💊Novo Nordisk inks RNA research deal; Sanofi delves deeper into gene editing; Novartis plots a biotech buy

#386 | Copycat treatments for Crohn's; Eye drops for eye disease; Osteoporosis drug for breast cancer

Hello, dear reader. Welcome back to The Kable. Big Pharma are back with some Big Updates today, so let’s get straight into it.

First, Novo Nordisk entered an RNA research collab with UK-based biotech Eleven Therapeutics. Together, they will identify novel molecules for nucleic acid therapy delivery to treat cardiometabolic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Eli Lilly’s subsidiary Prevail Therapeutics has entered an agreement – potentially worth over a billion dollars – with Sangamo Therapeutics, a genomic medicine company. Prevail will evaluate the latter’s adeno-associated virus capsids to license them for gene therapies against undisclosed neurological targets.

In the US, Sanofi and AstraZeneca have received a green light from the FDA for their monoclonal antibody Beyfortus, to be used as a preventive intervention against RSV in babies. Yay.

In South Africa, the Africa CDC has partnered with the national government to launch the Southern Africa Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network – RISLNET, for short – in Cape Town. Currently operational in Central and Western Africa, RISLNET is designed to allow African Union Member States to strengthen existing healthcare capacities and address public health concerns by translating data into actionable policies.

The WHO – along with UN Women, UNDP and the United Nations Population Fund – has launched the RESPECT Women website to drive concrete actions to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, which it believes is a gender equality and health priority.

Scientists from Hong Kong and elsewhere around the world are coming together under a new Pandemic Research Alliance to prepare for future threats to global health.

And finally, Japan has, for the time being, suspended chicken imports from the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil. This is the second Brazilian state from where Japan has stopped purchasing poultry; last month, Espirito Santo was affected after the confirmation of bird flu cases there.