Heska (HSKA +1.9%) has acquired a 100% interest in CVM Diagnostico Veterinario, S.L. and CVM Ecografía, S.L. of Spain.
CVM Companies estimate their market share prior to the deal at #1 in Ultrasound, #1 in Digital Radiography, and #2 in POC Blood Diagnostics.
Deal terms were not disclosed.
Lilly launches new robotic drug discovery laboratory
Eli Lilly (LLY +1.7%), in collaboration with lab automation developer Strateos, announces a new San Diego-based robotic laboratory, called the Lilly Life Sciences Studio Lab, designed to accelerate the drug discovery process.
The 11,500 sq. ft. studio lab, operated by Strateos, physically and virtually integrates several areas of the drug discovery process—including design, synthesis, purification, analysis, sample management, and hypothesis testing—into a fully automated platform.
Strateos will use the lab’s robotic cloud platform to enable access of this remote-controlled lab to other drug discovery companies and research scientists via its secure cloud-based platform.
FDA OKs Blueprint kinase inhibitor for GI tumor
The FDA approves Blueprint Medicines’ (BPMC +0.9%) Ayvakit (avapritinib) for the treatment of adults with unresectable/metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha ((PDGFRA)) exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V-positive GIST, the most common exon 18 mutation.
Avapritinib is an oral inhibitor of KIT- and PDGFRA-mutant kinases which are highly active in GIST.
Merck KGaA to reconsider selling allergy business – Bloomberg
Bloomberg reports that Merck KGaA (OTCPK:MKGAY) has rekindled plans for a potential sale of its allergy unit.
It previously considered divesting the business in 2015 when it was exploring debt-reduction initiatives after acquiring Sigma-Aldrich for $17B. It was valued at €600M ($667M) at the time.
Kaleido Bio teams up with J&J to identify microbiome metabolic candidates
Kaleido Biosciences (KLDO -4.4%) will collaborate with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +0.2%) unit Janssen Biotech to explore the potential of Kaleido’s Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT) to prevent childhood allergies and other atopic immune and metabolic conditions via driving specific features of the microbiome that support the maturation of the infant immune system.
A primary focus will be leveraging Kaleido’s proprietary ex vivo screening platform to identify promising MMT candidates.
Financial terms are not disclosed.
The stock is down but only on turnover of 53K shares.
