The tech sector's high profile march into life sciences, from Alphabet Inc.'s Verily to IBM Corp.'s Watson, hasn't always been smooth. Successes, such as Exscientia Ltd. and Benevolentai Ltd., have almost universally emerged from within the biopharma sector rather than without. Now Palantir Technologies Inc., a data analysis specialist known best for its counterterrorism and defense work, is looking to bridge the gap with an artificial intelligence platform it is billing as an "operating system" for health care and other companies.

Multinational players are changing the way they look at China as a source for innovation as it accelerates efforts in areas such as digital health in pursuit of desire to make a global impact. At the Chinabio Partnering Forum, panelists representing Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. Inc., Sanofi SA and Johnson & Johnson all shared what they have witnessed there and how they’re already tapping China-sourced innovations.

The FDA’s May 4 webinar on patient data generated over the course of the product life cycle covered a number of topics, including the use of social media as a source of real-world evidence (RWE). The FDA’s Anne Hammer said, however, that while social media engagement has exploded over the past couple of decades, issues such as data duplication and verifiability will have to be resolved before patient engagement via social media can be relied upon as a source of RWE for regulatory purposes.

HONG KONG – Beijing Stonewise Technology Co. Ltd., a med-tech firm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in the discovery of small molecule drugs, closed series B and B+ financing rounds that added $100 million to its pocket. The company intends to use the proceeds to upgrade its AI-enabled drug discovery platform.

PERTH, Australia – In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia is shoring up its national supply of medical products and making it a national priority to drive economic recovery and ensure future resilience. The objective of the government’s modern manufacturing strategy is to build scale and capture income in high-value areas of manufacturing where Australia either has established competitive strength or emerging priorities.

Xenter Inc. has officially launched, positioning itself as the first startup device/data/drug med-tech company. The company is developing wireless solutions for interventional cardiology, interventional radiology and neurointerventional radiology.

A data-blocking rule set to go into effect in the U.S. April 5 could make it easier for sponsors to get the real-world data they need to demonstrate postmarket evidence of the safety and efficacy of their drugs and devices and to develop future products.