Innovation

High patient needs, a large healthcare market and innovation potential in the biotech sector in China still appear to be maintaining and attracting investments by overseas biopharma companies, including by Bayer and Lilly in biotech start-ups and Lilly in manufacturing.

Private Company Edition: Despite a third quarter dip, venture capital investment in biopharma in 2024 is on track to beat 2023, new data confirm. VC mega-rounds of $100m or more helped boost the total, including recent financings totaling $175m for Alpha-9 and $112m for AvenCell.

A new large language model by Google Research and DeepMind is the most comprehensive tool yet to potentially expedite drug development and reduce the risk of failure.

Roche’s 2022-launched Vabysmo took no time at all to reach the coveted $1bn in sales, and the originator is continuing to feel optimistic about the newer-generation VEGF brand’s prospects, even as Amgen readies the launch of the first US biosimilar to Eylea.

FDA tobacco programs chief emphasizes moving smokers to lower risk alternatives and NIDA executive encourages proposals for e-cigarettes as nicotine replacement treatments. FDA also seizes $76m in unauthorized e-cigarettes.

Medtech Insight spoke with Vicky Demas, CEO of Identifeye, about plans for bringing the company’s AI-powered retinal screening system for early detection of diabetic retinopathy to primary care facilities. More than 50% of the roughly 38 million Americans who have diabetes skip retinal screenings at present, increasing risk of developing the leading cause of blindness in adults.

Start-ups pitched a diverse deck of innovative technologies to three judges and an audience of potential investors, strategics and physicians at the Octane Medical Innovation Forum in Irvine, CA. Highlights include neuromodulation company Sinaptica Therapeutics, which won the competition for both “People’s Choice” and “Judge’s Choice.”

Slow adoption of alternatives to animal testing in the current decentralized regulatory framework shows the need for a ‘one-stop shop’ at FDA that can provide advice, precedents and qualification programs.

The US FDA’s Office of Women’s Health provides a research roadmap to address health concerns specific to women. The FDA recently updated the roadmap, outlining areas in which further research is needed.

Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc CEO John Valliant talked to In Vivo about Canadian leadership in radiopharmaceutical innovation, its differentiated approach, and excitement around combination therapies for precision cancer treatments.