💊 African Risk Capacity builds resilient health systems; Eli Lilly acquires Versanis Bio; Ghana approves cannabis cultivation

#385 | Bird flu reaches more animals; The world gets hotter; Prosthetic limbs get better

Hello, and welcome back to The Kable for a fresh dose of life sciences updates. First, EVYD Technology and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have set up a joint lab in Singapore to advance AI research related to health data collection and sharing, large language models in healthcare, remote health monitoring for disease detection, and diagnostic evaluation.

In the US, the Government Accountability Office has identified standardisation, regulation and manufacturing challenges that hinder the development of regenerative therapies. In a new report, it has offered 11 new policy options to tackle them.

The US FDA made its report from its inspection of Catalent’s manufacturing facility public on Friday. It turns out maintenance and cleaning issues were responsible for the agency’s rejection of a new version of Regeneron’s Eylea.

After India made testing of cough syrups mandatory before export last month, lawmakers in the country are looking to institute a more stringent and transparent regulatory regime. This week, they are set to consider the new Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2023.

In Columbia, a patented AIDS drug may soon have competition from generics.

Two months after inking a deal in Botswana, the Kenyan Mwale Medical and Technology City team has secured a deal to build a medical city in Brazzaville, Congo. The city will promote access to affordable healthcare and boost medical tourism in the country.

In Ghana, parliament has given a thumbs up to cannabis cultivation for industrial and medical use.

In Rwanda, the government has introduced a vaccination programme for chicks at hatcheries, protecting them against bird flu, infectious bronchitis, Newcastle disease, Infectious Bursal Disease, and Marek’s disease.

In the UK, two new cases of bird flu have been reported in poultry workers. Both workers were asymptomatic.

In Finland, blue foxes at a fur farm are the latest victims of bird flu.

And finally, the heat is only getting hotter. In China, Sunday saw temperatures cross 52°C in the northwest, setting an all-new record in the country.