Deals:
The Cigna Group closed the sale of its Medicare health benefits businesses and a medical care provider services operation for $3.3 billion to Health Care Service Corp.
AstraZeneca signed a deal with Alteogen worth up to $1.35 billion for subcutaneous cancer drugs.
Taiho Pharmacetical bought Araris Biotech for up to $1.1 billion.
Roche agreed to a multiyear partnership with Oxford BioTherapeutics for potentially over $1 billion.
AstraZeneca will buy EsoBiotech for up to $1 billion.
Sanofi is spending $600 million for a B cell-depleting antibody developed by Dren Bio.
Paratek Pharmaceuticals is paying up to $330 million to acquire Optinose.
Servier paid $70 million upfront for Black Diamond Therapeutics’ RAS- and RAF-targeted cancer drug.
NVIDIA announced a collaboration with GE HealthCare to advance innovation in autonomous imaging, focused on developing autonomous X-ray technologies and ultrasound applications.
FDA:
The agency announced a most serious type of recall involving Medtronic’s Pipeline Vantage 027 embolization device.
Johnson & Johnson’s nipocalimab received Fast Track designation from the agency.
Alvotech and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories announced FDA acceptance of Biologic License Application for AVT03.
The FDA warned Aspen Pharmacare that it had failed to take sufficient steps to prevent microbial contamination at a key facility that makes eye drops and many other medicines that require sterile production.
Layoffs:
Cargo Therapeutics said it will shut down its development efforts and lay off 90% of its staff.
Novartis has plans for 427 layoffs in New Jersey.
Merck will cut 163 jobs at its Cherokee manufacturing plant in Riverside, Pennsylvania.
Empress Therapeutics laid off 23 employees.
Elevation Oncology is laying off 70% of its staff.
Sutro Biopharma is reducing its headcount by 50%.
British stem cell company bit.bio reduced its workforce by 25%.
Funding rounds:
European life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners disclosed a €165 million acceleration fund.
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals aims to raise $125 million.
Arbor Biotechnologies said that it raised a $73.9 million Series C led by ARCH Venture Partners.
Ampersand Biomedicines secured $65 million in a Series B round.
Fauna Bio planned a $40 million Series A funding round.
Heidelberg Pharma to receive $20 million payment from an amended royalty financing agreement with HealthCare Royalty.
Allogenica secured a €2.5 million grant.
Industry news:
All selected drugmakers agree to a second round of Medicare price negotiations.
Roivant Sciences’ Immunovant will not seek approval for its candidate for the autoimmune disorder myasthenia gravis.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched Operation Stork Speed, an initiative that includes evaluating nutrients and increasing testing for heavy metals and other foreign substances.
Purdue Pharma’s newly filed bankruptcy plan will give creditors more than $7.4 billion in cash – including $7 billion in payments from the Sackler family – to compensate victims of the opioid crisis.
Pfizer terminated an early-stage STING agonist trial.
Pfizer received $3.3 billion through the sale of its remaining 7.3% stake in Haleon.
Synthetic biology specialist GRO Biosciences started exploring strategic alternatives.
The Trump administration removed a Biden-era advisory on the public health impacts of gun violence and a related webpage from the HHS website.
President Donald Trump also rescinded a Biden administration executive order on COVID-19 data collection.
The National Institutes of Health has cancelled funding for an ongoing 30-year nationwide landmark diabetes study.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will phase out all medical treatments for gender dysphoria, including hormone therapy and any surgical options for transgender veterans.
The U.S. reported the first outbreak of deadly H7N9 bird flu since 2017.
Optum Rx is dropping annual reauthorization requirements for 80 drugs.
Sarepta Therapeutics said a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy died from acute liver failure following treatment with its Elevidys gene therapy.
Multinational healthcare and pharmaceutical company iNova appointed Mediahub as its agency of record in New Zealand following a competitive pitch process.
A trio of drugmakers – Dr. Reddy’s, Sun Pharma and Zydus Pharmaceuticals – issued separate recalls in the U.S. due to a series of production errors.
Harrow launched its Vevye Access for All initiative.
Following a court order, HHS won’t fire more than 2,800 probationary employees it sought to cut but has left them on administrative leave.
The Sequoia Project launched the Pharmacy Workgroup as part of its flagship Interoperability Matters program.
In an early-stage clinical trial, an experimental treatment borrowed from blood cancer nearly doubled the expected survival time of young patients.
Aadi Bioscience rebranded to Whitehawk Therapeutics.
Silverlight Digital launched its strategy division Silverlight Strategy Advisors.
