Royal Philips NV unveiled its Future Health Index report for 2025, and it reveals the widening trust gap between health care professionals and patients concerning the adoption of AI in health care.
Newco Avidicure NV arrived on the scene with a hefty $50 million in seed funding to advance novel antibody formats the company says will surpass the best qualities of first-generation antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates.
Recognizing the potential legal challenges to U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for most-favored-nation (MFN) prescription drug pricing and the limits of that order, several congressional Democrats introduced a bill in both the House and Senate May 14 that could make MFN pricing the law of the land and extend it to both government health programs and private insurance.
A low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation device, developed by Sonomind SAS, was proven to be safe and effective in treating patients suffering from drug-resistant depression. The results of a study published in Brain Stimulation showed a 61% reduction in the depressive symptoms of patients treated with the device over a five-day period, with no serious adverse events.
Only a few days out of the European Association for the Study of the Liver annual meeting, the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) space continues to grab headlines, with GSK plc shelling out $1.2 billion up front to acquire phase III-ready efimosfermin alfa in a deal with Boston Pharmaceuticals Inc. that could end up totaling about $2 billion.
Tilt Biotherapeutics Ltd. has raised $25.6 million in a series B round that will fund phase II development of the lead oncolytic virus in the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
Sirius Therapeutics Inc. raised nearly $50 million in a series B2 financing round May 9 to support its pipeline of small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules for cardiovascular disease indications. SRSD-107, a long-acting Factor XI anticoagulant for thromboembolic disorders, is its lead candidate waiting on EMA clearance to begin a phase II study in Europe.
Lysosomal storage disorder specialist Azafaros NV has raised €132 million (US$146.7 million) in a series B to fund two phase III studies of its lead product, a small-molecule glycosidase inhibitor that the company says has shown disease-modifying effects.
After a week of hype, the most-favored nation (MFN) drug pricing executive order (EO) U.S. President Donald Trump signed May 12 has a lot of bark but little bite, as one analyst put it. Brian Abrahams, head of global healthcare research at RBC Capital Markets LLC, said the EO is unlikely to rattle the biopharma sector, even though it lacked the certainty to completely remove the MFN overhang. “We see reason for relief and, alongside improving FDA clarity and limited tariff risk, expect biopharma to be viewed as increasingly investable,” Abrahams said.
Chipiron SA will produce a prototype of its ultra-low portable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, after raising $17 million in series A financing, as it looks to make MRI more accessible.