12 Jan, 2021
Steris to acquire Cantel in $3.6B deal; US states snub vaccinations advice
TOP NEWS IN HEALTHCARE
* Ireland's STERIS PLC is acquiring Little Falls, N.J.-based Cantel Medical Corp. for an equity value of approximately $3.6 billion.
* U.S. states are increasingly ignoring the recommendations for prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations laid out by a group of expert advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a new analysis found.
➤ After challenging 2020, biopharma CEOs brace for COVID-19 variants, uncertainty
Speaking at the 2021 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 11, leaders at the world's largest biopharma companies said their industry remains largely on track, particularly as new treatments and vaccines hit the market.
➤ Moderna signs $11.7B in vaccine purchase agreements; will add flu, HIV trials
Moderna Inc. executives spoke at the 2021 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference about the company's purchase agreements for COVID-19 as well as three new mRNA vaccine programs the company is developing.
➤ Big Pharma taps tech giants to scale up digital health prowess, projects
"Digital is now in our DNA," according to Roche Holding AG CFO Alan Hippe.
PHARMACEUTICALS
* The European Medicines Agency said it received an application from AstraZeneca PLC for the conditional marketing authorization of its coronavirus vaccine. The regulator said it will evaluate the vaccine, which was developed with Oxford University, under an accelerated timeline.
* New York-based Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE are now aiming to deliver as many as 2 billion COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021 depending on process improvements and expansions at the facilities manufacturing the shot, named Comirnaty.
* Preliminary results of a late-stage study in South Africa evaluating Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine are expected to be available for regulatory submission in the U.S. by Jan. 21, Bloomberg News reported, citing the head of the South African Medical Research Council.
* Switzerland's Novartis AG agreed to in-license Beijing-based BeiGene Ltd.'s cancer therapy tislelizumab in major markets outside China for $650 million up front, along with milestone payments and royalties.
* Durham, N.C.-based Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. obtained the European Commission's marketing authorization for Roclanda to reduce elevated pressure in the eyes of adults with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
* Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. said Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, was deemed safe by an independent data and safety monitoring board that reviewed data from a mid-stage study conducted in India.
* Palestine's Ministry of Health has registered Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 under the emergency use authorization process, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a news release.
* New York-based Bristol Myers Squibb Co.'s board authorized an incremental share buyback plan of up to $2 billion worth of common stock.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
* The European Commission said it concluded preliminary discussions for the possible purchase of 30 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Nantes, France-based Valneva SE. The Commission said it could further purchase up to 30 million more doses.
* Amgen Inc. launched a seven-year environmental sustainability plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2027, which includes reducing water usage by 40% and waste disposal by 75%.
* San Francisco-based Vir Biotechnology Inc. and British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC's VIR-7832 antibody will be included in the U.K.-based and National Health Service-backed Agile trial platform, which will evaluate the therapy's potential in treating patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a phase 1b/2a study.
* Meanwhile, Paris-based privately held Eligo Bioscience S.A.S struck a deal with the U.K.'s GlaxoSmithKline to develop EB005, a medicine intended to treat or prevent common acne.
* Menlo Park, Calif.-based Grail Inc. is collaborating with Amgen, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb to evaluate its methylation-based cancer diagnostic technology designed to detect minimal residual disease — the small number of cancer cells that remain in the body after treatment.
* Shanghai's Zai Lab Ltd.
* Chinese drugmaker BeiGene entered option and license agreement with Boston-based Strand Therapeutics Inc. to develop mRNA treatments for solid tumors.
LIFE SCIENCES
* Illumina Inc. inked new and expanded partnerships with Bristol Myers, Kura Oncology Inc., Myriad Genetics Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. to further advance the San Diego-based life science company's tools for precision oncology.
* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to Quanterix Corp.'s Simoa SARS-CoV-2 N protein antigen test to detect the presence of the virus' nucleocapsid protein, which is elevated in respiratory fluids during the initial acute stage of COVID-19 infection.
HEALTHCARE EQUIPMENT
* North Chicago, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories' rapid portable blood test for concussions received the U.S. FDA's 510(k) clearance to help assess mild traumatic brain injuries using plasma extracted from a blood sample.
* Baxter International Inc.'s biopharmaceutical unit agreed to provide sterile manufacturing services to help boost the commercial production of Novavax Inc.'s potential COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K. and EU.
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND SERVICES
* Germany's Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA commenced a voluntary recall of a single lot of its pain killer injection Ketorolac Tromethamine due to the presence of particulate matter, which could obstruct blood vessels and lead to other effects.
MARKETS
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