TOP STORIES
AbbVie returned its claim to Biotest’s anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody. Two months ago, Biotest posted Phase IIb data that showed the antibody, tregalizumab, did not outperform the placebo. Biotest said AbbVie had 90 days to review the data and decide whether or not to continue with co-development. Two months later, AbbVie made the decision to leave Biotest.
The number of deals in the global gene therapy market more than doubled from 2013 to 2014. Numbers rose from 16 to 36 and their value rose from $122.8 million to $4.9 billion.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
LIFE SCIENCES
London Mayor Boris Johnson proposed a $16 billion fund to encourage the growth of emerging healthcare companies in the UK in order to match US biotech clusters.
Perelman School of Medicine Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania identified a stem-like “progenitor” cell that produces only heart muscle cells.
Catabasis Pharmaceuticals raised $60 million for its initial public offering.
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration announced an initiative to substantially increase scrutiny of injuries among hospital nursing staff.
TECH
Arcadia Healthcare Solutions, an electronic health record data aggregation and analytics company acquired ACO implementation provider Sage Technologies.
A sleep apnea device with a sensor to record compliance secured FDA clearance. Australian company SomnoMed produced the device and Canadian company Braebon Medical Corporation produced the sensor.
POLITICS
California is on the way to becoming the third state to eliminate religious and other personal exemptions from vaccines. Its bill to wipe out those exemptions passed the state Assembly although it would give some parents years to get those vaccines for their kids, which makes it a bit different from the bill approved by the state Senate earlier this year.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism launched a clinical trial investigating a possible treatment for alcohol use disorder. The study will focus on safety and efficacy of gabapentin enacarbil in extended-release tablets for treating the disorder.
A LITTLE EXTRA
NASA’s Earth Observatory captured a picture of lava flowing to connect two small islands into one larger one in the Pacific Ocean. Check out the photo here.
The Morning Read provides a 24-hour wrap up of everything else healthcare’s innovators need to know about the business of medicine (and beyond). The author of The Read published it but all full-time MedCity News journalists contribute to its content.
Photo: Flickr user dancentury
