DOJ to appeal UnitedHealth-Change merger

Today's Big News

Nov 21, 2022

Special Report—The 2022 Biotech Graveyard

Conservative group sues FDA in bid to overturn decades-old approval for abortion pill

DOJ to appeal UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare merger challenge

Philips pauses repair-and-replace program for some recalled ventilators after 2 new safety issues arise

Merck & Co. inks $1.4B blood cancer biotech buyout to muscle in on Bristol Myers, Novartis

Kaiser Permanente averts strike as nurses win 22.5% pay hike in new deal

 

Featured

The 2022 Biotech Graveyard

Amid a tumultuous biotech market, clinical dead ends can be even more financially perilous. This year's Biotech Graveyard takes a look back at some of the companies that were forced to close up shop.
 

Top Stories

Conservative group sues FDA in bid to overturn decades-old approval for abortion pill

For nearly five decades, women in the U.S. had the constitutional right to abortion, until it was revoked earlier this year by the Supreme Court. Now, emboldened by the ruling, anti-abortion medical organizations are taking aim at pills that induce miscarriage and have been on the market in the U.S. for more than two decades. Friday, the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom filed suit in Amarillo, Texas, against the FDA, challenging the agency’s 2000 approval of Mifeprex.

DOJ to appeal UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare merger challenge

The feds want another shot at blocking UnitedHealth Group's acquisition of Change Healthcare.

Philips pauses repair-and-replace program for some recalled ventilators after 2 new safety issues arise

Philips has paused the repair efforts for affected Trilogy 100 and 200 series ventilators after receiving “a limited number of complaints” related to remediated machines, which are now under investigation.

Merck & Co. inks $1.4B blood cancer biotech buyout to muscle in on Bristol Myers, Novartis

Merck has opened its wallet wide to buy a midphase treatment for life-threatening diseases of the bone marrow, paying $1.35 billion to snap up Imago BioSciences for its oral LSD1 inhibitor bomedemstat.

Kaiser Permanente averts strike as nurses win 22.5% pay hike in new deal

About 22,000 nurses and nurse practitioners reached a tentative agreement with Kaiser Permanente on a new four-year contract that includes provisions for a 22.5% raise and increased staffing.

Pfizer's Paxlovid access brought into question as WTO set to discuss patent waiver—again

Pfizer’s oral COVID drug Paxlovid has become a standard of care for treating non-severe patients in high-income countries. But advocacy groups remain critical of the drug’s lack of equal access, just as the WTO is scheduled to make a decision on forced patent waiver for treatments and tests.

H2o Therapeutics makes a splash with FDA nod for Parkinson’s-monitoring Apple Watch app

An Apple Watch app from H2o Therapeutics certainly seems to hold water as a Parkinson’s disease monitoring system, as the FDA handed down 510(k) clearance for the technology last week.

Merck KGaA turns to deals, 'leaner' organization to expedite R&D. Will layoffs follow?

Merck KGaA is turning to business development to bolster its pipeline amid a company-wide effort to massively expedite clinical development. But efforts to become a "leaner" organization may mean layoffs are on the horizon.

Sanders, Cassidy in line to lead pivotal Senate HELP committee in next Congress

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, are expected to lead the Senate HELP Committee, which has sway over key health policy areas.

AbbVie's Roche-rivaling blood cancer bispecific gets FDA priority review, triggering Genmab payday

AbbVie and Genmab have glided into Roche’s slipstream in the race to bring a CD3xCD20 bispecific to market, securing FDA priority review and a May decision date—and triggering an $80 million milestone payment in the process.

Siemens Healthineers inks MRI deal to harness HeartVista’s cardiac imaging AI

The two companies will be able to combine their respective methods for taking MRIs, known as sequences, into a single automated clinical imaging protocol.

Busy WuXi Biologics debuts new manufacturing facilities at biologics center in Shanghai

On Monday, WuXi Biologics cut the ribbon on its integrated biologics contract research, development and manufacturing center in the Fengxian district of Shanghai. The ascendant contractor’s latest China facility makes nine in its home country.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': Celebrating the 2022 Fiercest Women in Life Sciences honorees

This week on “The Top Line,” we share this week's headlines and discuss the 2022 honorees in our annual Fiercest Women in Life Sciences report.
 

Resources

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This paper outlines how gene therapy supply chains are different from traditional biopharma products, as well as the factors that are essential to success.
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