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AstraZeneca, Lilly drop Alzheimer's trials; Stryker courts Boston Scientific

Top news

* Eli Lilly and Co. and AstraZeneca PLC are stopping two late-stage clinical studies of Alzheimer's disease treatment lanabecestat following recommendations from an independent data-monitoring committee, which said the trials were not likely to meet their main goals upon completion. The companies clarified that the recommendation was not based on safety concerns.

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* U.S. medical device maker Stryker Corp. approached competitor Boston Scientific Corp. for a potential takeover, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. While it is unclear whether Boston Scientific is open to the idea of a merger, a potential transaction could create a medical-device giant with a combined value of more than $110 billion.

* Two studies published in the journal Nature Medicine showed cells engineered to fight cancer through gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 might actually cause cancer, STAT reported, driving down shares of companies developing CRISPR-based treatments. Representatives from CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Editas Medicine Inc. and Intellia Therapeutics Inc. said their gene-editing programs are either using different methods than the ones used in the Nature Medicine studies or are unlikely to be affected by the cancer-causing mutation risk, Bloomberg noted.

On the policy front

* The Rift Valley Fever disease has re-emerged in Kenya, killing five people in the past week, according to Abdihakim Billow, county executive committee member for health for Wajir County in northeastern Kenya. The highly contagious Rift Valley Fever disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes or infected animals, claimed more than 200 lives in an outbreak a decade ago, Reuters reported.

* Democrats and Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on whether it is using its resources to prioritize efforts to crack down on illegal opioids, Reuters wrote, citing a letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.

* According to think tank Resolution Foundation, the U.K. would need an extra £20 billion in funding — by borrowing more or raising taxes — to be able to bring back spending on the National Health Service to its historic growth rate, Bloomberg News reported.

M&A and capital markets

* Recordati SpA acquired 100% of the share capital of Milan-based Natural Point Srl, which operates in the food supplements market.

* Biofrontera AG advised shareholders to reject private equity investor Deutsche Balaton AG's voluntary public offer to acquire a 14% stake in the company. In a joint opinion, the company's management and supervisory boards said the offer to buy up to 6,250,000 of its shares at €1 each was financially inappropriate.

* Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is in discussions with banks for the planned IPO of Nant, his new experimental cancer treatment company. In an interview with Reuters, Soon-Shiong said the amount of the financing is yet to be determined, but most of the float's proceeds would be used to develop cancer therapies.

Drug and product pipeline

* Allergan PLC, the maker of the Botox treatment for wrinkles and migraine headaches, said its experimental migraine medicine atogepant met the main goal of a study, the latest development in the race to bring new therapies for the condition to market. "This new migraine trial performed way ahead of expectations on safety," Umer Raffat, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a note to investors.

* A U.S. federal court asked the FDA to grant orphan drug exclusivity to Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s blood cancer medicine, Bendeka, which is also sold as Treanda. It is used to treat patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and those with indolent B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has progressed during or within six months of treatment with Biogen Inc. and Genentech's rituximab.

* The U.S. FDA granted fast-track status to Nordic Nanovector ASA's blood cancer drug Betalutin, also known as 177Lu-lilotomab satetraxetan.

Operational activity

* Translate Bio Inc. is collaborating with a Sanofi unit to develop vaccines that could treat infectious diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunctions. Under an initial three-year research term, France's Sanofi Pasteur SA and Lexington, Mass.-based Translate Bio will develop messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines for up to five undisclosed pathogens that can cause disease.

* Endo International PLC said its units Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals LLC executed a settlement agreement to resolve all product liability claims regarding the company's testosterone therapy, which Endo co-markets with GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Endo is facing hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of hiding the health risks of using its testosterone-boosting drug, Testim, including potentially fatal blood clots.

Our features

Alnylam CEO: Six-digit price, value-based contracts in sight for new therapy: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. is poised for drug launches through 2021 and is actively looking at value-based agreements for its cell therapies, said CEO and Director John Maraganore.

Other features

* The Financial Times featured Kyoto, Japan's efforts to advance regenerative medicine and the rise of medical research startups in the city. The paper also highlighted the pressure on the Kansai region as drugmakers look for growth abroad amid a shrinking domestic market.

* IT and networking company Cisco Systems Inc. last year started offering its employees a health plan, in collaboration with Stanford Health, to address rising U.S. healthcare costs, Reuters reported.

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