Today Stories

– $6 Million USD in Funding Will Help Address Health Disparities Among Indigenous Communities with a Focus on HIV and Viral Hepatitis – FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced its largest commitment to health equity for Australian and Canadian Indigenous communities. The initiative will support programs addressing societal barriers to care that persistently contribute to the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis within Indigenous communities. Gilead is in discussions with two Indigenous-led organizations, the Lowitja Institute in Australia and CAAN Communities, Alliances & Networks in Canada, to create the new $6 million USD grant program, with funding divided equally between the two countries and invested over three years. The gra…

– Funding Will Support the Re-Engagement of Diagnosed but Untreated People Living with HCV and HBV in the United States into Care – FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced it is providing a total of $8 million in funding through a new grant program in the United States called Gilead Relink, which is focused on bringing diagnosed but untreated people living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) back into care. The CDA Foundation (CDAF), based in Lafayette, Colorado, will act as the lead organization for the program and be responsible for implementing and overseeing Gilead Relink, including distributing funds to grantees identified by CDAF that meet certain criteria, integral strategic planning and technical assistance. …

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is an immuno-modulator with broadband anti-inflammatory and antiviral therapeutic effects AATec Medical is developing recombinant AAT initially for respiratory applications in combination with novel inhalation technology Clinical studies are expected to start in first half of 2024 Financing is supported by private investors, industry experts and family offices Company is led by experienced team of sector specialists Munich, Germany – 17 July 2023 – AATec Medical GmbH (AATec), a German biotech company developing a multi-product platform based on recombinant alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), today announced that it has commenced operations with seed financing of EUR 2.7 million from private investors, industry experts and family offices. The funds will be used to scale u…

Donanemab significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline for amyloid-positive early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease patients, lowering their risk of disease progression; nearly half of participants at earlier stage of disease on donanemab had no clinical progression at 1 year Additional subpopulation analyses presented live showed that those study participants at earliest stage of disease had even greater benefit, with 60% slowing of decline compared to placebo Furthermore, treatment effect continued to increase relative to placebo over the course of the trial, even though many participants completed their course of therapy at 6 or 12 months, supporting limited duration dosing FDA submission completed in Q2; regulatory action expected by end of year INDIANAPOLIS, July 17, 2023 /PR…

INDIANAPOLIS and NEW YORK, July 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Versanis Bio today announced a definitive agreement for Lilly to acquire Versanis, a private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new medicines for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. Versanis' lead asset is bimagrumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds activin type II A and B receptors to block activin and myostatin signaling. Bimagrumab is currently being assessed in the BELIEVE Phase 2b study alone and in combination with semaglutide in adults who are overweight or obese. Combining incretins with bimagrumab has the potential to further reduce fat mass while preserving muscle mass and may lead to better outcomes for people living with obesity and obesity-…

Supporting You with UC Provides Patients with Resources to Help Manage Their UC and Tips on Ways to Communicate with Their Doctor PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has launched Supporting You with UC, an ulcerative colitis (UC) educational campaign with patient ambassador* Rosie White. The Supporting You with UC website includes White’s personal UC diagnosis and treatment journey, along with a collection of practical resources for people living with the disease to help manage symptoms on the go and in their everyday lives. There are approximately 600,000 to 900,000 people in the United States living with UC — a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).1,2,3 UC presents as a range of symptoms that can be unique to each patient, hard to pr…

Agreement Will Expand Access to Labcorp's Diagnostics Capabilities and Improve Services BURLINGTON, N.C., July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Legacy Health to acquire select assets of its outreach laboratory business, including laboratory facilities and equipment. Labcorp will also manage Legacy's inpatient hospital laboratories through a long-term agreement to provide staffing, leadership, scientific knowledge, analytics, supply chain services and laboratory support. Legacy will maintain ownership and licensure of its hospital laboratories as well as retain ownership of its central lab building at Holladay Park in Northeast Portland.  Legacy is a si…

EVOTEC AND BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB ENTER EXCLUSIVE GLOBAL LICENCE AGREEMENT FOR SELECTED PROGRAMMES DEVELOPED AND PROGRESSED IN THE COLLABORATION SELECTED PROGRAMMES FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE PROGRAMME PIPELINE OF NEURODEGENERATION ASSETS EVOTEC RECEIVES $ 40 M PAYMENT AND IS ELIGIBLE TO EARN PERFORMANCE MILESTONE PAYMENTS, AS WELL AS TIERED ROYALTIES UP TO LOW DOUBLE-DIGIT PERCENTAGES ON PRODUCT SALES Hamburg, Germany, 11 July 2023:Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) today announced that Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) has exercised its option to enter into an exclusive global licence agreement. The licence covers selected late-stage discovery programmes that were developed and progressed within the collaboration.Evotec and Bristol M…

Authorisation will help protect adults 60 years of age and older in the UK from RSV disease for the first time In the UK, RSV leads to an estimated 14,000 hospitalisations and an estimated 8,000 deaths in adults 60 years of age and older each year The authorisation is based on phase III efficacy data in older adults GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Arexvy (respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, adjuvanted) for active immunisation for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in adults 60 years of age and older. This is the first time an RSV vaccine for older adults has been authorised for use in Great Britain by the MHRA. Neale Belson, Senior…

Advances World-Class Clinical Research Capabilities with Leading Regulatory-Grade Registries Platform Expected to Be Immediately Accretive to Adjusted Earnings Per Share 1 WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) (“Thermo Fisher”), the world leader in serving science, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CorEvitas, LLC (“CorEvitas”), a leading provider of regulatory-grade, real-world evidence for approved medical treatments and therapies, from Audax Private Equity (“Audax”), for $912.5 million in cash. Real-world evidence is the collection and use of patient health outcomes data gathered through routine clinical care. This is a high growth market segment as pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers, as well as regulatin…

Abbott's breakthrough technology enables the world's first beat-to-beat, wireless communication and synchronization between two leadless pacemakers, which are smaller than a AAA battery Leadless pacemakers provide a new minimally invasive option that will revolutionize care for more people in the U.S. who need pacing to treat a variety of slow or abnormal heart rhythms Approval comes on the heels of recent late-breaking clinical trial data showing that the AVEIR™ DR leadless pacemaker system is safe and effective at treating abnormal heart rhythms ABBOTT PARK, Ill., July 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the AVEIR™ dual chamber (DR) leadless pacemaker system, the world's first dual chamber leadless pac…

-Nearly 300 children with cystic fibrosis and two copies of the F508del mutation are now eligible for the first time for a medicine that can treat the underlying cause of their disease- LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 5, 2023-- Vertex Pharmaceuticals today announced that the European Commission has granted approval for the label extension of ORKAMBI® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) for the treatment of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages 1 to <2 years old who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, the most common form of the disease. “This approval will offer some of the youngest children with cystic fibrosis the chance of improved outcomes, by treating their disease at a young age,” said Carmen Bozic, M.D., Executive Vic…

BURLINGTON, N.C., July 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced that it has completed the spin-off of Fortrea, the newly formed independent Contract Research Organization providing Phase I-IV clinical trial management, patient access and technology solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations around the world. Fortrea will begin trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol "FTRE" effective at the market opening today. "I want to thank our teams for their tireless work in creating two strong, independent companies through the Fortrea spin," said Adam Schechter, chairman and chief executive officer. "The transaction is intended to better meet customer needs, enable appropriate value-…

First Phase III results for AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugate demonstrated statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival vs. standard chemotherapy in previously treated locally advanced or metastatic disease Trial will continue to assess the dual primary endpoint of overall survival  Positive high-level results from the TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial showed datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement for the dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to docetaxel, the current standard of care chemotherapy, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with at least one prior therapy. For the dual primary endpoint o…

GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX/NASDAQ: BLU) today announced GSK has completed the acquisition of BELLUS, a biopharmaceutical company working to better the lives of patients suffering from refractory chronic cough (RCC), by way of a plan of arrangement in accordance with Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “Arrangement”). The Arrangement was approved by BELLUS’ shareholders on 16 June 2023. As previously announced, the acquisition of BELLUS includes camlipixant, a potential best-in-class and highly selective P2X3 antagonist currently in phase III development for the first-line treatment of adult patients with RCC. In connection with the closing of the Arrangement, BELLUS also announced the cancellation of its annual shareholder meeting, which was sc…

Expansion of AZ Forest programme raises commitment to plant 200 million trees across six continents by 2030 New reforestation projects in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Ghana and Rwanda in addition to existing projects including in Australia and Indonesia AstraZeneca has announced a $400 million investment in its global AZ Forest programme, raising its commitment to plant 200 million trees by 2030 and ensure their long-term survival. This includes new or expanded projects in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Ghana and Rwanda that will contribute to the Company’s climate action, restore nature, promote biodiversity and build ecological and community resilience, spanning over 100,000 hectares worldwide. The investment builds on AstraZeneca’s initial AZ Forest commitment, announced in 2020, to plant and mai…

- Following positive Phase 1/2 results in Vertex’s VX-880 program, Vertex and Lonza announce strategic manufacturing collaboration - - Dedicated large-scale facility will support commercial production of Vertex’s T1D cell therapy portfolio - - Approximately 300 new jobs anticipated at Lonza Portsmouth, New Hampshire Site - BOSTON & BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 26, 2023-- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) and Lonza (SIX: LONN) today announced a strategic collaboration to support the manufacture of Vertex’s portfolio of investigational stem cell-derived, fully differentiated insulin-producing islet cell therapies for people with T1D, currently focusing on the VX-880 and VX-264 programs that are currently in clinical trials. Vertex’s first clinical program, V…

Innovations created by the 24 semi-finalists include an app that helps people living with dementia communicate, high-tech facial recognition glasses to identify familiar faces, and an augmented reality map to help people safely find their way around their area. Semi-finalists will each receive £80k grants as part of the overall £4m Longitude Prize on Dementia driving the co-creation of personalised technologies to help people living with dementia enjoy independent and fulfilled lives. The Longitude Prize on Dementia is funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works. 20 June 2023 - An app that repairs “broken” speech, high-tech glasses that can help those with dementia recognise others, and a “Yellow Brick Road” map to help people navigate their community a…

Acquisition delivers industry-leading research capability, and strengthens pipeline with a novel candidate for ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and other autoimmune conditions RAHWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$MRK #MRK--Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced the completion of the Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. (“Prometheus”) (NASDAQ: RXDX) acquisition. Prometheus is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck and the common stock of Prometheus will no longer be listed or traded on the Nasdaq Global Market. “The Prometheus acquisition accelerates our growing presence in immunology, augments our diverse pipeline and increases our ability to deliver patient value. This transaction is another example of Merck acting strategically and decisively when…

Vaxxas opens 5,500 square meter (60,000 square feet) state-of-the-art biomedical manufacturing facility in Brisbane, Queensland, which will support the production of millions of Vaxxas’ high-density microarray patches (HD-MAPs) per year for future late-stage clinical trials and first commercial vaccine products. Funded by the Queensland Government and Vaxxas, the facility showcases world-class and first-of-a-kind biomedical manufacturing capabilities. The facility contains two independent Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), qualified aseptic cleanrooms, a medical device manufacturing space, a device assembly cleanroom, and supporting infrastructure including laboratories and office space. The facility is Vaxxas’ new global headquarters and home to 130 employees including highly-skilled an…