Business & Industry News Channel
More than five years after the Xarelto™ litigation began, and with Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals prevailing in all six cases that went to trial, the companies have reached an agreement in principle to settle in the amount of 775 million U.S. dollars. As a pioneer when it comes to collaborating with digital health start-ups, Bayer is now taking the next step. Instead of one-off startup programs, it is now focusing on collaborating in specific digital health focus areas, e.g. digital therapeutics, AI for drug discovery, and patient engagement platforms to name a few. To do this, Bayer is combining the G4A programs and concentrating on longer-term collaborations and investments. 
Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced a collaboration agreement with Iktos, for the use of its generative modelling artificial intelligence (AI) technology, in order to facilitate the rapid and cost-effective discovery and design of promising new compounds. 
Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced the winners of the 2019 Sandoz Healthcare Access Challenge (HACk). Sandoz HACk invites entrepreneurs and innovators in the field of digital technology to submit ideas with the potential to complement - or even positively disrupt - established approaches to driving access to healthcare. 
Novo Nordisk announced publication of results from the SUSTAIN 9 Phase 3b trial in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The objective of this 30 week trial was to assess the efficacy and safety of Ozempic® (semaglutide) 1.0 mg when added to SGLT-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) therapy. 
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) and Spark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCE) have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Roche to fully acquire Spark Therapeutics at a price of US$ 114.50 per share in an all-cash transaction. This corresponds to a total transaction value of approximately US$ 4.3 billion on a fully diluted basis. 
The Phase III THEMIS trial met its primary endpoint and demonstrated that Brilinta (ticagrelor), taken in conjunction with aspirin, showed a statistically-significant reduction in a composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) compared to aspirin alone.