💊 Health Futures #49

Happy Monday 👋

China approved Eli Lilly's Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease, targeting amyloid plaques to slow cognitive decline which is approved based on positive clinical trial data, it aligns with global efforts to address the widespread of Alzheimer's disease. Conduit Pharmaceuticals and Sarborg AI teamed up to enhance drug discovery initiatives. The collaboration will use Sarborg's AI capabilities to identify new drug targets and improve the development of Conduit's pipeline candidates. China's Mpox vaccine entered clinical trials as part of efforts to control the mpox disease developed to address public health needs, the vaccine targets mpox, a virus related to smallpox.  In health funding, Novo Holdings is set to complete its $16.5B acquisition of Catalent after clearing U.S. regulatory conditions, boosting its role in biopharmaceutical services.

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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💊 Drug Production

💉 China approved Eli Lilly's Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. The drug targets amyloid plaques in the brain to slow cognitive and functional decline. Kisunla represents a significant addition to Alzheimer's treatment options, offering potential benefits for patients and caregivers.

🚚 Bulgarian transplant patients face difficulties securing a reliable supply of immunosuppressants. Supply chain issues and regulatory challenges have disrupted access to these critical medications. It highlights broader issues in healthcare access and medication availability, emphasizing the need for improved systems to ensure consistent treatment for transplant recipients.

🎗️ Merck discontinued two late-stage cancer drug candidates following disappointing trial results. The company ended the development of MK-1084, a KRAS G12C inhibitor for non-small cell lung and colorectal cancer, and MK-1484, a TIGIT-targeting antibody for advanced solid tumors. 

🌐 AI in Health

🤖 Conduit Pharmaceuticals partnered with Sarborg AI to advance drug discovery efforts. The collaboration will leverage Sarborg's artificial intelligence technology to identify new targets and optimize the development of Conduit's pipeline candidates. 

🧪 Gilead Sciences partnered with Terray Therapeutics to use AI-driven methods in drug discovery. The collaboration aims to leverage Terray's AI technology to identify potential small-molecule therapeutics across undisclosed targets. 

🚑 AIIMS partnered with Wipro GE Healthcare to launch an AI Innovation Hub aimed at advancing healthcare solutions. The collaboration will focus on integrating artificial intelligence into medical technologies, supporting research, and developing AI-driven healthcare solutions to improve patient outcomes. 

🧬 Biotechnology

🧪 China's Mpox vaccine advanced to the clinical trial stage. China’s drug regulator approved clinical trials for the pox vaccine developed by Sinopharm, as there are no current approved pox vaccines in China. The vaccine, developed in response to the growing public health need, is intended to prevent mpox, a disease related to smallpox.

🧬 Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Dewpoint Therapeutics partnered to develop a small-molecule condensate modulator for ALS treatment. The collaboration focuses on leveraging Dewpoint’s expertise in biomolecular condensates to identify new therapeutic approaches for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

🥼 Shimadzu developed a platform to enhance gene therapy manufacturing processes. The firm’s innovation focuses on tools and technologies to streamline gene therapy production, addressing the field's efficiency and scalability challenges. 

🛠️ 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.

🧑‍⚕️ The Philippines and Denmark have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent. This initiative was to improve healthcare education and training for Filipino nurses and healthcare assistants,  focusing on protecting the welfare and rights of Filipino healthcare workers by ensuring social protection, fair recruitment, and access to legal remedies, including upskilling initiatives to help Filipino professionals meet Denmark's high standards in medical and elderly care.

🩺 Ontario is set to spend nearly $17M on training 700 new personal support workers and nurses for long-term care employment in 2025. The spending builds on successful programs that have already helped over 27,000 students complete placements in LTC homes. The province also plans to expand the Preceptor Resource and Education Program for Long-Term Care.

🏥 Japan's Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry will recruit nursing care staff from Southeast Asia starting in fiscal 2025 to address labor shortages. The ministry will cover costs for Japanese nursing care operators and establish a nursing care education program in Indonesia. Up to 100 businesses are expected to participate in the year 2025. Indonesia will also launch a three-year Kaigo program to train nursing care workers.

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

💊 Novo Holdings to finalize its $16.5B acquisition of Catalent after meeting U.S. regulatory closing conditions.

🧠 AbbVie acquired Nimble Therapeutics, a Roche spinout, in a $200M deal.

🩺 Precision Neuroscience raised $102M in Series C funding. The funds will support team expansion, clinical research advancements, and improvements to the AI-powered brain implant.

🧑‍🔬 Akamis Bio raised $60M in funding. The funds will be used to advance NG-350A in a Phase 1b proof-of-concept study for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

🔬 Fluid Biomed raised $27M  in Series A funding. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its R&D sector. 

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