Newsletter Tool

To view this email as a web page, click here

Today's Rundown

Merck started its Acceleron pursuit at $160 per share, but CEO Davis balked at paying more than $180
Philips makes the scanner a playground to ease children through a scary MRI
Hospitals have spent more than $3B on personal protective equipment since COVID-19 began
BioNova leapfrogs into the clinic with $200M Sutro blood cancer pact
Boston biotech backers quit Dana-Farber board after U-turn on investment policy: report
Eli Lilly, Boehringer roll out video game for doctors to highlight cardio-renal-metabolic disease connections
Best Buy ramps up focus on home health care by acquiring Current Health
Withings goes head-to-head with Apple, nabbing FDA OK for smartwatch to detect afib, sleep apnea
CureVac giving up on first COVID mRNA vax, focusing on GSK-partnered 2nd attempt
Spinoff or $54B sale? GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health outfit draws buyout interest: report
Kaiser Family Foundation: Public not buying pharma's arguments over drug price reforms
MindMaze finds its way to $125M for neuro-rehabilitation video game platform

Featured Story

Merck started its Acceleron pursuit at $160 per share, but CEO Davis balked at paying more than $180

By Eric Sagonowsky

Merck's new CEO Robert Davis has big shoes to fill after taking the reins from Kenneth Frazier at the start of July. Just two weeks into his tenure, though, his company was already in talks for its first M&A deal under the new helmsman, a securities filing shows.

Philips makes the scanner a playground to ease children through a scary MRI

By Conor Hale

Philips launched a digital coach to help parents and children cope with the stress of the procedure and get out the jitters before having to lie still for a clean image.

Hospitals have spent more than $3B on personal protective equipment since COVID-19 began

By Dave Muoio

Providers' PPE expenses peaked during the second quarter of 2020 due to high demand and increased prices, according to a Premier Inc. analysis. Spending has "steadily declined" since then, but still remains well above pre-pandemic averages.

BioNova leapfrogs into the clinic with $200M Sutro blood cancer pact

By Kyle LaHucik

BioNova wants in on Sutro Biopharma's phase 1 antibody-drug conjugate for hematologic cancers and will pay up to $200 million to develop and commercialize the asset in greater China.

Boston biotech backers quit Dana-Farber board after U-turn on investment policy: report

By Nick Paul Taylor

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has reportedly barred trustees from newly investing in biotechs created to license its science, leading to the resignation of board members including a co-founder of C4 Therapeutics.

Eli Lilly, Boehringer roll out video game for doctors to highlight cardio-renal-metabolic disease connections

By Natalie Missakian

The heart, kidneys and endocrine system are interconnected. Yet specialists treating patients with cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases often focus only on their areas of expertise. Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim launched a new construction-themed video game to encourage cross-specialty cooperation—and boost adoption of new treatment guidelines.

Best Buy ramps up focus on home health care by acquiring Current Health

By Heather Landi

Best Buy is ramping up its healthcare strategy and its focus on delivering healthcare to people's homes by scooping up Current Health. The consumer electronics retailer plans to combine Current Health’s remote care management platform with its existing health products and services.

Withings goes head-to-head with Apple, nabbing FDA OK for smartwatch to detect afib, sleep apnea

By Andrea Park

There’s a new medical-grade smartwatch in town, and it just might give the long-dominant Apple Watch a run for its money.

CureVac giving up on first COVID mRNA vax, focusing on GSK-partnered 2nd attempt

By Ben Adams

With more than a touch of inevitability, CureVac is abandoning its first mRNA COVID vaccine after dismal results earlier this year, and switching focus to its second mRNA asset with GlaxoSmithKline.

Spinoff or $54B sale? GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health outfit draws buyout interest: report

By Angus Liu

As GlaxoSmithKline approaches the end of a two-year journey to spin off its consumer health joint venture with Pfizer, the demerger pathway suddenly looks less certain. Several private equity firms are reportedly sizing up the unit, which could be valued at $54 billion.

Kaiser Family Foundation: Public not buying pharma's arguments over drug price reforms

By Robert King

A new poll finds that a large swath of the public aren't buying the pharmaceutical industry's arguments against giving Medicare drug price negotiation authority.

MindMaze finds its way to $125M for neuro-rehabilitation video game platform