K. national health system.
LONDON – PCR point of care testing specialist Quantumdx Group Ltd. is poised to accelerate its commercial development in China, after the Hong Kong venture capital fund Vita Spring made a £15 million (US$20.3 million) equity investment.
A more than 20-year uneasy biopharma romance between two Swiss giants will be ending as Novartis AG plans to sell its stake in Roche Holding AG back to Roche for about $20.7 billion. Roche described it as a “disentanglement of the two competitors” that will allow it to regain “full strategic flexibility.” Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis currently owns about one-third of Roche, whose shareholders get the final say-so when they vote yea or nay at the company’s Nov. 26 extraordinary general meeting. Novartis was very clear about how it views its stake in Roche, as the company said it “does not consider the financial investment in Roche as part of its core business and therefore not a strategic asset” and that it’s time to “monetize our investment.”
Astrazeneca plc has signed an agreement with liquid biopsy testing company Saga Diagnostics AB to develop dPCR assays. Lund, Sweden-based Saga Diagnostics will develop Sagasafe dPCR assays towards undisclosed methylated targets for analysis of tissue samples and liquid biopsies. The assay is part of Saga’s portfolio of “ultrasensitive technologies,” comprising Sagasign for personalized monitoring of cancer burden and minimal residual disease.
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