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VVenture capital funding topped $23 billion in July, according to Crunchbase, up more than 20% year over year. The main sector for investment? Healthcare and biotech companies, which raised a total of $6 billion in venture capital – outpacing even AI companies.
The report also notes several notable billion-dollar exits this year, including Boehringer Ingelheim’s acquisition of Nerio Therapeutics and Otsuka’s acquisition of Jnana Therapeutics.
This secret billionaire thinks he can cure HIV. That is why.
Michael Prince for Forbes
Terry Ragon is a billionaire thanks to founding the software company InterSystems, which is used by healthcare systems around the world. He and his wife have donated $400 million of their fortune in pursuit of one of biotech’s holy grails: an HIV vaccine. That’s why he thinks the approach he advocates has a chance to succeed when so many others have failed.
Read more here.
Pipeline and deal updates
Endometrial cancer: The FDA announced that it has expanded its approval of GSK’s cancer drug Jemperli in combination with chemotherapy to include endometrial cancer patients with mismatch repair-proficient/microsatellite-stable tumors, which represents about 70-75% of patients total diagnosed with this form of cancer.
Pharmacy: Walgreens has sold more shares of drug distributor Cencora for proceeds of about $1.1 billion, which will be used “primarily for debt repayment and general corporate purposes.”
Neurology: Roche and Genentech have exercised their option for a Neuromap from Recursion Pharmaceuticals, triggering a $30 million payment for the product, which is designed to discover neurological insights using cell data and Recursion’s AI algorithms.
Dialysis: The FDA issued a 510(k) clearance for Diality’s Moda-flx hemodialysis system for patients with kidney failure.
Brain cancer: The FDA approved Servier’s new drug, Vorianigo, as a treatment for certain brain cancer patients with grade 2 astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with particular mutations. Agios Pharmaceuticals will receive a $1.1 billion payment as a result of the approval under its collaboration agreement with Servier.
Updated vaccines for COVID are coming
Getty Images
Drugmakers have created updated monovalent COVID-19 vaccines to protect against currently circulating variants, and the vaccines — which have been shown to be more effective than currently available vaccines — are expected to be available as early as this month.
Read more here.
Other health news
The study suggests that dopamine can improve the memory of Alzheimer’s patients
Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk plunges into disappointing earnings
Another profitable quarter for Oscar Health as Obamacare business grows
Wegovy and Zepbound doses are available again after months of shortages, FDA says — but supplies still limited
CVS Health CEO Takes Charge at Aetna After Insurer’s Latest Miss
Cancer rates are up among millennials and Gen Xers, study suggests—here’s why
Via Forbes
What else are we reading?
Race to build better CRISPR delivery vehicles heats up (Stat)
Elon Musk’s Neuralink’s second brain implant: will it be better than the first? (Nature)
US science slips into dangerous decline, experts warn, as Chinese research soars (Scientific American)