Japan's Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd. plans to pay $3 billion to acquire Roivant Sciences Ltd.'s ownership interests in five biopharma companies, plus options to acquire up to six more from the prolific company-builder. The deal, slated to close in October, would give Sumitomo Dainippon controlling interests in Myovant Sciences Inc., Urovant Sciences Inc., Enzyvant Therapeutics Inc. and Altavant Sciences Inc., as well as an equity stake of more than 10% in Roivant itself.

Irvine, Calif.-based Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc., which has developed an implantable rechargeable sacral neuromodulation (r-SNM) device for the treatment of urinary and bowel dysfunction, has won the FDA's nod for its system to help patients with fecal incontinence.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Shockwave Medical Inc. is working to build its business around the use of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in multiple arterial indications. Lithotripsy has been used to destroy kidney stones for decades, but now Shockwave's system is applying that technology to indications including coronary artery disease (CAD), above-the-knee peripheral artery disease (PAD) and below-the-knee PAD that each require a specific catheter.

Although investor sentiment continues to remain low and unlikely to change for the remainder of the year, it seems that fact has fallen on deaf ears of those companies looking to graduate to the public ranks. Already in the first few days of September, five biopharma companies have added themselves to the IPO runway, bringing the number of pending U.S. offerings to 12, according to BioWorld.

BEIJING – The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has helped put the biotechnology field on the U.S. foreign investment restriction list, causing a chilling effect on the market. With the amount of Chinese money entering the U.S. biotech sector dropping sharply, many believe it is the U.S. that is taking the hit.

BEIJING – China's position as a global power in active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) could be jeopardized by the ongoing and worsening trade war with the U.S. Perhaps more worrisome for the pharma industry, any disruption to Chinese supply chains could have a serious impact on drug manufacturing and accessibility globally.

BEIJING – The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has helped put the biotechnology field on the U.S. foreign investment restriction list, causing a chilling effect on the market. With the amount of Chinese money entering the U.S. biotech sector dropping sharply, many believe it is the U.S. that is taking the hit in this sector.

The U.S. FDA has granted breakthrough device designation to Laboratory for Advanced Medicine Inc. (LAM) for its liquid biopsy blood test for the detection of liver cancer. The test, which analyzes the DNA methylation pattern of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), is designed to detect the presence of hepatocellular cancer as early as stage 1, with both high specificity and sensitivity.