The $12.5 billion acquisition of Avidity Biosciences Inc. by Novartis AG strengthens the company’s neuroscience pipeline and marks the second biggest deal that’s been announced this year. It also is the fifth M&A deal in the past five weeks to top the $1 billion mark, a sign that the market may be strengthening.

Sustaining healthy weight loss is about so much more than cutting calories or injecting drugs, as many GLP-1 users are finding out. Withings SA continues to expand its obesity care management ecosystem and the capabilities of its connected scale to support patients through their weight loss journey and their lives after reaching goal, potentially addressing the vexing problem of patients rapidly regaining all – and often more – weight once they discontinue the drugs.

Staar Surgical Co. reported on Oct. 24 that it had adjourned its special meeting of stockholders scheduled in connection with its proposed $1.5 billion sale to Alcon AG in the face of objections from some of its major shareholders and at least three proxy firms.

Tango Therapeutics Inc. plans a pivotal study next year in second-line MTAP-deleted pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma based on positive phase I/II data with next-generation MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor vopimetostat (TNG-462) in patients with tumors of that type.

Inhibrx Biosciences Inc.’s monoclonal antibody for treating advanced or metastatic, unresectable chondrosarcoma hit its primary endpoint in a registrational phase II study, doubling the company’s stock on Oct. 24. Top-line data from the placebo-controlled study of ozekibart (INBRX-109) produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in median progression-free survival in a tough-to-treat patient population that has few remaining options.

With the number of beats Boston Science Corp. has posted in recent years, it could be auditioning as a heavy metal drummer. Third quarter results kept up the streak, with overall sales 2% ahead of consensus at $5.07 billion and earnings per share of 75 cents, 5% above the Street’s expectations. The company’s two market-transforming products, Watchman and Farapulse, led the strong across-the-board performance, which would be no surprise by now except when looking at the stunning growth rates and sales both posted in the same quarter last year.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association has updated its code of ethics for interactions with health care professionals, which includes some much-needed updates that address both the burgeoning reliance on data and the increasing emphasis on the part of U.S. regulators on data security.

Stem cells are a promising therapeutic modality to fight aging and age-related disease, speakers at the Bio-Plus Interphex Korea 2025 said. Progress in cell-based longevity medicine is being made, they added, although safety, ethical and regulatory issues are ongoing challenges.

Ventyx Biosciences Inc. rolled out positive results from the phase II study with oral, once-daily VTX-3232 in patients with obesity and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.

Moderna Inc. stopped its efforts to develop mRNA-1647 as a vaccine for preventing congenital cytomegalovirus infection, the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the U.S. The pivotal and placebo-controlled phase III CMVictory study of mRNA-1647 missed the primary efficacy endpoint, which was preventing the infection in seronegative females ages 16 to 40.