Prophet, Oncohost Ltd.’s artificial intelligence-driven proteomics profiling platform, predicted response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients in a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Congress 2021. While ICI can generate a significant positive response in some patients with advanced NSCLC, in others the therapy promotes tumor growth, making identification of likely responders prior to treatment critical.
Sight Sciences Inc. may have visions of a substantial settlement following Ivantis Inc.’s $60 million settlement with Glaukos Corp. this week or the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company may have its sights set on knocking a competitor out of the market entirely. Both are possible outcomes of the suit Sight Sciences announced this morning that alleges infringement of four of its patents by Ivantis for its Hydrus Microstent. Sight Sciences makes the Omni surgical system, which competes with the Hydrus and the Glaukos Istent in the minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) space.
Rune Labs Inc. is on a mission to make the mysteries of the brain easier to read for both clinicians and biopharma companies. Having a fresh $22.8 million in a series A financing on the books will no doubt make the goal easier to reach.
Rune Labs Inc. is on a mission to make the mysteries of the brain easier to read for both clinicians and biopharma companies. Having a fresh $22.8 million in a series A financing on the books will no doubt make the goal easier to reach. The new round pushed total funding for development of the San Francisco-based company’s brain data software platform to $30.1 million.
After three years of litigation and nearly a decade of skirmishes, Ivantis Inc. settled with Glaukos Corp. for $60 million to be paid in two installments, with the first $30 million due by Dec. 31, 2021, and the second $30 million by Dec. 31, 2022. In addition, Irvine, Calif.-based Ivantis will pay Glaukos a 10% royalty through April 26, 2025, on sales of Ivantis’ Hydrus Microstent in the U.S. or international sales supplied out of the U.S. With just two weeks to go until their scheduled court date of Sept. 28, the companies finally saw eye-to-eye, reaching a cross-licensing agreement and hammering out a covenant to refrain from future litigation regarding the technologies involved in the Hydrus or Glaukos’s Istent, both used to treat glaucoma.
Cala Health Inc. is moving quickly to establish leadership in treatment for essential tremor with its recent inclusion in the International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) guidelines as the only non-pharmacological, non-surgical treatment recommended and positive treatment results from a real-world study. “We’re very pleased with the validation from IETF and the research presented at MDS that demonstrates the impactful benefit of our therapy for those suffering from essential tremor,” said Kate Rosenbluth, founder and chief science officer of Cala Health.
Zoll Medical Corp.’s plans to wake up the sleep apnea market segment advanced with the acquisition of Itamar Medical Ltd. for $538 million in cash. Itamar focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, a common and complicating comorbidity of the cardiovascular patients served by Zoll. The deal continues Zoll’s acquisitive trend, following the purchase of Minnetonka, Minn.-based Respicardia Inc., another sleep apnea-focused company, in April and Therox Inc., of Irvine, Calif., in 2019. Zoll has operated as an Asahi Kasei Corp. subsidiary since its own acquisition by the Tokyo-based conglomerate in 2012. Zoll will acquire all outstanding shares of Itamar for $31 per American depository share (ADS) or $1.03 per ordinary share. The deal represents a more than 50% premium over the price of Itamar’s Nasdaq-listed ADS on Sept. 10. Itamar’s shares spiked 43.41% in premarket trading on news of the acquisition.
The NIH and CDC granted researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health $700,000 to investigate an in-the-ear stimulator as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in first responders to the attack on the World Trade Center 20 years ago. The researchers will enroll 30 World Trade Center first responders with chronic PTSD in a sham-controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a device that uses transcutaneous auricular stimulation of the vagus nerve, which has shown promise in preclinical studies.
Channel Medsystems Inc. completed a fundraising round to enable the nationwide commercial launch of its Cerene cryotherapy device for treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding thanks to a $26 million investment by Innovahealth Partners LP. The investment is among the largest New York-based Innovahealth has made in any company so far and makes it Channel’s largest shareholder.
ICU Medical Inc. reached an agreement with Smiths Group plc to buy Smiths Medical division for $2.35 billion in cash and stock. The deal represents an improvement in the terms reached between Trulli Bidco Ltd. and Smiths Group in early August for the purchase of the same division. Trulli, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston-based equity firm TA Associates, offered $2.3 billion with a kicker of $200 million contingent on future performance. “This is a positive for Smiths, and comes as something of a surprise (to us, and we suspect, investors),” said Andy Douglas, equity analyst, at Jefferies Equity Research. “The uplift in value of $0.4 million is helpful, and the opportunity to share more future upside is also a positive.”
