This week in Healthcare: New partnerships form as healthcare companies turn to digital transformation and automation to lead post-COVID
Latest Industry Insights from Draup Braindesk
Medical Devices Market Challenges Insights:
Market Challenges: With an increase in the prevalence of connected medical devices and fitness trackers, medical device manufacturers and distributors face higher risks of data privacy breaches and related legal issues.
Key Challenges: Medical Device Regulatory Compliance
Design control – Software-based medical devices face higher risks of defects and functionality errors that might surface later in the production process. In such cases, design approvals are more challenging to come through
Cybersecurity and data privacy – Since medical devices gather user’s vital and personal information, cybersecurity and data privacy concerns can pop up anytime and anywhere in a device’s life cycle
Legal issues – Manufacturers considering the distribution of fitness watches, phones, or tablets associated with SaMD1 might face legal risks related to information about products or diseases or related information
Digital medical device use cases – New technology use cases such as remote patient monitoring and real-time fitness tracking have resulted in more complex UDI regulations globally, making the ecosystem more challenging
Cost efficiency – All the processes and operations established to ensure a medical device’s compliance are laden with costs. An increase in regulations is resulting in decreased revenue margins for the manufacturers.
Ecosystem Initiatives: Medical device manufacturers are joining forces with niche providers to deploy solutions such as quality management systems, compliance validation, and automated submissions
Lilly – Leveraged Automation Anywhere’s ‘IQ Bot’ cognitive automation solution to review the product content for compliance purposes.
R&Q – Acquired Maetrics to offer a full-service suite of regulatory and quality solutions with risk management and process validation to medical device and diagnostic companies.
Medigate collaborated with Forescout to assess and identify IoMT connected devices and enforce compliance policies for clinical networks.
‘Samsung Biologics’ has leveraged Veeva’s cloud-based ‘Veeva Vault QMS’ solution to streamline the quality management process on a single cloud platform.
Pharmaceutical Companies Insights: Pharma companies are building a sustainable ecosystem in this digital era. Companies are focusing on Gene Therapy, Remote Monitoring, and Molecule Therapy-related subjects.
Abbvie: is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company engaged in producing branded drugs to treat Parkinson’s, neurodegenerative and other diseases.
Abbvie partnered with Mitokinin to advance the PINK1 Program for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. PINK1 is an enzyme that protects brain cells against stress and plays an essential role in the recycling of mitochondria
Novartis healthcare company provides solutions to address the evolving needs of patients, manufacturing drug products and COVID-19 vaccine.
The company is creating a remote monitoring and support network for patients with Kaiku Health for receiving a specific drug combination known as BRAF and MEK inhibitors that treat melanoma.
It leveraged its manufacturing capacity and capabilities to address the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the production of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Latest Reports Published in Draup
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Report:
Otsuka focuses on the launch of new test kits products to expand its product portfolio and expansion of research centers to enable rapid diagnosis, prognostic prediction, and treatment to patients and health care providers. Read More>>
Ferring Pharmaceutical Report: Ferring Pharmaceuticals Partnered with CytoReason to pair AI-based computational model of the human body with Ferring’s expertise in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Read More>>
Key Funding Alert
Sword Health Raises USD 85 Mn in Series C Funding
The company intends to use the funds to build the MSK platform that leverages its virtual physical therapy program to drive cost savings to payors, employers, and providers. The digital solution covers acute, chronic, and preventative care, with striking results for back, shoulder, neck, knee, elbow, hip, ankle, and wrist areas. Read More>>
Startup Spotlight
Company – ZenFlow HQ Location – San Francisco Bay Area, USA Total Funding – USD 55.89 Mn About: Zenflow is a privately held medical device company dedicated to improving treatment for patients suffering from urinary obstruction caused by an enlarged prostate. The company was founded in 2014 by a team of Stanford University Biodesign Fellows working in collaboration with top global urologists. Read More>>
Key Insights and Signals – Hospital & Healthcare
Executive Movement AdventHealth Hendersonville appoints CEO and president Brandon Nudd has been named president and CEO for AdventHealth Hendersonville. He will assume his new role on August 1. In his new role, Nudd will provide executive leadership and oversee the daily operations of AdventHealth Hendersonville, working alongside his leadership team to ensure the delivery of care throughout the Hendersonville community. Read More>> Veteran retail exec Jenny Ming joins the Board for Kaiser Permanente The nation’s largest integrated, non-profit healthcare organization, has announced that Jenny J. Ming, a veteran retail executive who was most recently president and CEO of Charlotte Russe, has been named to the board of directors for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals — known as Kaiser Permanente. Read More>> Franciscan Health Central Indiana has made a key leadership appointment for its Indianapolis hospital Terri Ruff, Vice President of Operations, has assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer for Franciscan Health Indianapolis. Ruff has led improvements in surgery and Heart Center operations in her previous role, expanded clinical collaboration services with new partner hospitals, and has acted as an “ambassador” in those partnerships. Read More>>Centre setup and expansion Kettering Health to open a senior health center in Harrison Township The one-story, 8,000-square-foot building is expected to open at 3969 Salem Ave early next year and feature patient-centered care with facility design and educational programs tailored for those age 65 and older. Services offered will include primary care, lab and imaging, wellness, and support programs. Read More>> Encompass Health announces plans to build a 40–bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Fitchburg, Wisconsin Presumed to be named Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Fitchburg, it will be located at the southeast corner of South Fish Hatchery Road and Nobel Drive. This 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital is expected to begin serving patients in 2023. Read More>>Partnerships Shootsta wins Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever as clients Global video technology platform Shootsta has won Unilever Singapore and Johnson & Johnson UK as clients. Securing partnerships with Unilever and Johnson & Johnson is a milestone for Shootsta as both companies are global leaders in marketing. Read More>> Vivor Partners with PeaceHealth to improve patient financial assistance capabilities The new contract includes integration with PeaceHealth’s Epic electronic health record. It enables PeaceHealth to centralize its co-pay and free/replacement drug workflows onto a single, cloud-based platform. With this technology deployment, PeaceHealth estimates that over 6,000 patients per year will gain access to needed financial assistance. Read More>>Mergers and Acquisition Ramsay Health Care increases GBP 1 Bn takeover offer for rival Spire Ramsay Health Care has increased its offer for rival Spire Healthcare after shareholders in the firm complained the bid was too low. Ramsay raised the bid to 250p-a-share, valuing the business at just over GBP 1 Bn in its final offer. Spire has 39 hospitals and eight clinics across the UK, while Ramsay operates in 10 countries, including 40 hospitals in England. Read More>> French investment fund acquires three Care UK care homes in GBP 34 Mn deal SCPI Pierval Santé, a French investment fund has entered the UK healthcare market through the GBP 34 Mn acquisition of three Care UK care homes. The investment fund has acquired Mountfitchet House in Essex, Ambleside Care Home in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Brook Court Care Home in Kidderminster from Legal & General, in a deal completed by Christie & Co. Read More>> Physiotherapy company Fysios to merge with Mehiläinen Fysios, the largest private physiotherapy company in Finland, will become part of Mehiläinen through a share transaction signed on July 1, 2021. The acquisition aims to develop operating models that renew the industry and emphasize the role of digital services. Read More>> Anthem Inc. completes MMM Holdings, LLC & Affiliates acquisitions Puerto Rico-based MMM Holdings, LLC and its Medicare Advantage (MA) plan MMM Healthcare, LLC., along with its affiliated companies and Medicaid plan, were acquired by Anthem from InnovaCare Health LP. The deal adds more than 275,000 Medicare Advantage members and 314,000 Medicaid members to Anthem’s existing members. Read More>>Deals Celularity and Arthrex announce distribution agreement Under the terms of the agreement, Celularity will provide Arthrex with exclusive commercial distribution rights for orthopedic surgery and sports medicine and will continue to be responsible for product manufacturing and supply. Read More>>
Key Insights and Signals in Pharmaceuticals
Centre setup and expansion Grifols Biomat USA opens a new plasma donation center in Carson City In an effort to increase the ease of donations for the public amid the lowered supply during COVID-19, Grifols Biomat USA is opening another state-of-the-art plasma donation center in Carson City at 915 Jack Valley Road, Carson City. Read More>> Lonza to expand API manufacturing facility Integrated healthcare solutions supplier Lonza revealed plans Monday to invest about USD 21.7 Mn to expand the API development and manufacturing capabilities at its production site in Nansha, China. The new mid-scale manufacturing assets at the Nansha site will support the transition of products under development to large-scale production. Read More>> Bayer’s gene therapy CDMO Viralgen cuts ribbon on the first phase of USD 142 Mn viral vector expansion Bayer cut the ribbon on the first USD 83 Mn piece of its new factory in the Basque Country, Spain. Viralgen specializes in adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors—the engineered viruses used to deliver gene therapies. Read More>>Deals and Renewals Japanese drugmaker Shionogi to double COVID-19 vaccine supply to 60 million The company will provide up to 120 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under development annually or enough for 60 million people, doubling its supply plan as it found a lower dosage was still efficacious. The vaccine, which could be the first domestically developed in Japan, can be effective even with half the amount previously deemed necessary, company officials said. Read More>> Heron Therapeutics announces 340B prime vendor contract with Apexus for ZYNRELEF™ The 340B Drug Pricing Program provides drug discounts to hospitals and clinics serving vulnerable communities. The 340B Drug Pricing Program allows 340B healthcare providers to stretch limited federal resources to reduce the price of outpatient pharmaceuticals for patients and expand health services to the patients and communities they serve. Read More>> Regeneron, GSK, and Eli Lilly COVID-19 drugs prioritized for expedited review in Europe The effort aims to provide more regulatory flexibility with rolling reviews, conditional marketing authorizations, and flexible labeling and packaging requirements. It will also allow for more scientific support from the European Medicines Agency and the bloc to facilitate partnerships within the industry. Read More>>Partnerships Eli Lilly’s USD 15 Mn investment deepens the link to start-up developing a new class of RNA meds Two months after Eli Lilly began an alliance with MiNA Therapeutics, a start-up developing a new type of RNA therapy, the pharmaceutical giant is making a USD 15 Mn equity investment in its partner. MiNA is developing a new class of medicines called small activating RNA therapies. Read More>> GSK and Alector partner to develop immuno-neurology treatments With USD 700 Mn in upfront cash, GlaxoSmithKline and Alector forged a strategic collaboration to co-develop monoclonal antibody candidates aimed at a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Read More>>Mergers and acquisition Perrigo completes the sale of Generic Rx Pharmaceuticals business for USD 1.55 Bn Consumer self-care products company Perrigo Company plc has completed the sale of its Generic Rx Pharmaceuticals business to Altaris Capital Partners for USD 1.55 Bn. The Rx business serves patients with ‘extended topicals’ to treat diseases at affordable prices. With the conclusion of this sale, Perrigo completes its transformation as a pure-play global consumer self-care company. Read More>> AstraZeneca (AZN) gets EC’s clearance for Alexion acquisition The European Commission has allowed AstraZeneca to close its impending merger with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the deal is expected to close in the ongoing quarter. The company has already received competition clearances for the above acquisition in the United States, Canada, Japan, and several other countries. AstraZeneca must have clearance in the UK to complete the deal. Read More>>Executive Movement Amgen nabs ex-AstraZeneca Senior VP to fill a similar role Amgen is beefing up its oncology focus with the hire of a former AstraZeneca senior vice president – Jean-Charles Soria, MD, Ph.D., who will join the Thousand Oaks, California, biotech on August 2 to lead Amgen’s oncology therapeutic area as a senior vice president. Read More>> GSK supports CEO against activist shareholder’s demands GlaxoSmithKline has mounted a staunch defense of its strategy and rejected demands from an activist investor to reconsider whether Dame Emma Walmsley is the right person to lead the drugmaker. The company has come under siege from Elliott Management, an aggressive American hedge fund with a multibillion-pound stake in the pharmaceuticals group. Read More>>
Key Insights and Signals in MedTech
Centre setup and expansion Fujifilm’s multibillion-dollar expansion spree rolls on with USD 850 Mn capacity boost in the US, UK The cash infusion is just the latest in a multibillion-dollar spending spree for the manufacturer – Angling to grow capacity for biologics such as gene therapies and vaccines—including those for COVID-19—the company will plug around USD 850 Mn into its CDMO arm Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Read More>> Medtronic Bringing New Research & Development Campus to Lafayette A new campus covering over 400,000 square feet with room to expand will host 1,100 employees to start. The company plans to move positions from Louisville and Boulder to combine them in Lafayette. The new facility will host 1,100 employees to start. Read More>>Deals and renewals Ortho Clinical Diagnostics announces partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific The distribution agreement is to provide and support MAS™ Quality Controls and LabLink xL™ Quality Assurance Software through Ortho’s VITROS® QC Solutions to VITROS® System customers worldwide.* Read More>> Hitachi Healthcare Americas Corporation now Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation Hitachi Healthcare Americas Corporation now Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation – The new name came into effect following the transfer of Hitachi’s diagnostic imaging business to Fujifilm. Initiated in March in a USD 1.6 Bn absorption-type company split deal, the transfer took place when Hitachi split off its imaging business as a separate company later absorbed by Fujifilm Healthcare, which was established by Hitachi to act as the successor. Read More>>Partnerships Philips accelerates stroke diagnosis and treatment with expanded integrated solutions and strategic partnership Expanded capabilities of Philips Image Guided Therapy System – Azurion – and a new collaboration with NICO.LAB adds to the latest advances in reducing time to stroke treatment, a critical factor in improving outcomes. This enhances Philips’ portfolio of solutions across the stroke care pathway with advanced AI and cloud capabilities and optimizing decision making at each step. Read More>> GE Healthcare collaborates with Sophia Genetics to better target and match treatments to each patient’s genomic profile and cancer type The companies aim to develop new AI-powered analytics and workflow solutions to serve both the clinical and biopharma markets. They will combine data from GE Healthcare’s Edison platform and Sophia’s DDM cloud-based platform to generate actionable insights for clinicians and researchers from complex multimodal datasets. Read More>>Merger and Acquisition Eden Prairie’s Surmodics acquires Irish medical device company Vetex for USD 40 Mn This acquisition demonstrates the commitment to expanding Surmodics’ thrombectomy platform to remove thrombus in venous vascular beds with an exciting technology that offers significant improvements over current therapies. Read More>> Cytiva acquires Intermountain Life Sciences Cytiva will use Intermountain’s manufacturing site in Logan, Utah, to boost its liquid cell-culture production by millions of liters. Adding the capacity and talent from Intermountain Life Sciences will allow Cytiva to accelerate deliveries to their customers. Read More>>Executive Movement Fujifilm appoints Koji Wada as the new Managing Director for India Taking over the baton from Haruto Iwata, Wada will spearhead Fujifilm’s operations and business strategy in India. In his new role, Wada will be responsible for organizational growth and profitability with an integrated approach towards sales, marketing, and business policies. Read More>> Midmark promotes Matt Bourne to Chief Commercial Officer Matt is an experienced commercial leader with a more than 20-year track record in positions of increasing responsibility at Midmark. In the new role, Bourne will oversee the marketing and sales teams to drive commercial strategy and enable Midmark to achieve long-term objectives. Read More>>
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