Cambridge, U.K.-based Astrazeneca plc is looking to Asia, specifically China and Singapore, to build an innovative cancer-focused pipeline filled with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and cell therapies.
Shares of Redwood City, Calif.-based Rezolute Inc., and Korean parent company Handok Inc., rose May 22 on positive results of a phase II proof-of-concept study for its investigative oral diabetic macular edema (DME) drug, RZ-402. RZ-402 is an oral small-molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitor designed to block vascular leakage and inflammation for treating chronic DME.
News out of the Heart Rhythm Society 2024 meeting May 16-19 highlighted the rapid disruption pulsed field ablation (PFA) devices have wrought in cardiac arrhythmia treatment, so it is little surprise to see that PFAs are among the top five technologies with transformative potential identified by Clarivate plc in its Medical Technologies to Watch in 2024 report. The impact of the other four – continuous glucose monitors (CGM) for diabetes, neurostimulation devices, surgical robotics and renal denervation – has been just as revolutionary, if longer in being realized.
Japanese industrial conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corp. has made an offer to acquire Swedish rare diseases specialist Calliditas Therapeutics AB for SEK11.8 billion (US$1.1 billion). The offer, at an 83% premium to the closing share price of SEK113.60 on Monday, May 27, is recommended by the three biggest shareholders and the board of Calliditas, which said the company would benefit from “being part of a larger platform.”
Nordson Corp. said it will buy Atrion Corp. for $460 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $815 million. The transaction enterprise value reflects a multiple of 20.2 times Atrion's 2023 EBITDA, and the $460 per share price represents a 15% premium to Atrion's 90-day average daily volume-weighted average stock price.
A recent hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives highlighted some of the issues Congress has with the agency’s performance, but there were questions as well about the FDA’s statutory authorities. One of these is the lack of statutory authority to require a recall for prescription drugs as well as the deadline for notifying the agency of device recalls, both of which are areas of legislative interest on the part of Congress.
Vyaire Medical Inc., of Mettawa, Ill., reported a class I recall of its Twin Tubes devices, which are used in the collection of air samples during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. The recall was prompted by the risk that the device nozzle will separate during patient use and potentially result in choking, although the FDA said there have been no reports of adverse events in connection with the problem.
As the company began a rolling NDA submission to the U.S. FDA for its drug combo in low-grade serous ovarian cancer, Verastem Oncology Inc. popped the lid off phase I/II data in pancreatic tumors, but Wall Street seemed uncertain about the news. Boston-based Verastem disclosed upbeat outcomes from the Ramp 205 study testing the RAF/MEK clamp avutometinib when paired with focal adhesion kinase inhibitor defactinib in combination with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel as first-line therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Novo Nordisk A/S’s once-weekly human insulin analogue for adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus could be a useful tool for patients and physicians, the U.S. FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee said May 24, but it also agreed that the risks outweighed the benefits for improving glycemic control.
Cambridge, U.K.-based Astrazeneca plc is looking to Asia, specifically China and Singapore, to build an innovative cancer-focused pipeline filled with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and cell therapies.
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