Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim have reached a definitive agreement to swap Sanofi’s animal health business Merial and Boehringer’s consumer healthcare business. The exchange remains subject to approval by all regulatory authorities in different territories. The integration of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Consumer Healthcare (CHC) business into Sanofi and Merial into Boehringer Ingelheim would start after closing.
Exco InTouch has announced a partnership with AliveCor, a pioneer in machine learning techniques and mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) technology for proactive heart care, in order to make mobile ECG measurements available in clinical study research. AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile device indicates to patients if their heart rhythm is normal or if atrial fibrillation (AF) is detected. The technology delivers highly accurate results, and makes it easy for patients to share ECG data with their doctors for accurate analysis and diagnosis. The technology, which takes the form of a fully portable and unobtrusive device that links into mobile data capture generates validated information on a patient’s heart rate and rhythm.
Bracket has launched its next generation clinical outcomes platform, Bracket eCOASM 6.0, at the 52nd Annual DIA Meeting. Bracket eCOA 6.0 is a flexible platform for electronic clinical outcomes assessments to drive digitsation in clinical trials. The platform integrates with industry-leading smartphones and tablets to support ePro, eClinRO and eObsRO, and features fully integrated clinician and patient-facing tools, to ensure the experience is fully harmonised for any user.
Owlstone Medical, which is developing a breathalyser for use in clinical diagnostics and precision medicine with applications in cancer, inflammatory and infectious disease, has successfully raised $7 million (£4.9 million) financing. The investment round was led by Medtekwiz Advisory Ltd and will be used to fund ongoing clinical trials of the breathalyser in lung and colon cancer screening. The company’s Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS) technology measures volatile organic compound (VOCs) metabolites in patient’s breath or bodily fluids which are specific to disease. Measurement of VOC biomarkers allows diagnosis of disease at a very early stage, to enable more effective treatment and better patient outcomes.
LEO Pharma has launched Enstilar, the first fixed-combination, cutaneous foam spray for the once-daily topical treatment of all extents of plaque psoriasis, in the UK. Data shows that Enstilar is a more effective topical combination treatment than those currently available, is generally well-tolerated, with more than half of patients in clinical trials experiencing significant visible signs of improvement within four weeks and with some patients seeing improvements at one week.
Q2 Solutions, a global clinical trials laboratory services organisation, has received the 2016 Lilly Global Supplier Award. Q2 Solutions was one of 12 companies to receive the award this year, recognising the company’s ongoing contributions to Lilly’s drug development efforts. Each year, the Award recognises suppliers who have worked collaboratively to deliver a positive and measurable impact on Lilly’s corporate objectives and priorities.
