As the most active biopharma acquirer of 2026, Eli Lilly and Co. offered to buy three vaccine companies for up to $3.8 billion combined, while it simultaneously released positive early clinical results of a gene editing medicine brought into the fold last year through its buyout of Verve Therapeutics Inc. Read More
Medtronic plc is strengthening its pain management portfolio with its $650 million move to buy SPR Therapeutics Inc. and bring the company’s peripheral nerve stimulation system for sustained pain relief into its neuromodulation offering. The deal marks Medtronic’s third tuck-in deal so far this year, following its $585 million purchase of Cathworks Ltd. and $550 million acquisition of Scientia Vascular Inc., and is also a sign of the momentum in M&A activity in the medtech sector with other players making strategic acquisitions. Read More
Less than two weeks after the outbreak was officially declared, animal studies of a newly designed vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus are now underway in the U.S. and U.K., and the Serum Institute of India is standing ready to manufacture the vaccine for clinical trials. If the animal tests are positive, the vaccine will be ready for clinical trials in two to three months. Read More
Upbeat phase II news lately from Spyre Therapeutics Inc. in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) perked not only the company’s stock but also wider interest in the buzzing space, where developers big and small are trying to tackle such chronic bedevilments as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). Read More
Australian researchers have identified a previously overlooked population of immune cells in the skin that physically restrain melanoma growth by engulfing live melanoma cells, and the discovery could reshape thinking around macrophage-targeted cancer therapies and innate immunity in oncology. Read More
What would normally be a routine meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee May 28 may be more carefully watched given the overall turmoil surrounding vaccines in the U.S. The only task before the adcom is to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine formula for the upcoming season. That conversation will include looking at the effectiveness of the four FDA-approved vaccines currently in use in the U.S. Read More
Acknowledging that the spread of the Andes virus and the resulting disease, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, “constitutes a credible risk of a future public health emergency,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy is issuing a declaration to provide liability protection for manufacturers, distributors and providers using favipiravir as a medical countermeasure (MCM) against the virus. Read More
Biopharma and med-tech companies raising money in public or private financings, including: Assembly, HCW, Jupiter, Nanobiotix, Nervgen, Synakis. Read More
Regulatory snapshots for biopharma and med tech, including global submissions and approvals, and other regulatory decisions and designations: Abbvie, Agios, Astellas, Astrazeneca, Boehringer, Daiichi, Gilead, Merck, Novo, Regeneron, Teva. Read More
