💊 Health Futures #47

Happy Monday 👋

Eli Lilly’s Zepbound gained traction over Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in the competitive weight-loss drug market. Zepbound showed significant weight-loss outcomes in clinical trials, with participants losing up to 21% of their body weight, surpassing the 16% average reduction for Novo Nordisk's rival drug Wegovy. Philips partnered with Mayo Clinic to develop AI-powered solutions that optimize cardiac MRI processes aiming to reduce time and enhance precision in cardiac imaging, crucial for diagnosing and managing heart conditions. Dewpoint Therapeutics and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation partnered to develop a small molecule modulator for ALS. In health funding, Novartis acquired Kate Therapeutics for $1.1B to advance gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases. Novartis aims to capitalize on the growing market for cell and gene therapies.

What's new?

HolonIQ’s new Green Skills Map and Workforce section reveal industry-wide sustainability skills and jobs, as well as workforce development initiatives, supporting upskilling for a sustainable economy.

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💊 Targeted Chronic Disease Management

⚕️ Eli Lilly’s Zepbound Gained Traction Over Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. The growing market competition is significant as these drugs address rising rates of obesity and related health conditions, offering transformative options for long-term weight management.

💉 Function Health Partnered with GRAIL to Expand Access to the Galleri Multi-cancer Early Detection (MCED). This collaboration aims to enhance cancer detection by integrating the Galleri test into Function Health's offerings.

📷 Lisata Therapeutics Partners with Kuva Labs. This partnership and license agreement to develop a new class of advanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging agents for solid tumor detection.

🌐 AI in Health

🤖 Philips and Mayo Clinic are Collaborating to Improve Cardiac MRI Scans Using AI. The aim is to reduce time and enhance precision in cardiac imaging, crucial for diagnosing and managing heart conditions.

🩺 The MHRA is Testing a Scheme to Integrate AI Technologies into Healthcare to Enhance Safety and Innovation. The MHRA introduced the AI-Airlock pilot to test five AI technologies in a controlled setting, aiming to generate evidence for AI-based medical devices while addressing the limitations of traditional testing methods.

📷 GE HealthCare Submitted a 510(k) Application to the FDA for its CleaRecon DL Technology. The technology is designed to enhance image quality in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) through AI-based 3D reconstruction.

🧬 Biotechnology

🧪 Dewpoint Therapeutics Partners with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. The collaboration will focus on using Dewpoint's condensate-modifying drugs (c-mods) to address TDP-43 condensatopathy, a key factor in ALS pathology.

🔬 Amarna Therapeutics Partnered with NorthX Biologics. Both companies focus on combining Amarna's expertise in gene therapies with NorthX's capabilities in biologics manufacturing. NorthX, known for supporting innovative drug development, will help scale the manufacturing of AM510.

🎗️ Mainz Biomed Partners with Thermo Fisher Scientific to Develop a Next-generation Colorectal Cancer Screening Tool. This collaboration will combine Mainz Biomed's mRNA-based tests with Thermo Fisher's technologies to improve the early detection of colorectal cancer and precancerous lesions.

🛠️ Skills and Workforce

With reskilling and upskilling playing a key role in closing workforce gaps, HolonIQ is now tracking these impactful initiatives shaping the health industry. Read on for this week’s insights, and discover more in HolonIQ's latest Skills newsletter.

🏥 Nigeria’s Healthcare System Has Unveiled a $1 Billion Partnership to Strengthen Nigeria's Healthcare Infrastructure. The initiative focuses on improving accessibility and quality of care, with funding directed towards enhancing over 1,000 primary healthcare centers nationwide. A key aspect of the program is the expansion of emergency obstetric care services, aimed at addressing maternal and child health challenges.

👩‍⚕️ 36,000 Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, and Midwives in New Zealand's Public Hospitals Staged an Eight-hour Strike. This marks as the largest industrial action yet against the National Party-led government's austerity policies. This follows earlier strikes by junior doctors, lab workers, and ambulance staff. The government has directed Health NZ Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) to cut $2 billion by reducing staff, freezing recruitment, and limiting wage growth. New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) members voted to strike after proposed pay increases were capped at 0.5–1% over two years.

HolonIQ has also launched the Green Skills Map, an open-source framework initiated for cataloging, evaluating, and contextualizing the different components of the rapidly expanding field of green jobs. This comprehensive taxonomy will serve as a resource for understanding the full spectrum and complexity of green skills required across various sectors, thereby enabling a cohesive approach toward achieving net zero and decarbonizing the global economy. Green Skills Map spans 11 areas, 54 sub-areas, and 243 green skills clusters. A snippet of the map covering four areas has been included above. Explore the full map on greenskills.org.

💰 Deals of the Week

🧬 Novartis acquired Kate Therapeutics for up to $1.1B to advance gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases.

🦠 Maze Therapeutics closed a $115M Series D to advance its gene therapies for rare diseases.

🩺 Inotec secured $40M in Series C funding to advance its innovative technology aimed at improving treatment outcomes for patients undergoing critical care procedures.

💉 Ossio raised $27.6M in equity funding the funds are used to increase patient access to metal-free OSSIOfiber surgical implants.

🧫 Celosia Therapeutics secured $16.75M in a Series A funding round to advance its gene therapy program for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). 

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Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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