New hires:
Emergent BioSolutions named former Bausch + Lomb CEO Joseph Papa to the top spot.
WE Communications tapped Arun Divakaruni, PhD, as head of North America Scientific engagement.
RevHealth named Marcia Goddard as chief creative officer.
Molecular diagnostics company BillionToOne hired Ross Taylor as CFO.
Outcast named Julie Inouye as president.
XP Health added Cynthia Spitalny as its chief marketing officer.
Executive elevations:
PhRMA announced Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day as its next board chair, replacing Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan.
Finn Partners, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, named Nate West a partner in its Nashville office.
Greater Than One promoted Jason Valdez to chief operating officer.
Peregrine Market Access promoted four employees to leadership positions.
Board appointments:
GSK announced that CFO Julie Brown has been appointed as a non-executive director of Diageo, effective August 5.
Sanofi’s board of directors proposed the appointment of Clotilde Delbos, Anne-Françoise Nesmes and John Sundy as independent directors.
Departures:
Phil Pang left his post as chief medical officer of Vir Biotechnology.
Chief brand officer and chief equity, diversity and inclusion officer Aline Santos is planning to leave Unilever.
FDA:
The agency granted priority review to Merck for Keytruda plus chemotherapy for treating primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma.
The agency issued a warning about the risks of using smartwatches and smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin.
The agency approved Genentech and Novartis’ Xolair to reduce severe allergic reactions across multiple food allergies.
United Therapeutics commenced with litigation against the FDA, alleging the agency mistakenly permitted Liquidia to “skirt longstanding FDA rules, precedents, and procedures” on how pending drug approval applications are handled.
The agency placed a hold on two mid-stage trials of Rapt Therapeutics’ drug to treat eczema and asthma after liver failure was observed in one of the patients.
The agency approved a Biologics License Application from Iovance Biotherapeutics for Amtagvi (lifileucel) suspension for intravenous infusion.
The agency greenlit Johnson & Johnson’s supplemental BLA for its anti-BCMA antibody Tecvayli (teclistamab-cqyv).
The agency warned that an increasing number of medical device companies are submitting fabricated and unreliable data.
The agency accepted a BLA from AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo for datopotamab deruxtecan in treating patients with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer who have received prior systemic therapy.
Layoffs:
Sonata Therapeutics laid off about one-third of its staff.
Ring Therapeutics laid off just under 20% of its staff.
Deals:
Astellas Pharma inked a potential $800 million deal with Kelonia Therapeutics for in vivo gene delivery technology.
AbbVie announced a $64 million collaboration with Tentarix Biotherapeutics to use its Tentacles platform for developing conditionally active, multi-specific biologic candidates in oncology and immunology.
Healthcare market research firm Apollo Intelligence acquired GlocalMind, a healthcare market research and physician/KOL panel company.
DarioHealth acquired digital mental health company Twill for $20 million.
Funding rounds:
Ocular Therapeutix announced a $325 million private placement.
ORI Capital raised a $260 million life sciences fund to support early-stage biotechs.
Abridge announced a $150 million Series C round, marking one of the largest AI deals in healthcare.
Reprieve Cardiovascular emerged from stealth with a $42 million Series A financing round.
French AI startup Bioptimus launched with $35 million in seed funding.
Athos Therapeutics raised $35 million in a Series B financing round.
Ocular Therapeutics announced a $325 million private placement as well as a shakeup of its senior leadership team.
Biotech startup Insamo raised a $12 million seed round.
Industry news:
Hy-Vee tapped Ogilvy as its agency partner for its health brands, which include RedBox Rx, Vivid Clear Rx and Amber Specialty Pharmacy.
Moderna posted a surprise quarterly profit as the company continues to pivot from its COVID-19 vaccine success to developing treatments in other disease states.
Gilead Sciences suspended patient enrollment in its clinical trials studying the investigational anti-CD47 antibody magrolimab in solid tumors.
Bayer announced plans to slash its investor dividends to reduce the company’s debt by 95%.
Vaseline unveiled its Mended Murals effort, in which the company commissioned artists to restore murals in four cities across the country.
Sanofi’s planned consumer health unit has reportedly attracted interest from private equity firms like Advent International, Blackstone, Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners, EQT AB and KKR.
Bavarian Nordic discontinued its cancer vaccine program.
Daytime talk show legend Wendy Williams was diagnosed with dementia and aphasia.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported strong financial results for Q4 2023, with revenues exceeding expectations.
A recent study found COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca were linked to rare occurrences of heart, brain and blood disorders, though public health experts cautioned that the risks of getting infected outweigh the risks of getting vaccinated.
The Foo Fighters announced they will perform a private, one-night only concert in Washington, D.C. to support the nonprofit Power to the Patients and their push for greater healthcare transparency.
Novavax agreed to refund up to $400 million to Gavi, the international organization that purchased COVID-19 shots as part of a global vaccination program, but found itself with vaccines that were no longer needed.
Intellia Therapeutics reported a net loss of $132.2 million in Q4 2023.
ViiV Healthcare’s Cabenuva (cabotegravir plus rilpivirine) performed better as an HIV drug than an oral daily antiretroviral for patients who struggle with maintaining their medication schedule, data from a Phase 3 trial found.
Digital Health Networks announced the second annual Cinehealth International Film and Video Festival.
Theratechnologies’ full-year revenue inched up 2.1% to $81.8 million.
Inventiva paused screening and entering patients in its Phase 3 NASH study for lanifibranor after a possibly treatment-related adverse event.
Fourteen healthcare and consumer organizations, including the American Medical Association, AARP and the American Telemedicine Association, joined the Digital Health Collaborative, an organization dedicated to advancing digital health evidence and adoption.
Hydeia Broadbent, a prominent HIV/AIDS activist who gained media attention for being a part of America’s “first generation of children born HIV positive” in the late 1980s, passed away at 39.
Bausch Health reported a narrow loss and better-than-expected revenue in Q4 2023.
