Top news
* Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s blockbuster immunotherapy Opdivo received approval to treat patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in China, the company confirmed in an email. Opdivo's rival drug, Merck & Co. Inc.'s Keytruda — the only two PD-1 drugs by multinational drugmakers approved in China — received green lights for expanded use in the country recently.

* Retail giant Walmart Inc. is rolling out several test programs in select parts of the U.S. to provide its employees affordable healthcare services. The pilot programs, which will be part of the company's 2020 medical plan, include connecting patients with local doctors, a concierge service that addresses billings and appointments, and a personal online doctor via video chat.
* Walmart is halting the sale of all over-the-counter ranitidine products as several regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, look into the possibility that the drug contains a potentially cancer-causing impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine. Heartburn medicine ranitidine, which is sold by French drugmaker Sanofi as Zantac, has been recalled by companies such as Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG.
Meanwhile, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a cancer treatment and research institution in New York, said it will drop Zantac and its generics from the list of products it offers patients, Bloomberg News reported, citing Caitlin Hool, a spokeswoman for the center.
* Researchers with Johns Hopkins Medicine developed a gene therapy technique that successfully prevented vision loss in rats, Rhesus macaques and a Yorkshire pig, and could prove to be a successful treatment for humans with eye conditions like wet age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal disease, according to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
* Canada's largest cannabis suppliers continued to rake in more sales from the recreational market in the second quarter as the industry readies for the legalization of new products, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis. Canopy Growth Corp., Aurora Cannabis Inc., Tilray Inc. and Aphria Inc. reported a combined revenue of C$144.2 million for recreational-use cannabis in the second quarter.
M&A and capital markets
* Cancer therapy developer ADC Therapeutics SA has withdrawn its $178.3 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. "In light of adverse market conditions, we have determined it is in the best interests of our shareholders to withdraw the registration statement," CEO Chris Martin said in a news release.
* Lantheus Holdings Inc., the parent company of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., agreed to acquire New York-based biotech company Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an all-share transaction.
* AstraZeneca PLC spinout Viela Bio Inc. priced its upsized IPO of 7.9 million common shares at $19 each, at the lower end of the expected range.
* Aprea Therapeutics Inc. priced its IPO of 5,666,667 common shares at $15 apiece, for expected gross proceeds of about $85 million.
Drug and product pipeline
* Johnson & Johnson filed an application with the U.S. FDA for the approval of its esketamine nasal spray called Spravato for adults with major depressive disorder who have active suicidal ideation with intent. Analysts expect that Spravato could reach blockbuster status since it fills a medical need for depression treatments.
* The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence did not recommend Roche Holding AG's Tecentriq, combined with chemotherapy, for treating certain adult patients with triple-negative breast cancer due to cost concerns. NICE said its independent committee could not recommend the treatment as a cost-effective use of National Health Service resources due to an unreliable indirect comparison between the Tecentriq combo and the currently used treatments.
* Savara Inc. said the U.S. FDA recommended that the company not seek marketing approval for its drug Molgradex to treat autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, a lung disorder caused by an immune system malfunction. The FDA noted in its written response that the data for inhaled formulation of Molgradex does not provide enough evidence of the effectiveness and safety of the drug.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng jumped 0.26% to 26,110.31, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.01% to 21,341.74.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.56% to 7,082.38, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.31% to 1,056.09.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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