Pharma and Biotech Daily: Latest News and Insights in the Industry

Good morning from Pharma and Biotech Daily: the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the Pharma and Biotech world. Today, we have a lot of news to cover, so let's dive right in.## Agilent, a global healthcare company, plans to lay off around 400 workers, which represents about 2% of its global workforce. Most of the layoffs will be completed in the first quarter of next year. In other news, Philips has issued a recall of its MRI machines due to the risk of explosion. The Food and Drug Administration has labeled the recall as a class I event, and there has been one reported incident of a machine exploding in the 22 years the system has been in use. Moving on, ResMed, another medical technology company, has warned about the risk of mask magnets interfering with medical implants. Like Philips, ResMed advises patients not to wear magnetized masks near certain implants. Cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities have affected the medtech sector in 2023. From vulnerable medical devices to system breaches, cybersecurity has been a major concern for the industry this year. In merger and acquisitions news, Illumina, a DNA sequencing leader, has finally agreed to unwind its $8 billion acquisition of cancer screening developer Grail. This decision comes after pressure to undo the acquisition since its inception. Several top medtech companies have announced layoffs this year as they implement cost-cutting measures. Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Abbott are among the companies that have made staff reductions. Overall, 2023 has seen a slump in medtech mergers and acquisitions (M&A), but analysts predict an uptick in M&A activity in 2024.Lastly, there have been several medtech spinoffs that have reshaped the industry this year, with GE Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, and Danaher completing transactions. Baxter, 3M, and Medtronic are expected to make their moves next.## In other news, Sarepta is seeking FDA approval to expand the use of its gene therapy treatment, Elevidys, for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This comes after a confirmatory trial for the treatment failed to meet its main goal. Bristol Myers is set to acquire brain drug developer Karuna for $14 billion, giving the company access to an experimental treatment for schizophrenia. The treatment is expected to become a blockbuster product. Ionis and AstraZeneca have received FDA approval for their drug Wainua, which competes with Alnylam's drug for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis. The approval opens up a new front in the long-running commercial battle between Ionis and Alnylam. Biotech M&A activity is picking back up, with Bristol Myers and AbbVie both making multibillion-dollar acquisitions in the neuroscience space. As ALS research continues to grow, the Healey Center has become a leading center for research and care for patients with ALS. However, the complexities of the disease and drug development have presented challenges and setbacks.## Shifting gears, the text discusses various healthcare-related topics. It mentions that antitrust enforcements in the healthcare industry reached a high in 2022, with health deals being impacted. It also highlights a class-action lawsuit filed against an Ohio hospital and its vendor after a data breach that potentially exposed the data of nearly nine million people. The text includes an opinion piece that predicts trends in healthcare mergers and acquisitions for 2024, such as a shift in funding sources and new regulatory policies. Additionally, it mentions a study that found clinician accuracy suffers from biased artificial intelligence, even with mitigation efforts. The text also briefly mentions the challenges facing interoperability in U.S. healthcare due to legislation, varying data standards, and privacy concerns. Moving on, Sanofi has abandoned the development of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) after a setback in a study. The ADC, acquired through a deal with Immu