TORONTO – Neupath Health Inc. and Cynergi Health Partners have signed a memorandum of understanding that could see Cynergi’s virtual reality (VR) software combined with Neupath’s remote pain management platform. The platform is expected to benefit from the therapeutic potential of Austin, Texas-based Cynergi’s Rilaxta VRx to lower patient anxiety and perception of pain as they walk through restful, VR-created landscapes. “We don’t see another group taking a similar, holistic approach to pain management that we are,” Neupath CEO Grant Connelly told BioWorld.

Illumina Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. are partnering to commercialize tests identifying genetic mutations used in the assessment of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). Patients whose tumors are HRD-positive may be eligible for targeted chemotherapy treatment by a class of precision medicines called PARP inhibitors. The companies will develop tests utilizing Illumina's Trusight Oncology 500 assay for genomic profiling, which is designed to identify 523 known and emerging tumor biomarkers.

Abbott Laboratories, has acquired Walk Vascular LLC, a deal that brings two devices for peripheral thrombectomy to the Abbott portfolio for peripheral artery disease (PAD). Walk’s two Jeti peripheral thrombectomy devices are cleared in the U.S. for break-up and removal of soft emboli and thrombus, but are in trial for deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) as well, suggesting that Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott has availed itself of a technology that could take a big bite out of one of the deadliest and costliest of all circulatory system pathologies.

After weeks of heated rumors, Baxter International Inc. and Hillrom Holdings Inc. reported they have reached terms on a blockbuster deal. Baxter will acquire Hillrom for $156 per share in cash, giving the transaction an equity value of $10.5 billion and a total enterprise value of $12.4 billion, after factoring in the assumption of debt. The deal is expected to close in early 2022. The acquisition continues the fast and furious pace of med-tech acquisitions in 2021, a sharp change from the lethargic deal flow seen in 2020. So far, the sector has seen 407 transactions this year, more than four times the 97 posted in the pharma segment.

Genome Medical Holding Co. put its competitors on notice with two big moves designed to position the company as a leader in genetic testing and virtual genomic care. The company acquired Genematters LLC, a provider of telegenetics counseling, and closed a $60 million series C fundraising round. Together, the moves stand to significantly expand Genome Medical’s digital infrastructure and clinical expertise in genetics services.

Digital health has made only limited headway in the orthopedics space, but Zimmer Biome Inc. and Canary Medical Inc. have nudged the cause along with a smart implant that blends a 21st century sensor with a traditional knee replacement device. The marriage of Zimmer’s Persona knee implant and the Canary Medical Canturio TE sensor will give physicians a better way to track the patient’s recovery from knee replacement procedures.

Better Therapeutics Inc. has closed on a $50 million debt facility that advances the company’s push into the market for digital therapeutics for type 2 diabetes, a market that seems poised to expand drastically in the next few years. The $50 million debt facility by Hercules Capital is just one of several important financial benchmarks for Better, which is also planning to go public thanks to a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that may raise well in excess of $100 million, all of which seem to promise a bright future for Better and those with type 2 diabetes.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hardly alone in its antipathy toward Illumina Inc.'s acquisition of Grail Inc., and FTC attorney Susan Musser said Aug. 24 that Illumina’s dominance of the market for next-generation sequencing (NGS) is perhaps the key aspect of the FTC’s case. Musser invoked the wide number of companies that jumped into the fray to develop a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic as an illustration of the need to maintain competition in the multicancer testing space.

Lightpoint Medical Ltd. is stepping up commercialization activities and collaborating with Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. on radio-guided cancer surgery. The companies plan to initiate prostate cancer clinical trials evaluating Lightpoint’s Sensei with Telix’s investigational prostate cancer single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging agent TLX599-CDx.

PERTH, Australia – Tali Digital Ltd. inked a licensing deal worth A$51 million (US$37.5 million) for its new digital therapeutic that could be the first line in early intervention to treat the underlying conditions of attention deficit disorders. Akili Interactive Labs Inc. will hold an ongoing license to Tali’s technology to become the exclusive commercialization partner for all pediatric cognition products in the U.S.