Healthcare Roundup – Co-Diagnostics up 8% premarket, Meridian to acquire Exalenz Bioscience

Co-Diagnostics up 8% premarket on vector control orders, coronavirus test advancement

• Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX) announces that it has received new orders for vector control tests and equipment from mosquito abatement districts following its participation in several related conferences.
• CEO Dwight Egan also reports that the company is “quickly moving” towards regulatory clearance of its coronavirus test, currently available as Research Use Only.
• Shares up 8% premarket on modest volume.

Meridian to acquire Exalenz Bioscience for $49M

• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO +1.1%) has agreed to acquire Modiin, Israel-based Exalenz Bioscience Ltd. for ₪6.10 per share in cash (~$49M).
• Exalenz’s top product is BreathID, a urea breath test platform for the detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a stomach-residing Gram-negative bacterium associated with peptic ulcers and gastric cancer.

Five Prime up 5% on Seattle Genetics license deal

• Five Prime Therapeutics (FPRX +5%) is up out of the gate this morning, albeit on below-average volume, in reaction to its global license agreement with Seattle Genetics (SGEN N/A) aimed at developing and commercializing novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using Five Prime-developed monoclonal antibodies.
• Under the terms of the deal, Five Prime will receive $5M upfront, up to $295M in milestones for the first ADC and tiered mid-single-digit royalties on net sales. It will apparently receive up to $230M in milestones for the second product ($525M – 295M).

FDA Ad Com in April for Lilly imaging agent

• The FDA’s Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, April 23, to review and discuss the marketing application from Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) unit Avid Radiopharmaceuticals seeking approval of radiographic diagnostic agent flortaucipir F18 for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain to estimate the density and distribution of tau protein aggregates associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

DexCom teams up with Insulet to provide integrated diabetes management solution

• DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) inks a non-exclusive commercialization agreement with Insulet (NASDAQ:PODD) aimed at combining its current and future continuous glucose monitoring systems with the latter’s tubeless insulin delivery Pod.
• The system, called Omnipod Horizon, should launch in H2.
• Financial terms are not disclosed.

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