Deals:
Medincell and AbbVie announced a collaboration deal worth up to nearly $2 billion to co-develop and commercialize as many as six injectable therapies.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals signed a strategic and exclusive collaboration with Kumquat Biosciences that includes $130 million in near-term payments and more than $1.2 billion in milestone payments.
PharmAlliance bought Complete Health Economics Outcomes Research Solutions (CHEORS).
U.K.-based biotech Adaptimmune Therapeutics announced the termination of a multi-year strategic collaboration it struck with Roche‘s Genentech in 2021.
CureVac and MD Anderson entered into a strategic collaboration to develop novel cancer vaccines.
Essential Pharma completed the acquisition of Reminyl oral capsules from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV.
FDA:
The FDA granted a breakthrough device designation to Roche’s Elecsys pTau217 plasma biomarker assay.
The agency placed a clinical hold on a Phase 1 study for one of Neumora Therapeutics’ early-stage assets in schizophrenia
The FDA granted Orphan Drug Status to NovelMed Therapeutics’ anti-properdin antibody for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Layoffs:
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies may lay off as many as 240 staffers.
Microbiome biotech Vedanta is cutting about 24 jobs.
Funding rounds:
Regeneron Ventures launched with $500 million in funding over its first five years from its exclusive limited partner Regeneron.
Cullinan Therapeutics announced an oversubscribed $280 million private placement.
Asher Bio closed a $55 million Series C financing effort.
Dot Compliance raised $17.5 million in Series B extension funding.
Women-led startup Ilant Health extended its seed funding round from $3 million to $5.5 million.
Isospec Analytics raised $1.9 million in a pre-seed funding round.
Clarified Precision Medicine raised $1.2 million in seed funding.
Industry news:
An injection of Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug tirzepatide significantly reduced instances of sleep apnea compared to a placebo, according to results from a Phase 3 trial.
Intra-Cellular Therapies reported positive results from a late-stage clinical trial seeking to expand the use of its antipsychotic medicine.
The fusion of agency and consultancy Healthware into global agency network Eversana Intouch is complete, parent company Eversana announced.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is investigating reports of nearly 20 women who became sick after receiving botched Botox shots in non-healthcare settings. The Food and Drug Administration also sent out a warning about fake versions of AbbVie’s treatment.
Abbott’s strong medical devices sales boosted the company during the first part of 2024, beating Wall Street expectations and raising its forward-looking financial guidance.
Sage Therapeutics halted development of its experimental drug to treat Parkinson’s disease after it failed a mid-stage study.
M3 EU launched M3 Production, a specialist pharmaceutical production service.
Johnson & Johnson saw its sales grow 2.3% to $21.4 billion during Q1 2024.
Roche said Columvi helped lymphoma patients who had received at least one prior treatment live longer in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
Omnicom Group’s PR firms posted an organic revenue decrease of 1.1% in Q1 to $390.3 million.
An extortion group published a portion of the millions of stolen patient data from the Change Healthcare ransomware attack in February.
A combination of AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi and chemotherapy displayed long-term survival benefits in advanced biliary tract cancer, reducing death risk by 26%, according to a late-stage study.
Next Practices Group firms 104 West and Ringer Sciences have created a tool that gathers intelligence from hundreds of communities where technology leaders discuss ideas and trends.
Charles River Laboratories launched its Alternative Methods Advancement Project as part of a $500 million initiative.
Peloton removed its unlimited free-membership tier on its fitness app.
GSK unveiled long-term data that showed its blockbuster shingles vaccine, Shingrix, had 79.7% efficacy in participants over the age of 50 years after vaccination.
Telehealth company Cerebral will limit the consumer health data it uses for advertising as part of an order handed down by the Federal Trade Commission.
Marinus Pharmaceuticals said its experimental treatment for refractory status epilepticus failed to meet early stopping criteria for a Phase 3 trial.
Global sales training company RAIN Group launched a free sales skills self-assessment for medical sales representatives.
Healthcare lobbying group Cura Strategies launched Advocacy Accelerator.
The Coalition for Healthcare Communications named Compliancy Group as a preferred partner for HIPAA compliance.
