The disjointed health care system that patients face today blocks a significant proportion of them from accessing life-changing, innovative drugs, prompting many in the biopharma industry to explore more direct-to-consumer (DTC) pathways. During Pharma USA, a Reuters Events meeting held in Philadelphia March 16-17, executives from Eli Lilly and Co., Roche Holding AG’s Genentech unit, Amgen Inc. and consulting firm ZS Associates, among others, offered glimpses into a future where R&D is no longer enough. Read More
Enodia Therapeutics Inc. was spun out of The Institut Pasteur by Argobio Studio based on the work of Caroline Demangel, co-founder of Enodia and head of the immunobiology and therapy unit at The Institut Pasteur. Demangel’s lab discovered the mechanism of action of mycolactone, a natural Sec61 inhibitor that causes Buruli ulcers. Read More
Boston Scientific Corp.’s Rezūm Water Vapor Therapy is superior at providing symptom relief for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) than combination drug therapy, according to 12-month data from the Vapeur clinical trial. Patients treated with Rezūm, a minimally invasive therapy, also saw a better preservation of their sexual function. Read More
Amplifon SpA signed a definitive agreement with GN Store Nord A/S to acquire its entire hearing business for €2.3 billion (US$2.64 billion) on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The move by Amplifon will see it become a fully vertically integrated global player poised to transform the hearing care industry. Read More
G2gbio Inc. secured a ₩20 billion (US$13.35 million) investment from Samsung Epis Holdings Co. Ltd. and a joint research and license agreement for two assets, including a long-acting obesity treatment, with subsidiary Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. March 16. Read More
Multi-modality platform company Kanaph Therapeutics Inc. raised ₩40 billion (US$26.7 million) through its Kosdaq stock sale March 16, becoming the first Korean biotech to go public this year. The Seoul-based company’s shares (KOSDAQ:0082N0) climbed to ₩70,000 in intraday trading before closing at ₩50,600 – 153% higher than the offering price. Read More
Entering a cell and watching its entire inner machinery at work, how DNA is copied, how proteins are assembled, or how it splits in two, has been, for decades, an impossible dream. Now, scientists at the University of Illinois have recreated everything that happens inside a cell at molecular scale in an unprecedented computational model. Syn3A is the first 4D digital cell, capable of combining time and space to simultaneously represent all the internal processes that drive the life cycle of a minimal prokaryotic organism. Read More
Shares of Cytomx Therapeutics Inc. hit a new 52-week high as the company unveiled preliminary data from an ongoing phase I study of varsetatug masetecan (Varseta-M) in late-line metastatic colorectal cancer.
Biopharma and med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, and other news in brief: AMC Robotics, Aptar, Firefly, Geovax, Hive Digital, Inovio, Insulet, Intuitive Surgical, Koelis, Oncopeptides, Pfizer, Prism, Receptor.AI, Vistagen. Read More
Regulatory snapshots for biopharma and med tech, including global submissions and approvals, and other regulatory decisions and designations: Aminex, GSK, Mineralys. Read More