LONDON – New figures underline the devastating effect the pandemic is having on cancer clinical research, with recruitment to U.K. studies falling by 60%. A total of 27,734 patients were recruited in 2020/21, compared to an average of 67,057 in the three years previously. Over those three years, recruitment had been on the rise, going from 61,810 in 2017/18 to 71,709 in 2019/20, according to figures compiled by the Institute of Cancer Research in London.
Makers of vitro diagnostics (IVDs) are facing several significant challenges in the next few years, thanks to existing and impending revisions to a number of regulatory frameworks. There are other considerations that are adding to the headwinds, such as a poor patent protection environment in the U.S., the net effect of which is to make life unusually miserable for developers of these tests.
Due to COVID-19, diagnostics are in the limelight, and public and private investors are watching how the pandemic may impact the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market in the future. As the sector receives an influx of investment, companies will be in strong positions to expand their portfolios. So, with 2022 around the corner – what are the investment trends to watch?
The Royal Academy of Engineering in the U.K. has selected 15 entrepreneurs from seven different countries for the latest edition of its Leaders in Innovation Fellowships Advance (LIF Advance) program, including some that offer med-tech solutions.
PARIS – Wishbone SA closed a $3 million funding round, which should allow it to obtain the CE mark prior to launching its range of products in Europe based on bone regeneration technology for reconstructive dental surgery. “Thanks to this round, we are ramping scale and moving from R&D to the commercialization phase in Europe,” Daniel Bee, CEO of Wishbone, told BioWorld.
Medimaps Group SA has landed $20 million to expand its portfolio of bone health imaging software. The round was led by Swisscanto Invest, the asset management arm of the Zürcher Kantonalbank group, with participation from the Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, Swisscom Ventures, and Verve Ventures. The company’s flagship product TBS (trabecular bone score) Insight is an artificial intelligence-powered medical software which provides information on bone quality from routine DXA and X-ray images.
The rise of large national health care systems, mainly in Europe, has created an ongoing tension with the free market ethos of the pharma industry. After years of painstaking and costly research, drug makers want that moment when they can reap the rewards for their hard work bringing an innovative new therapy to the market. But in countries in Europe and beyond where there are national health care systems with stringent cost constraints, it’s not feasible to meet these price demands, at least without some form of rationing to keep down expenditure.
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB shares (STO:SOBI) fell 25% Dec. 3 as investors behind Agnafit Bidco AB, previously poised to pay about SEK72.17 billion (US$7.97 billion) for the company, withdrew their bid as shares tendered fell just short of the 90% needed to complete the deal. The bid was seen as likely to succeed after Investor AB, which owns 35% of the capital and votes in the company, commonly called Sobi, supported it. However, with only 87.3% of outstanding shares tendered as of Dec. 3, Agnafit decided to drop the offer, foregoing further extension of the acceptance period, which was earlier extended by ten days to Nov. 26 in hopes of collecting enough support.
LONDON – Each of six different COVID-19 vaccines given as booster doses were safe and increased immunity when administered after two doses of either Pfizer Inc.’s or Astrazeneca plc’s vaccine, according to the latest data from the U.K. Cov-Boost trial.
PARIS – Peters Surgical SAS is being sold off. Its majority shareholder, Eurazeo Small-mid buyout, the investment arm for small and medium-sized enterprises at Eurazeo SE, has been preparing Peters Surgical for sale for the last five months. Investment banks DC Advisory and Allinvest are currently engaged in the sale of the company. This round is part of a divestment program at Eurazeo. Interestingly, disposals finalized since the beginning of the year have tripled, reaching $3.5 billion. The Eurazeo group, with a market cap of $6.65 billion on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, is pursuing its ambitious asset disposal program in a buoyant environment.