// Nominations open for Fierce's Rising Stars in Health Tech
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Today's Rundown

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Merck, Pfizer, Lilly and J&J restored funding to legislators who stoked Jan. 6 Capitol attack, watchdog says

Pharma companies that said they would cut off campaign funds to those in Congress who fomented the Jan. 6 riots by voting against certifying the presidential election results have quickly changed their stance, according to a report by Accountable.U.S. Merck, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson were cited by the watchdog group.

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Top Stories

Hackers hit Broward Health network, potentially exposing data on 1.3M patients, staff

Hackers breached the computer networks of Broward Health in October and may have accessed personal and financial information on more than 1.3 million patients and staff.

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Pfizer, BioNTech team up again, taking a swing at GSK's Shingrix dominance

GlaxoSmithKline has successfully overtaken the shingles vaccine market once owned by Merck, but enter king Pfizer. The Big Pharma juggernaut has signed a third deal with COVID-19 vaccine partner BioNTech, this time to develop an mRNA-based shingles vaccine, in a deal worth $225 million upfront to BioNtech.

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Thermo Fisher nets cell and gene protein producer PeproTech for $1.85B

Thermo Fisher Scientific started off the new year with a new member to its family, closing a $1.85 billion acquisition to build out its recombinant protein catalog. 

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FDA, working through pandemic backlog, pauses US factory inspections on omicron concerns

The FDA has put certain inspection operations on hold through Jan. 19 as it works “to ensure the safety of its employees and those of the firms it regulates” in the face of omicron. The pause began last Wednesday, shortly before the New Year, and will last for at least two more weeks.

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AbbVie latest drugmaker to impose 340B restrictions on sales to contract pharmacies

AbbVie became the third drugmaker in recent months to impose restrictions on sales of 340B-discounted products to covered entities' contract pharmacies.

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Ultragenyx granted go-ahead to up doses for Angelman antisense therapy that stalled after safety issues

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and partner GeneTx Biotherapeutics have been given the go-ahead to up the dose in a phase 1/2 Angelman syndrome trial of antisense treatment GTX-102 that was previously paused after some patients temporarily lost the ability to walk.

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GE, Boston Scientific team up to bring advanced cardiac care tech to Southeast Asia

GE Healthcare has been in a collaborative mood as of late, striking a spate of partnerships in the last six months with a goal of improving various facets of clinical care.

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Catalent, still buzzing with pandemic momentum, taps COO Maselli to succeed Chiminski as chief executive

On July 1, Catalent's current president and chief operating officer Alessando Maselli will take up the mantle of chief executive officer. He'll succeed long-time CEO John Chiminski, who's slated to become executive chair of the CDMO's board of directors. 

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Owlet, Kiddo ramp up remote health monitoring offerings for babies and children

Both Owlet and Kiddo kicked off the new year with an eye toward growth—in the form of a new product launch for the former and the largest venture funding round yet for the latter.

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Fierce is looking for the biggest Rising Stars in Health Tech

We’re searching for the engineers and designers who are looking to deliver on the beneficial potential of AI and new technologies in healthcare.

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Annexon shares dip 30% as patient dropouts dog midphase Huntington's trial

Annexon found out the hard way that investors do read the fine print. Despite the small biotech reporting “promising” interim results from a midphase Huntington’s disease trial, the company saw its shares plummet 30%.

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NorthShore, Edward-Elmhurst's 9-hospital merger creates Illinois' 3rd-largest system

Temporarily known as NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health, the combined system expects to see over $5 billion in first-year revenue.

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