Illumina pitches the $200 genome

Today's Big News

Sep 30, 2022

Florida healthcare organizations reported that thousands of patients have been moved or are still in the process of being evacuated two days after Hurricane Ian made landfall and crossed the center of the state. While most hospitals have not seen significant damage, the larger challenges have been disruptions to electrical grids and water supplies.

After a long road filled with scrutiny and uncertainty, Amylyx’s drug for ALS has finally scored FDA approval. Dubbed Relyvrio, it's the first treatment that showed significant slowing in both disease progression and functional decline, and it extended survival in a randomized clinical trial. 

Now, for only the cost of a few dozen cheeseburgers, you could have a fully sequenced human genome. Illumina is rolling out a new line of DNA analyzers that it says can read a person’s entire genetic code for about $200. -  Conor Hale

 

Featured

Hurricane Ian: Florida care facilities face utility disruptions, evacuations after Cat 4 storm

Utility interruptions and long-term shortages of downstream care capacity are among the top concerns for the head of the Florida Hospital Association.
 

Top Stories

Amylyx's ALS drug finally scores FDA approval, but that's just the tip of the iceberg for ALS research, founders say

After a long and winding road filled with AdComms, the FDA has finally approved Amylyx's ALS drug, Relyvrio. In an interview with Fierce Pharma, the company's co-founders say there is more research to be done and more drugs to be made to meet the unmet needs of ALS patients.

Illumina pitches $200 genomes with new line of DNA sequencers

Now, for only the cost of a few dozen cheeseburgers, you could have a fully sequenced human genome.

Solid Bio hopes to fortify itself after fusing with AavantiBio, but not before axing its lead asset

Nearly six months after slashing more than a third of its workforce, Solid Biosciences is hoping to get on firmer footing through addition, not subtraction. The company is acquiring fellow gene therapy developer AavantiBio and raking in $75 million in new financing.

Keytruda taught Merck how to build a blockbuster. But manufacturing a 2nd lightning bolt is easier said than done

Merck's Keytruda has dazzled since first nabbing approval in 2014, earning billions of dollars in revenue and expanding its reach to more than a dozen cancers. But as the drug's patent expiration nears, can Merck manufacture a second clinical lightning strike?

Google, Fitbit launch new cloud analytics tools to help hospitals harness wearables data

Google's cloud division has teamed up with Fitbit to roll out a new service to help hospitals integrate and analyze wearables data.

Scandion posts phase 2 trial flop just one month after the departure of 2 top execs

Just a month after two top executives announced their departure, Scandion posted a phase 2 flop of its sole asset. The company says SCO-101 failed to produce a high enough tumor reduction rate to pass the trial's primary endpoint.

Ocaliva fails NASH trial just as Intercept charts path toward FDA application

The path to a potential NASH drug approval just got bumpier for Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Just as the company plans an FDA resubmission for Ocaliva for patients with milder disease, the drug has failed in a more advanced population.

Congress passes short-term spending bill that extends 2 key rural hospital programs

Congress passed a short-term spending bill which extends two key rural hospital programs through Dec. 16, but does not touch looming pay cuts to doctors set to take effect next year.

Zealand rival to Takeda bowel disease drug hits goal in phase 3

Zealand Pharma’s phase 3 short bowel syndrome study has hit its primary endpoint, delivering data that could equip it to seek approval for a challenger to Takeda’s Gattex.

GE Healthcare nabs FDA clearance for deep-learning MRI imaging software

The agency’s green light expands the company’s AIR Recon DL programs from 2D to 3D imaging sequences, eliminating the need to take multiple 2D scans to reach a diagnosis in certain cases.
 
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