The Weekly Roundup newsletter curates the top five - deals, pipeline, funding, and news from the past week.

The complete list is available here: Industry Updates

🤝Deals and Collaborations

1️⃣ Amazon to acquire One Medical for $3.9bn. One Medical combines in-person care in inviting offices across the country with digital health and virtual care services, making it easier for patients to schedule appointments, renew prescriptions, access up-to-date health records, and advance health outcomes.

2️⃣ Heidelberg Pharma inks deal worth €105mn with Japan's Chiome Bioscience. Under the terms of the agreement, Chiome will have access to Heidelberg Pharma’s Amanitin toxin-linker platform technology and has an option for an exclusive, target-specific license for global development and commercialization rights to the product candidate resulting from the research collaboration.

3️⃣ Skye Bioscience selects CMO NextPharma for phase 2 trial materials. NextPharma to produce SBI-100 Ophthalmic Emulsion for its next stages of development.

4️⃣ NeuroFront acquires non-opioid neuropathic pain killer for $130mn. Hong Kong’s NeuroFront Therapeutics acquired greater China rights to a novel non-opioid neuropathic pain drug from Switzerland’s Novaremed in a $130mn agreement.

5️⃣ Silverback Therapeutics and ARS Pharmaceuticals announce merger. The combined company will focus on the potential regulatory approval and commercialization of neffy, ARS’s investigational epinephrine nasal spray for treating Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ Dermatology: FDA nod for Incyte’s Opzelura as vitiligo treatment

2️⃣ Oncology: Simcere approved to launch the myelosuppression-prevention drug in China

3️⃣ Oncology: Luye Pharma’s innovative drug Lurbinectedin is approved for urgent clinical use in Hainan, China

4️⃣ Genetic disorders: EC approves PTC’s gene therapy Upstaza for rare disorder

5️⃣ Gastroenterology: Chong Kun Dang scores nod for natural product-based gastritis drug

💰 Funding

1️⃣ Persephone rakes in $15mn to support one of the biggest cancer microbiome study. The company will use the money to advance its oncology therapeutics trial and continue developing its preventive medicine for infants.

2️⃣ Cartography Biosciences gets on the map with $57mn and an itinerary for next-gen cancer therapies. Cartography will funnel the cash toward various discovery programs to identify new target antigens across multiple cancer indications.

3️⃣ Vicebio exits stealth to work on the next-generation RSV vaccine. Vicebio is advancing its second-generation molecular clamp technology, capable of stabilizing viral glycoproteins in “prefusion” conformation, to deliver protective and ready-to-use fully liquid vaccines. 

4️⃣ Minova Pharma nets over CNY100mn in a series A round. Funds will be mainly used to promote the pre-clinical research and clinical trial of innovative drugs for disfiguring diseases and mental disorders.

5️⃣ Vaccines developer Maxvax closes a nearly CNY500mn Series B round. Maxvax plans to use the funds to conduct clinical trials of multiple vaccine pipelines, establish a production base in Shanghai, and expand its team.

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ 6 drug delivery innovations you need to know. Needle-free delivery, autoinjector, next-gen diabetes tech, drug eluting contact lenses, next gen drug eluting stents, Vivera’s smart dosing delivery system are innovations to keep an eye on.

2️⃣ Vitamin B6 supplements could reduce anxiety and depression. Trial participants reported feeling less anxious or depressed after taking high doses of Vitamin B6 for a month. The trial provides evidence that the calming effect B6 has on the brain could make it effective in preventing or treating mood disorders.

3️⃣ Venture leaders biotech 2022: 10 innovative startups will advance their global growth in Boston. List includes Alentis therapeutics, Bionomous, Bionter AG, Fimmcyte AG, Heliva SA, Incephalo, InterAx Biotech, Lino Biotech, Recolony, Vanarix.

4️⃣ “Imagine” a world without daily insulin injections for Type 1 diabetes. Imagine pharma isolated a polypeptide IMG-1 from a tea which was able to show some anti-diabetic effects and under specific conditions can bring about the growth of islet cells and produce insulin.

5️⃣ Early Alzheimer's detection up to 17 years in advance. A sensor identifies misfolded protein biomarkers in the blood. This offers a chance to detect Alzheimer's disease before any symptoms occur.