Category: WORLD NEWS

Sanofi acquires Origimm Biotechnology to develop acne vaccine

Editor

FRANCE – Sanofi has announced the acquisition of Origimm Biotechnology, an Austrian privately held biotechnology company specializing in the discovery of virulent skin microbiome components and antigens from bacteria causing skin disease, such as acne. The transaction adds a potential first-in-class vaccine candidate in acne vulgaris, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, to Sanofi’s pipeline. The deal is expected to close in early December 2021. In addition to acquiring Origimm, the French conglomerate will use its mRNA vaccine platform, acquired through the recent US$3.2 billion acquisition of Translate…

Read More

J&J’s orthopedics unit DePuy Synthes buys Israeli robotics systems company OrthoSpin

Editor

USA – DePuy Synthes, a division of Johnson & Johnson has announced the acquisition of OrthoSpin through its Synthes GmbH affiliate. OrthoSpin, based in Israel, creates a robot-assisted external fixation system for orthopedic treatments. The platform is used in conjunction with the Maxframe multi-axial correction system from DePuy Synthes, which is an external ring fixation system. In January of this year, OrthoSpin received FDA clearance for its second generation, robotic, digitally-enabled G2 external fixation system. According to a press release, the acquisition exemplifies J&J’s efforts to advance medtech innovation, with…

Read More

Best Buy acquires Current Health for US$ 400 million as it ramps up healthcare strategy

Editor

UNITED KINGDOM – According to Best Buy’s most recent quarterly earnings, the company has spent nearly US$400 million to acquire remote patient monitoring technology vendor Current Health. Best Buy announced the all-cash acquisition of Current Health last month but did not disclose financial terms. During an earnings call this week, Current Health confirmed the valuation, which makes it Europe’s second-largest digital health exit. The medtech company, founded in Scotland in 2015 by CEO Christopher McCann and CTO Stewart Whiting, combines remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and patient engagement into a single…

Read More

Telehealth startup Hims & Hers partners Uber to drive on-demand healthcare

Editor

USA – Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) telehealth company, has partnered with ride-hailing giant Uber to bring health and wellness products to 12 new markets across the United States through the UberEats apps. Uber has partnered with digital health startups to reduce transportation barriers to healthcare and simplify medication delivery. It partnered with COVID-19 vaccination coordination startup Dr.B in June to provide free rides to and from vaccine appointments. To deliver prescription medications, Uber has also partnered with digital pharmacy startups NimblerRx and ScriptDrop. Fast delivery has become standard…

Read More

Telehealth startup Hims & Hers partners Uber to drive on-demand healthcare

Editor

USA – Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) telehealth company, has partnered with ride-hailing giant Uber to bring health and wellness products to 12 new markets across the United States through the UberEats apps. Uber has partnered with digital health startups to reduce transportation barriers to healthcare and simplify medication delivery. It partnered with COVID-19 vaccination coordination startup Dr.B in June to provide free rides to and from vaccine appointments. To deliver prescription medications, Uber has also partnered with digital pharmacy startups NimblerRx and ScriptDrop. Fast delivery has become standard…

Read More

Amazon Web Services, UC Davis Health partner to enhance digital health equity

Editor

USA – University of California’s  Davis Health has opened a first-of-its-kind Health Cloud Innovation Center (CIC), which is entirely powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The center will enable providers, patients, developers, and students to create and validate digital health equity solutions. The CIC, which is powered by Amazon Web Services and is billed as the first of its kind, will work to facilitate idea exchange among clinicians, patients, developers, and students. According to the health system, it will also facilitate the design and prototyping of tools aimed at advancing…

Read More

Blueprint Medicines expands oncology portfolio by acquiring Lengo Therapeutics for US$465 million

Editor

USA – Blueprint Medicines, a US-based biotech that specializes in targeted cancer drugs, is set to pay US$250 million in cash and another US$215 million in potential milestone payments to acquire privately held Lengo Therapeutics. Blueprint will receive an experimental lung cancer treatment that is aimed at the same target as recently approved drugs from Johnson & Johnson and Takeda Pharmaceutical. In December, the company intends to apply to the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials. Lengo’s drug has yet to be tested in humans, but it is…

Read More

FDA OK’s virtual reality surgical planning tool from PrecisionOS

Editor

CANADA – PrecisionOS has announced that its InVisionOS virtual reality-based planning tool has received FDA 510(k) clearance. PrecisionOS, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, created InVisionOS as a patient-specific planning tool that employs virtual reality. The patented software enables surgeons to conduct preoperative surgical planning using an Oculus Quest 2 device. PrecisionOS expects InVisionOS to be commercially available in early 2022, according to a press release. PrecisionOS positions its VR tool as a more effective and patient-specific method of surgical planning than viewing a 3D image and keeping that image in…

Read More

Emergex T-cell priming vaccine holds potential against all known covid variants

Editor

UNITED KINGDOM – Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited, a company tackling major global infectious disease threats by developing 100% synthetic T-Cell priming vaccines, has confirmed that its vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has the potential to be effective against all currently known variants. The company is set to begin clinical trials of a second-generation vaccine against Covid-19, a simple skin patch that uses T-cells to kill infected cells and may provide longer-lasting immunity than current vaccines in January 2022. The Swiss drugs regulator has given Emergex permission…

Read More

First nasal vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease enters human trial phase

Editor

USA – Clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) nasal vaccine has been launched to see whether a potential treatment could be safe for humans after the therapy showed positive results in mouse models that mimic some of the symptoms of the disease. If the new trial demonstrates that the vaccine is safe in humans, further research will be conducted to determine whether it is also effective. Brigham and Women’s Hospital announced the trials last week, and they only involve a small number of volunteers — 16 people aged 60 to…

Read More