The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said in a recent report that Medicare spending in the U.S. is poised to nearly double to $1.9 trillion over the coming eight years, a figure that is likely to apply ever-increasing price pressures on makers of devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a generative AI model that was able to generate novel antibiotic structures from either chemical fragments or de novo, starting from ammonia, methane, water or no starting point at all. In a study that was published online in Cell, the team tested two dozen of more than 10 million structures that were proposed as potential antibiotics by the model.
Biopharma happenings, including deals and partnerships, and other news in brief: ARC, Dong A-ST, Enanta, Jazz, Mural, Pfizer, Redhill, Saniona, Xoma, Xtalpi.
The BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index (BBI) showed signs of recovery after hitting its lowest point of the year in late May, when it closed the month down 7.02%. While still negative overall, the index improved to -5.11% by the end of June and finished July down 3.57%. Similarly, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average bottomed out at the end of May but posted stronger rebounds, closing July up 3.49% and 3.73%, respectively.
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) launched a new industry-academia-research consortium to support the nation’s organoid industry, expected to grow in light of the U.S. FDA’s shift away from animal testing in the development of novel drugs.