Today Stories

Handheld blood glucose management device designed around the specific needs of healthcare professionals working in a range of care settings First diagnostic solution at the point of care to serve as a digital platform connecting developers of digital health software and applications to healthcare professionals New system simplifies workflows and equips healthcare professionals with valuable clinical insights to deliver better patient care Basel, 12 January 2022 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced the launch of the cobas® pulse system in select countries accepting the CE Mark. The cobas® pulse system marks Roche Diagnostics’ newest generation of connected point of care solutions for professional blood glucose management. As an industry first, the cobas® pulse system combi…

The new company is focused on developing GP-2250, a novel cancer therapeutic with a unique mechanism of action BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panavance Therapeutics Inc. (“Panavance”) is a new clinical-stage pharmaceutical company created to advance and develop GP-2250, a patented, novel therapeutic for the treatment of cancer and other therapeutic indications. GP-2250 is a broadly active, tumor cell selective cancer therapeutic with a unique mechanism of action that, as demonstrated in preclinical research, suppresses cancer cells by disrupting their energy metabolism—bringing about cancer cell death. Panavance’s initial clinical focus is on pancreatic cancer, and the company is conducting preclinical studies to develop GP-2250 for the treatment of other cancers and therapeutic indications…

EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management committed to supporting Parexel’s Patients-First focus, track record of clinical excellence and dedication to quality Newly-appointed Board of Directors brings vast experience across life sciences, digital transformation and innovation to guide next phase of transformational journey EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management to back existing management team led by CEO Jamie Macdonald BOSTON and Durham, N.C. Nov. 15, 2021 — Parexel, a leading global clinical research organization (CRO) focused on development and delivery of innovative new therapies to advance patient health, today announced the completion of its acquisition by EQT IX fund (“EQT Private Equity”) and funds managed by the Private Equity business within Goldman…

Agreement Announced on the Australian Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange 14 December, 2021 Expands CSL’s leadership across an attractive portfolio focused on Renal Disease, and Iron Deficiency Complements CSL’s existing therapeutic focus areas including Hematology and Thrombosis, Cardiovascular-Metabolic, and Transplant, and high quality pipeline CSL’s global scale, R&D capabilities and resources augment the delivery of Vifor Pharma’s products to patients globally All-cash tender offer of US$179.25 per Vifor Pharma share, representing an aggregate equity value for Vifor Pharma of US$11.7 billion / A$16.4 billion1 Tender offer is unanimously recommended for acceptance by Vifor Pharma's Board of Directors Patinex AG, Vifor Pharma's largest shareholder holding 23% of Vifor Pharma’s sh…

Accelerates the company's vision for transforming healthcare and advancing patient care worldwide – from the hospital to the home Combination creates opportunities for innovation that should drive efficiencies across care settings and help improve care outcomes Complementary products and pipeline enable broader access to care globally Expected to generate high single-digit ROIC by year five and approximately $250 million of annual pre-tax cost synergies by the end of year three  Positions Baxter for anticipated faster top- and bottom-line growth DEERFIELD, Ill. - 2021-12-13 Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a global medtech leader, announced today it has completed its acquisition of Hillrom. Baxter paid $156.00 in cash for each outstanding share of Hillrom common sto…

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables a better understanding of genetic mechanisms linked to specific diseases and is helping drive personalised healthcare Preparing DNA for sequencing libraries is complex and prone to human error, which can interfere with accurate sequencing results The new AVENIO Edge System is a fully-automated solution for the sample preparation workflow, from DNA sample input to the output of sequencing-ready libraries, and supports more comprehensive testing with consistent and high quality results for precision medicine for the future Basel, 13 December 2021 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced the launch of the AVENIO Edge System, a core component of Roche’s strategy to advance sequencing technologies. Built on best-in-class foundational capabi…

First emergency use authorization in the United States for a COVID-19 vaccine booster in individuals 16 years and older NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany -- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include individuals 16 years of age and older. The booster dose is to be administered at least six months after completion of the primary series and is the same formulation and dosage strength as the doses in the primary series. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211209005841/en/ “Today’s decision by the FDA to further expand the Emergen…

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 8, 2021 -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPD), a leading global provider of clinical research services to the biopharma and biotech industry, for $17.4 billion. "We are very excited to officially welcome our PPD colleagues to Thermo Fisher Scientific," said Marc N. Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. "Expanding our value proposition for our biotech and pharmaceutical customers with the addition of PPD's leading clinical research services advances our work in bringing life-changing therapies to market, benefitting patients around the world."  As previously announced, the transaction is expected to…

Part of an ongoing investigation focused on how obesity and dysregulated metabolic hormones promote prostate cancer progression and metastasis Studies aim to quantify the ability of SynDevRx MetAP2 inhibitor evexomostat (SDX-7320) to control tumor growth of castration resistant prostate cancers CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--SynDevRx, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the development in treatments for obesity-accelerated cancers, today announced a research collaboration with Australia’s Queensland University of Technology. The collaboration with Professor Colleen Nelson, PhD, and her team will study the role of methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) inhibition in tumor growth in castration resistant and other treatment resistant forms of prostate cancer. Obesity and systemic metaboli…

Liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis, a systemic, progressive and fatal condition  AstraZeneca has entered into a new global development and commercialisation agreement with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Ionis) for eplontersen, formerly known as IONIS-TTR-LRX. Eplontersen is a ligand-conjugated antisense investigational medicine currently in Phase III clinical trials for amyloid transthyretin cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) and amyloid transthyretin polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN). It is designed to reduce the production of transthyretin (TTR protein) to treat both hereditary and non-hereditary forms of TTR amyloidosis (ATTR). The companies will jointly develop and commercialise eplontersen in the US, while AstraZeneca will develop…

The combination rapid antigen test quickly differentiates between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses A and B infections, with results ready in less than 30 minutes, allowing informed decisions on patient and pandemic management decisions Affordable and small, instrument-free testing kit enables convenient use for healthcare professionals at different point of care locations and in resource-limited settings The test works seamlessly with NAVIFY® Pass, Roche’s digital solution that allows individuals and healthcare professionals to immediately store, display, and share their COVID-19 test results and vaccine status through a unique data matrix Basel, 6 December 2021 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced its plans to launch the SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Rapid Antigen Test for pr…

Major new collaboration aims to deepen understanding of complex diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and increase drug discovery and development success rates New Institute to be based at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine GlaxoSmithKline plc and the University of Oxford today announced a major five-year collaboration to establish the Oxford-GSK Institute of Molecular and Computational Medicine. The new Institute, which will be based at the University of Oxford, aims to improve the success and speed of research and development of new medicines, building on insights from human genetics and using advanced technologies such as functional genomics and machine learning. Genetic evidence has already been shown to double success rates in clinical studies of new treatments, and th…

Having claimed 36.3 million lives so far, HIV continues to be a major global public health issue. Although significant progress has been made in recent decades, division, disparity, and disregard for human rights are just some of the failures that have allowed HIV to continue as a global health crisis. COVID-19 has further disrupted the services available to those living with HIV, making this progress even more challenging in recent years. In 2020, 680,000 people died from HIV-related causes, and 1.5 million people acquired HIV. At the end of 2020, there were an estimated 37.7 million people living with HIV, with two thirds of these living in the WHO African Region. The theme of World AIDS Day 2021 is “End inequalities. End AIDS,” aimed at highlighting the growing inequalities in access to…

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and FCNT LIMITED (Headquarters: Kanagawa, CEO: Katsumi Takada, “FCNT”) announced today that both companies have entered into a business alliance agreement aiming to support people living with dementia and to prevent dementia, through developing solutions for maintaining brain performance. Both companies will construct an ecosystem with the aim of supporting people living with and preventing dementia (“Dementia Ecosystem”), with integrating Eisai's wealth of experience and knowledge including drug creation and disease awareness activities as well as Eisai's solution measures such as digital technology, in the area of dementia, and FCNT’s products such as smartphones designed to offer outstanding usability for the elderly as we…

Company testing three existing COVID-19 vaccine booster candidates against the Omicron variant Company announcing a new variant-specific vaccine candidate against Omicron (mRNA-1273.529) CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Nov. 26, 2021-- Moderna, Inc., (Nasdaq: MRNA) a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced updates to its strategy to address SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, given the emergence of the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant. The recently described Omicron variant includes mutations seen in the Delta variant that are believed to increase transmissibility and mutations seen in the Beta and Delta variants that are believed to promote immune escape. The combination of mutations represents a significant potential risk to accelerate the waning of nat…

Divestments of UK oral liquid products streamlines the portfolio and furthers Essential Pharma’s international growth strategy  Acquired products are low volume, but essential medicines with geographic expansion potential  Egham, UK – 25 November 2021 – Essential Pharma, an international specialty pharma group focused on maintaining access to well-established, “at risk” products essential to patients across multiple therapeutic areas, announces the closing of two transactions with Rosemont Pharmaceuticals (“Rosemont”). Essential Pharma has completed the divestment of its oral liquid portfolio to Rosemont, a UK-based pharmaceutical company focused on manufacturing oral liquid products. Essential has separately acquired a series of attractive, niche products with geographic expansion poten…

Vaccine demonstrates protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, and across different variants Toronto ON, 24 November 2021 – The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced today that Health Canada has approved its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. This decision was based on scientific evidence, including initial data from the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE study that demonstrated the vaccine was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination. “We are delighted by Health Canada’s decision to approve the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine based on Phase 3 clinical data that proves the v…

KENILWORTH, N.J.-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Acceleron Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: XLRN). “This is an important and strategic opportunity for our company to continue growing our cardiovascular portfolio and pipeline, that builds on our long and proud legacy in cardiovascular disease and further bolsters our business development strategy,” said Rob Davis, chief executive officer and president, Merck. “Fueled by Acceleron’s groundbreaking research, we are excited to explore the opportunities and possibilities ahead to reach even more patients by addressing this critical health need.” Acceleron is focused on harnessing the power of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily of prote…

State-of-the-art R&D facility designed to foster collaboration across world-class science ecosystem Sustainable environmental engineering aligned to Company’s zero carbon future AstraZeneca will today, in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, formally unveil The Discovery Centre (DISC) in Cambridge, UK – a state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) facility designed to the world’s highest environmental standards and accommodating over 2,200 research scientists. The new £1bn facility will include the most advanced robotics, high-throughput screening and AI-driven technology. It will support AstraZeneca’s focus on specialised and precision medicines and foster the discovery and development of next generation therapeutics, including nucleotide-based, gen…

Acquisition enhances Pfizer’s Oncology portfolio with addition of next-generation, investigational immuno-therapeutics for hematological malignancies NEW YORK-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Trillium Therapeutics, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer. As Trillium becomes part of Pfizer, it brings an impressive portfolio that includes biologics that are designed to enhance the ability of patients’ innate immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells. Its two lead molecules, TTI-622 and TTI-621, block the signal-regulatory protein α (SIRPα)–CD47 axis, which is emerging as a key immune checkpoint in hematological malignancies. TTI-622 and TTI-621 are novel SIRPα-Fc fusi…