AC Immune SA has landed a potential $2.2 billion deal for its anti-amyloid beta Alzheimer’s disease vaccine, ACI-24.060, with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., under which it will get $100 million up front and is eligible to receive an option exercise fee, plus potential development, commercial and sales-based milestones of up to $2.1 billion.

In what represents its first patenting, Rhovica Neuroimaging AG seeks protection for an external ventricular drainage catheter for the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid to reduce intracranial pressure. The catheter is integrated with sensors which enable safe, fast and cost-efficient catheter placement and monitoring of brain ventricles.

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”

Researchers have developed a method to repair nerve connections in patients with spinal cord injuries using red and near-infrared light. The team from the University of Birmingham, U.K., are now planning to develop an implantable device to help surgeons protect and repair the spinal cord.

The latest patent filing from Cranius LLC describes a reservoir for its implanted drug delivery devices which is shaped and formed to empty and fill reliably without any concern for neighboring organ impingement or compression, and which can precisely control and monitor exactly just how much of a medicine is being delivered.

Avicenna Biosciences Inc. has introduced an extension to its machine learning (ML) technology platform to enhance medicinal chemistry and expedite clinical-stage drug discovery.

The EMA’s chief medical officer has expressed disquiet that Europe has fallen behind in the development of psychedelic drugs as approved therapies for mental disorders, saying they should be given “a second chance.”