Laekna Inc. outlicensed select rights to LAE-002 (afuresertib), an oral pan-AKT kinase inhibitor licensed from Novartis AG in 2018, to Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. under a potential ¥2.045 billion (US$287.23 million) deal.
Recent progress in redressing the historical underfunding and neglect of women’s health could be undermined by the backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to executives participating in the FT Global Pharma and Biotech Summit 2025 in London Nov. 11-12.
The U.S. FDA is turning the clock back more than 20 years to advance women’s health by narrowing the boxed warning on hormone replacement therapies (HRTs) for menopause. The agency announced at a Nov. 10 news conference that it’s working with companies to update their HRT labeling to remove references to risks of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia.
Blocking progesterone receptor (PR) activity has long been viewed as a possible approach to breast cancer prevention. Historically, most supporting evidence came from animal models, epidemiological studies or mechanistic pathway analyses. Now, a team at the University of Manchester has uncovered direct mechanistic and clinical evidence that PR antagonists can reprogram the breast tissue microenvironment, suggesting a novel avenue for reducing breast cancer risk in women.
Sparrow Acoustics Inc., dba Sparrow Bioacoustics Inc., closed a C$10 million (US$7.15 million) financing round to support continued adoption of its U.S. FDA-cleared Stethophone platform, which allows bioacoustics detection of structural and rhythmic heart anomalies directly through a smartphone. Sparrow is a Software as a Medical Device and the first medically cleared product that uses smartphones to capture and decipher cardiac sounds.
Medline Inc. filed a public S1 with the SEC Oct. 28, moving the IPO first signaled in December 2024 closer to reality. The Northfield, Ill.-based medical supply distributor did not disclose the number of shares to be offered or their price, but Renaissance Capital expects the IPO to raise about $5 billion, which would make it the largest in any industry this year and one of the largest ever in med tech. Billiontoone Inc. also advanced its IPO, as it began the road show for its public debut in early November.
In the largest med-tech M&A deal in nearly three years, Hologic Inc. agreed to be acquired by funds led by Blackstone and TPG in a transaction valued at $18.3 billion. After five months of rumored negotiations, the outlined deal provides Hologic shareholders with $76 per share in cash plus up to $3 per share in contingent value rights (CVR) to be paid on achievement of revenue goals for the breast health business over the next two years.
Oura Health Oy raised more than $900 million in a series E funding round to fuel global expansion of its popular smart ring and development of new health technologies. The new infusion brings the company’s total funds raised to date to $1.5 billion and implies a corporate valuation of about $11 billion, Oura said.
Abbott Laboratories made plans to enter the cancer screening market with its reported acquisition of Exact Sciences Corp. The deal will pay Exact Sciences shareholders $105 per share in cash, a nearly 50% premium to Exact’s unaffected share price on Nov. 19. That represents a total equity value of approximately $21 billion and an estimated enterprise value of $23 billion.
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