GSK plc has announced a breakthrough in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, reporting a functional cure rate of 19% across two phase III trials of its antisense oligonucleotide bepirovirsen.

There are initial signs that President Donald Trump’s most-favored nation (MFN) policy may be further delaying access to new drugs in Europe, as companies hold off commercializing in these countries to avoid lower European prices being referenced in the U.S.

Less than two weeks after the outbreak was officially declared, animal studies of a newly designed vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus are now underway in the U.S. and U.K., and the Serum Institute of India is standing ready to manufacture the vaccine for clinical trials. If the animal tests are positive, the vaccine will be ready for clinical trials in two to three months.

Medtronic plc is strengthening its pain management portfolio with its $650 million move to buy SPR Therapeutics Inc. and bring the company’s peripheral nerve stimulation system for sustained pain relief into its neuromodulation offering. The deal marks Medtronic’s third tuck-in deal so far this year, following its $585 million purchase of Cathworks Ltd. and $550 million acquisition of Scientia Vascular Inc., and is also a sign of the momentum in M&A activity in the medtech sector with other players making strategic acquisitions.

As generic versions of its blockbuster drug Ofev (nintedanib) start to hit the market, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH looks to have swerved the patent cliff, with European and Japanese regulators both approving a potential replacement, Jascayd (nerandomilast), this week. At its monthly meeting, the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use also recommended Novartis AG’s Vijoice (alpelisib) be given conditional approval in the treatment of PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum disorders.

Infex Therapeutics Ltd. has published positive phase IIa data for its lead program, RESP-X, in the treatment of exacerbations of chronic respiratory infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is now laying the ground for phase IIb development, after raising £4.3 million (US$5.8 million) in new capital.

As interests and competition in the intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) market heats up, Shockwave Medical Inc. said it believes that its latest coronary IVL catheter, the C2 Aero, and other projects in the pipeline, will help it to maintain its leadership in calcium modification.

A subgroup analysis of data from Boston Scientific Corp.’s Champion-AF trial, which looked at the outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation treated with a left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) device compared to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), found that the efficacy and safety of LAAC compared to DOAC are not affected by age. The data were presented at the EuroPCR conference in Paris.

Data from the All Women clinical trial, which looked at the Allegra transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system compared to balloon-expandable valves (BEV) in women with aortic stenosis, showed that Allegra delivered lower mean gradients and less prosthesis-patient mismatch than BEVs. The data presented at the EuroPCR conference in Paris was the first randomized head-to-head comparison of different TAVR platforms conducted exclusively in women.