Johnson & Johnson medical-device unit Ethicon agreed to buy NeuWave Medical Inc.
NeuWave developed a system that eliminates soft-tissue lesions with microwave energy and is used by cancer patients.
Ethicon said in a statement that “we continue to work to push the boundaries of access and treatment for patients for whom traditional surgery may not be an option today.”
Last May, Madison, Wis.-based NeuWave said it had raised $25 million in Series C financing. New investor Versant Ventures led the round, joined by returning backers H.I.G. BioVentures, Venture Investors and others.
Ethicon and the life-sciences division of Google Inc. formed a partnership last year to develop robots to assist surgeons. In December, Johnson & Johnson said Scott Huennekens will serve as chief executive of an independent company called Verb Surgical Inc. that emerged from the collaboration.
Ethicon expects to complete the NeuWave deal during the second quarter.
By Josh Beckerman
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
