Sanofi Snags Vigil Neuroscience for Alzheimer’s Drug
So, like, Sanofi, the French drug maker, just dropped $470 million to acquire Vigil Neuroscience, a small biotech company. And get this, they’re adding an experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to their neuroscience pipeline. The deal values Vigil at $8 per share, which is like a 246% premium over the stock’s closing price on Wednesday. Sanofi is also throwing in an extra $2 per share for Vigil shareholders if their lead drug gets the green light and starts raking in the cash.
The star of the show here is an experimental small-molecule drug called VG-3927 that targets TREM2, a protein that’s supposed to boost the brain’s neuroprotective abilities. Sanofi is gearing up for a Phase 2 study of VG-3927 in Alzheimer’s patients. But let’s not forget, last year, another treatment aiming at TREM2 didn’t quite hit the mark in a Phase 2 study.
ASCO Teams Up with Google Cloud for Cancer Treatment Tool
ASCO, which is all about cancer stuff, has joined forces with Google Cloud to launch the ASCO Guidelines Assistant. This AI-powered tool is designed to make cancer treatment guidelines more accessible to doctors who are always running out of time. It’s supposed to help them manage all kinds of cancer cases. But, like, in a demo, the tool did well with one patient but kinda dropped the ball with another. It’s free for ASCO members, and it only focuses on the society’s official documents, so it’s not out there mingling with other AI tools.
FDA Makes a U-Turn on Covid-19 Vaccine Approvals
So, the FDA just did a complete 180 on how Covid-19 vaccines get the green light. They’re now saying only older adults and high-risk groups can get the shots unless more trials happen. This move caught everyone off guard and left a lot of people scratching their heads. Some experts are worried that this new requirement for more trials could slow down vaccine access by a few months. Not really sure why this matters, but hey, it’s what’s happening.
Nonprofit Drugmaker Shows Big Savings with Transparent Pricing
CivicaScript, a nonprofit drugmaker, just showed off some impressive numbers. They’ve been distributing generic drugs at super low prices for five years now. Patients are saving up to 98%, and payers are cutting costs by 92%. Backed by Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, CivicaScript is all about making drugs affordable without the crazy markups. And now, they’re planning to make their own drugs. Seems like they’re on a mission to fight against the crazy prices in the pharma world.
