South Korea’s Hanall Biopharma Co. Ltd., of Songpa-gu, Seoul, agreed to an exclusive licensing deal with San Francisco-based Turn Biotechnologies Inc. to develop novel ophthalmic and optic therapies using the latter’s mRNA-based technology.

The problem of counterfeit devices has perplexed the U.S. FDA for some time, given that the agency had previously been forced to send the illicit products back to the originator, only to see the same devices reenter the U.S.

Surmodics Inc. reported plans to be acquired by private equity firm Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner Inc. for $43 a share for a total equity valuation of approximately $627 million. The per-share acquisition price represents a 41.1% premium to Surmodics’ 30-trading day volume-weighted average closing price through May 28, 2024.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) begins its 2024 annual meeting at the cavernous and labyrinthine McCormick Place convention center in Chicago Friday, May 31. It’s one of the world’s largest cancer research conferences and can be daunting to follow.  More than 400 organizations will participate this year, with about 200 sessions ready to convene. The vast majority of the 5,000 abstracts that cover all aspects of cancer treatment have already been released, and they will be scrutinized by the more than 40,000 attendees from around the world.

The American Clinical Laboratory Association has followed through on its promise to file suit against the U.S. FDA over the agency’s final rule for lab-developed tests. The lawsuit will be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which is also the venue for litigation against another federal government agency, the Federal Trade Commission, suggesting that litigants expect a favorable review of their case in this court.

Merck & Co. Inc. is shelling out $1.3 billion in cash up front to acquire privately held Eyebiotech Ltd., gaining rights to the latter’s pivotal trial-ready diabetic macular edema drug and a pipeline of earlier-stage candidates targeting vision loss. An additional $1.7 billion could follow in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, raising the deal total to $3 billion.

The U.S. FDA’s reissued draft guidance for pre-submission activity addresses the circumstances in which a manufacturer’s questions can be handled informally, but industry has a few misgivings about the draft. One of these is that a preformatted template proposed by the FDA would limit the number of topics that can be handled in an informal manner, which the Advanced Medical Technology Association said might drive more utilization of formal pre-submission programs, an outcome that would thwart the intent of these informal interactions.

The U.S FDA approved Camaps FX for use in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes. This first, hybrid, closed-loop app was developed by Camdiab Ltd., a spinout from Cambridge University, allows individuals aged two years and older with type 1 diabetes to manage their glucose levels.

Insmed Inc.’s phase III study of brensocatib in treating noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis hit its primary and multiple secondary endpoints, impressing investors with statistically significant results. The positive data could lead to the first drug approval for the treating the deadly lung disease.