Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced today that it completed the acquisition of vaccine and immune-modulation therapy developer Themis for an undisclosed amount. In connection with the acquisition, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, while Merck gained merger control from the Austrian Federal Competition Authority, […]
Merck
Merck eyes tiny patches as a vaccine delivery method
Merck has exercised its option to use Vaxxas‘ High Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) platform as a delivery platform for a vaccine candidate, the companies announced today. The companies did not disclose what the vaccine candidate is supposed to treat. But Merck this month announced two COVID-19 vaccine development efforts: a collaboration with IAVI and plans […]
RefleXion, Merck team up on late-stage cancer study
RefleXion announced today that it entered into a clinical collaboration with Merck to evaluate Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) Keytruda anti-PD-1 therapy in clinical trials. Hayward, Calif.-based therapeutic oncology company RefleXion is joining forces with Merck to evaluate Keytruda’s safety and efficacy in combination with RefleXion’s biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) in multiple late-stage cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, in […]
Merck, IAVI work to develop COVID-19 vaccine
Merck (NYSE:MRK) and IAVI announced today that they are collaborating to develop an investigational vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 for preventing COVID-19. The vaccine candidate is slated to use the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) technology used as the basis for Merck’s Ervebo Ebola Zaire virus vaccine, which was the first such vaccine to be approved for use in humans, […]
Prasco launches generic NuvaRing
Prasco this week said it launched its authorized generic NuvaRing. The generic etonogestrel/ethinyl vaginal ring is a small, flexible vaginal ring that is used by women as a form of birth control. The NuvaRing releases a continuous low dose of hormones for three weeks at a time. Get the full story on our sister site, Drug […]
Sanuwave confirms acting CEO Richardson as company head | Personnel Moves – December 12, 2018
Sanuwave said late last month that it lifted acting CEO and board chair Kevin Richardson to a permanent position in the corner office. Richardson joined the Suwanee, Ga.-based company in 2009 as board chair, and has served as acting CEO since 2014. He also served as managing partner of investment management firm Prides Capital from […]
FDA grants breakthrough status to joint Merck-Bayer AI program
Merck and Bayer have been granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the collaborative Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) Artificial Intelligence Pattern Recognition software. CTEPH can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease symptoms. CTEPH affects five people per million annually worldwide. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography and […]
GlucoMe, Merck ink Vietnamese diabetes study deal
GlucoMe said last week it inked a pilot collaboration deal with Merck (NYSE:MRK) looking to evaluate GlucoMe’s digital diabetes platform at several hospitals in Vietnam. Israel-based GlucoMe said that the project was scheduled to begin this month, and that it will compare GlucoMe’s digital diabetes care system against the current standard of care in the country. Read […]
Study: Heat-stable drug formulation offers new option to prevent postpartum bleeding
Data from a collaboration between Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Merck (NYSE:MRK) and the World Health Organization showed that a heat-stable formulation of carbetocin is as effective as oxytocin for the prevention of excessive bleeding following vaginal birth. Millions of women are affected by postpartum hemorrhage every year, according to Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Traditionally, women are given oxytocin to prevent the deadly condition. But […]
Foundation Medicine looks to expand oncology arsenal with precision drugs
Before she was Foundation Medicine‘s (NSDQ:FMI) chief business executive, Melanie Nallicheri was as an advisor to an ongoing project at the Cleveland Clinic, where she was witness to the power of personalized cancer treatment. Her team was caring for a patient with glioblastoma – an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer with a median survival time […]
OncoSec to combine ImmunoPulse device with Merck’s immunotherapy in breast cancer trial
OncoSec Medical (NSDQ:ONCS) expanded its relationship with Merck (NYSE:MRK) today, announcing a deal to combine its ImmunoPulse IL-12 device with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda, in a Phase II trial of patients with triple negative breast cancer. The trial is slated to study the drug-device combination in patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic cancer who have failed at […]