Today Stories

Acquisition includes IDRX-42, a highly selective KIT tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) designed to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) IDRX-42 offers potential to address all key KIT mutations in GIST that drive tumour growth and progression and improve tolerability, gaps in current therapies Acquisition adds to GSK’s growing portfolio in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers GSK to pay up to $1.15 billion GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and IDRx, Inc. (IDRx) today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which GSK will acquire IDRx, a Boston-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing precision therapeutics for the treatment of GIST. Under the agreement, GSK will pay $1 billion upfront, with potential for an additional $150 million success-based reg…

UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project aims to create a comprehensive map of disease-associated protein levels in the human body to advance biomarker discovery WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP) has selected its Olink® Explore Platform to support the world’s largest human proteomics study of its kind. UKB-PPP aims to analyze more than 5,400 proteins from 600,000 samples to fuel the discovery of new protein biomarkers that can be used to predict, diagnose and treat diseases. “Studies on the human proteome are having a profound impact on our customers’ fundamental understanding of disease and the advancement of life sciences research,” said Marc N. C…

Scope of collaboration originally signed in 2023 will significantly expand to enable the discovery and development of up to 20 novel drug programmes in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease Expanded collaboration includes near-term payments totalling up to 190 million US dollars, while Valo is eligible to receive milestone payments of approximately 4.6 billion dollars, plus R&D funding and potential royalty payments Bagsværd, Denmark and Lexington, Massachusetts, US, 8 January 2025 – Novo Nordisk A/S and Valo Health, Inc. today announced they have entered into an expanded agreement to discover and develop novel treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease based on Valo’s extensive human dataset and computation powered by artificial intelligence (…

Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence™ and Sutro Biopharma Inc. today announced that they successfully applied Sutro’s proprietary cell-free expression technology on a commercial scale to manufacture luveltamab tazevibulin (luvelta), Sutro’s Tubulin FRα-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designed to treat a broad range of patients with ovarian cancer and other FRα expressing cancers.  For the first time, the cross-functional teams were able to scale up Sutro’s cell-free protein synthesis platform from a small-scale Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production to a large-scale GMP production marking an industry milestone. All batches of luvelta manufactured in 4,500 L at Boehringer’s large-scale manufacturing facility in Vienna, Austria, met the product quality criteria required for the…

Portage, Michigan and Irvine, California, Jan. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Stryker (NYSE: SYK), a global leader in medical technologies, announced today a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Inari Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: NARI) for $80 per share in cash, representing a total fully diluted equity value of approximately $4.9 billion. Inari, which was founded in 2011, will bring a leading peripheral vascular position in the fast-growing segment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) to Stryker. Inari’s innovative product portfolio is highly complementary to Stryker’s Neurovascular business and includes mechanical thrombectomy solutions for peripheral vascular diseases such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Each year, VTE impacts u…

Waves of human migration across Europe during the first millennium AD have been revealed using a more precise method of analysing ancestry with ancient DNA, in research led by the Francis Crick Institute. Researchers can bring together a picture of how people moved across the world by looking at changes in their DNA, but this becomes a lot harder when historical groups of people are genetically very similar.  In research published today in Nature, researchers report a new data analysis method called Twigstats1, which allows the differences between genetically similar groups to be measured more precisely, revealing previously unknown details of migrations in Europe. They applied the new method to over 1500 European genomes (a person’s complete set of DNA) from people who lived primarily dur…

Financing led by OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, and Samsara BioCapital, with additional investment from founding investor Medicxi Strengthens its leadership team with the appointments of industry veterans Rick Anderson as SVP Finance, Spencer Fisk as Chief Technical and Quality Officer, and Ling Zeng as General Counsel and EVP of Execution IND-enabling studies underway for first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody [19 December 2024]: [London, UK/ Boston, US]: Ottimo Pharma (“Ottimo”), a private biotech company pioneering bifunctional medicines to extend the lives of people living with cancer, today announces the completion of a Series A financing round of over $140 million. The financing will accelerate the lead asset, Jankistomig, a first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody for mul…

Bagsværd, Denmark, 18 December 2024 — Today, Novo Nordisk completed its acquisition of three manufacturing sites from Novo Holdings A/S. The completion follows the finalisation of Novo Holdings’ acquisition of Catalent, Inc. (Catalent), a global contract development and manufacturing organisation headquartered in New Jersey (US). The agreement to acquire the three manufacturing sites was announced on 5 February 2024. For further information, please see the company announcement here. “We are very pleased with the completion of the acquisition. The three sites will expand our manufacturing capacity at scale and speed, while complementing our ongoing significant internal supply chain expansions. The acquisition will enable us to reach significantly more people living with serious chronic dise…

Abbott's investigational AVEIR™ Conduction System Pacing (CSP) leadless pacemaker system is specifically designed to deliver pacing to the left bundle branch area, activating the heart's natural conduction system The device has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Device Designation, which expedites the review of innovative technologies By creating a new pacing approach for the left bundle branch area of the heart, Abbott continues to pursue technologies to revolutionize care for people with slow or irregular heart rhythms ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Dec. 17, 2024 ­­­/PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced the successful completion of the world's first in-human leadless left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) procedures using the company's investigational AVEIR™…

Bruce Cozadd, Co-Founder, Chairperson and CEO, Plans to Retire as CEO Upon Appointment of Successor by the End of 2025; Will Continue as Chair of the Board Mr. Cozadd Has Led Growth of Company from Founding to $4 Billion+ in 2024 Expected Total Revenue Board Will Lead Comprehensive Internal and External Search for New CEO; Intended to be Completed in 2025 DUBLIN, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) today announced that Bruce Cozadd, Co-Founder, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has informed the Board of Directors of his intent to retire from his role as CEO upon appointment of the Company's next leader, expected by the end of 2025. The Board will commence a formal search process to identify a new CEO, which is anticipated to conclude within…

Bagsværd, Denmark, 16 December 2024 – Today, Novo Nordisk announced plans to invest 8.5 billion Danish kroner to establish a completely new production facility in Odense, Denmark. The investment marks the first time in this century that Novo Nordisk breaks ground in Denmark by establishing a new production site.   The new site will feature a state-of-the-art finished production facility and warehouse spanning over 40,000 m2. Designed to be modular and flexible, it will accommodate multiple product types within rare disease, such as haemophilia, both now and in the future.    "The facility will utilise advanced technology and innovative equipment to ensure the highest quality to patients and meet the growing global demand for our life-changing medicines,” says Henrik Wulff, executive vice p…

LEIDEN, Netherlands & CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProQR Therapeutics NV. (Nasdaq: PRQR) (ProQR), a company dedicated to changing lives through transformative RNA therapies based on its proprietary Axiomer™ RNA editing technology platform, today announced an expansion of its collaboration with the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT). Building on the initial $1 million research grant announced in January 2024, the expanded partnership includes an additional $8.1 million in funding from the RSRT, for a total of $9.1 million. The funding will support the advancement of AX-2402 into clinical trials. Rett Syndrome, a rare and devastating neurodevelopmental disorder, affects approximately 350,000 people worldwide, predominantly girls. With no current cures and limited…

Acquisition adds potential best-in-class disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease, ALIA-1758, and novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to strengthen neuroscience pipeline and R&D capabilities NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Aliada Therapeutics. With the completion of the acquisition, Aliada is now a part of AbbVie. Aliada's lead investigational asset is ALIA-1758, an anti-pyroglutamate amyloid beta (3pE-Aβ) antibody, which is in development for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease and is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. ALIA-1758 utilizes a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology that enhances delivery of targeted drugs into the centr…

Fresenius, via its operating company Fresenius Kabi, and Ori Biotech, a leader in cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing technology, have entered an agreement to provide the integration of the IRO® platform with Fresenius Kabi’s upstream and downstream processing technologies. The successful integration of these leading technology platforms provides a streamlined, closed workflow for cell therapy manufacturing that can reduce process steps, tube- and bag-based transfers, and operator touch time. This collaboration underscores Ori Biotech and Fresenius Kabi’s shared commitment to driving innovation and developing widespread patient access to life-saving cell and gene therapies. All to help bring cell and gene therapies to market faster and more efficiently, in line with #FutureFresenius.…

CLOSE Nearly 20,000 Big Ten students, alumni and fans across the country donated blood as part of the Abbott-Big Ten nationwide competition this college football season, helping save as many as 60,000 lives Nebraska's win was announced at the Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game where the university received $1 million from global healthcare company Abbott to advance student and community health The competition, which will be back next fall, aims to help combat the greatest need for blood in a generation, while also helping create new lifelong blood donors ABBOTT PARK, Ill., and INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This college football season, Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and the Big Ten put fandom and the hearts of Big Ten communities to the test with their inaugural blood…

Scientists from The University of Manchester have developed a pioneering process using engineered bacteria to transform complex mixed waste into sustainable biopolymers including human therapeutics such as insulin, and bioplastics. A new study from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology describes a novel biological method to convert mixed municipal waste-like fractions – including food scraps, plastics, and textiles – into valuable bio-products. This new approach could significantly reduce waste sent to landfills and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Led by Dr Neil Dixon, the team utilised the bacterium Pseudomonas putida, renowned for its resilience and adaptability, to process complex waste streams into bioplastics and even therapeutic proteins. This research offers a promising pathway to…

The investment will benefit millions of patients worldwide, boosting the production of the company's medicines, including those for diabetes and obesity  INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced a $3 billion expansion of the Kenosha County, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility that the company acquired earlier this year. This investment will extend the company's global parenteral (injectable) product manufacturing network, helping to meet the growing demand for its diabetes, obesity and future pipeline medicines across therapeutic areas. Lilly expects to add 750 highly skilled jobs to the current 100-plus workforce at this location. The company plans to start construction on the expansion next year. This represents another step in Lilly's hi…

The Hive is aimed at advancing research in life sciences by a novel approach to collaboration - creating an open innovation hub designed to build  close relationships between biotech companies, start-ups, academics, and Almirall scientists The network will be enlarged with the arrival of Admit Therapeutics and Microomics, in addition to the current members of the hub ZeClinics and Centrient Pharmaceuticals   This novel approach to pushing the boundaries of science and innovation in the year of Almirall’s 80th anniversary is part of the company’ s innovation strategy, long-term vision, commitment to patients, and the advancement of healthcare BARCELONA, Spain. December 4th, 2024 – Almirall, a global pharmaceutical company dedicated to medical dermatology, today announced the launch of “Th…

Agreement provides significant, non-dilutive capital to Novavax, further enabling the Company to advance its corporate growth strategy of driving value from its pipeline assets and proven technology platform Provides Novavax with $190 million cash payment in 2024 and additional $10 million in 2025, and annual operating cost reductions of approximately $80 million GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a global company advancing protein-based vaccines with its Matrix-M™ adjuvant, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its manufacturing facility in Bohumil, Czech Republic to Novo Nordisk for $200 million. The agreement includes a transfer of assets, including a 150,000-square foot state-of-the-art recombinant protein manufac…

A new total-body PET scanner that is quicker for the patient and produces higher quality images for faster and earlier diagnosis and  treatment of illnesses like cancer and heart conditions, was unveiled by Ministers in London yesterday (Wednesday 27 November). The new scanner, one of three becoming operational in the UK, is up to 40 times more sensitive and up to 10 times faster than existing machines, meaning quicker diagnoses and a more detailed reading of the patient's whole body. It will also give researchers unparalleled insights into human biology that ultimately leads to better healthcare. The first of several patients to use the new total body PET scanner at St Thomas’ Hospital in the past month was Sarah Corfield, who has stage 4 melanoma and has been receiving regular PET scans…