JANUARY-FEBRUARY , 2022 | THE HEALTH

ANALYSTS say large drugmakers will have large cash piles to deploy in 2022 . So far the biopharma industry has been relatively quiet in terms of mergers and acquisitions .

According to SVB Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges and his team , 18 large-cap US and European biopharmas will have more than US $ 500 billion in cash on hand by the end of 2022 . The analysts said the funds could be used to strike deals , pay down debt , or provide dividends or share buybacks to shareholders .

The 18 drugmakers ’ theoretical firepower , at more than US $ 1.7 trillion , would be enormous because they can leverage their assets to borrow additional capital , according to the analysts .

When excluding existing debt , 12 of the 18 companies examined by Porges ’ team are expected to have more than US $ 20 billion in cash by the end of 2022 . Porges expects Pfizer , Moderna , Johnson & Johnson ( J & J ), Novartis , and BioNTech to have net cash of more than US $ 20 billion , even after debt .

Meanwhile , when debt is factored in , the team estimates that Regeneron , Vertex , Novo Nordisk , and GlaxoSmithKline will have between US $ 11 billion and

ON DEC 1 , 2021 , Harrison . ai , a groundbreaking healthcare AI company , announced it had raised US $ 97 million in one of Australia ’ s largest-ever Series B funding rounds .

The money will go toward helping Harrison . ai achieve its goal of rapidly commercialising comprehensive clinical AI applications to scale critical capacity in the global healthcare system .

Sonic Healthcare and I-MED Radiology Network made new equity investments in the Series B funding round , led by existing investor Horizons Ventures , and included existing investors Blackbird Ventures and Skip Capital .

Harrison . ai has now raised a total of US $$ 118 million in the last two years .

Harrison . ai also announced a new collaboration with Sonic Healthcare , a leader in medical diagnostics , to co-develop and commercialise new clinical AI pathology solutions .

The Joint Venture will result in new AI applications that will help pathologists diagnose diseases more efficiently and effectively .

Harrison . ai plans to use the

US $ 18 billion in cash on hand . Porges estimates that the 18 biopharma majors will have US $ 1.72 trillion in M & A capacity based on their cash positions and potential room to take on new debt .

With more than US $ 200 billion in M & A power , J & J topped the list . Pfizer and Novartis came in second and third with US $ 175 billion and US $ 154 billion , respectively . According to the team , AbbVie , GSK , Bristol Myers Squibb , and Merck will each have a market capitalisation of more than US $ 100 billion .

Using Wall Street consensus estimates , Porges and his team calculated each company ’ s cash flow by the end of 2022 . Major onetime events have benefited some businesses . The sale of Novartis ’ 20-year investment in Roche netted the company US $ 20.7 billion .

The spin-off of GSK and Pfizer ’ s consumer health joint venture , which is scheduled for mid-2022 , is expected to bring in US $ 27.7 billion and US $ 16.3 billion , respectively . The analysis did not consider J & J ’ s planned spinoff of its world-leading consumer health franchise , which the New Jersey corporation expects to take nearly two years to complete .

For example , Pfizer , BioNTech , and Moderna are benefiting greatly from sales of their Covid-19 vaccines and treatments . According to consensus estimates cited by Porges , Pfizer could see total sales of US $ 84 billion from its BioNTech-partnered Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty and its yet-to-be-authorised oral antiviral Paxlovid between 2021 and 2023 .

However , having cash on hand does not always imply busy M & A activity . Consider 2021 : PwC estimated that the biopharmaceutical industry had US $ 1.47 trillion in M & A firepower at the end of 2020 . However , Merck & Co ’ s US $ 11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron was the largest buyout announced in 2021 involving two drugmakers . Jazz Pharmaceuticals ’ US $ 7.2 billion acquisition of GW Pharma was the only other deal worth more than US $ 5 billion .

Harrison . ai Co-Founders Dimitry Tran ( Left ) and Dr Aengus Tran ( Right ), with Sonic Healthcare Ceo Dr Colin Goldschmidt .

new funds to rapidly expand its team of AI data scientists and engineers and expand into new areas of healthcare with global clinical partners .

Harrison . ai will expand globally while leveraging medical expertise and reach thanks to a combination of global investors like Horizons Ventures and strategic clinical investors .

Due to ongoing increases in healthcare demand , skills shortages , and pandemic-related backlogs in clinical demand , capacity in many clinical diagnosis and treatment areas is strained .

Skilled radiologists and clinicians are in short supply in developed healthcare systems such as the UK and the US , with significantly more staff needed to meet rising demand for diagnosis .

Despite the shortage , there is a significant disparity to other markets : the US has approximately 11 radiologists per 100,000 people , while Kenya has only 0.35 radiologists per 100,000 people .

Dr Aengus Tran , Co-Founder and CEO of Harrison . ai , said : “ Delivering equitable , effective and accurate healthcare to more people is a critical part of our mission at Harrison . ai , and as we emerge from the pandemic that mission is more important than ever .

“ With our model and methodology now proven across multiple clinical areas , we are in a position to expand to new clinical areas and deliver on our mission with the support of our investors and partners .”

Chris Liu from Horizons Ventures said : “ Harrison . ai ’ s distinct approach to AI healthcare has enabled the team to commercialise market-leading solutions at a record pace with its partners . We look forward to working closely with the team and our partners to help augment the capacity of healthcare systems globally .”

Covid-19 vaccines efficacy correlates with a probiotic bacterium

THE Centre for Gut Microbiota Research of the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong ( CU Medicine ) was one of the first in the world to discover that germs in our gut ( gut microbiota ) modulate our immunity and disease severity in Covid-19 .

The efficacy of Sinovac and BioNTech was linked to a unique bacterium , Bifidobacterium adolescentis , shared the research team of a collaborative research project between CU Medicine and the LKS Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong ( HKUMed ).

People who did not have Bifidobacterium adolescentis in their gut had a poor antibody response to Sinovac , according to the researchers . Those who did not receive BioNTech and did not have two types of bacteria , including Bifidobacterium adolescentis , had a lower antibody response .

GenScript and BioComo join forces

ON DEC 1 , 2021 , GenScript Biotech Corporation ( GenScript ), a leading global biotechnology company , and BioComo Incorporation ( BioComo ), a drug discovery venture based in Mie prefecture , Japan , announced a strategic agreement for a joint research and development project using GenScript ’ s cPass™ SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate Virus Neutralisation Test ( sVNT ) Kit as the in vitro neutralisation assay of a BC-PIV derived SARS-Cov-2 vaccine .

GenScript will be in charge of providing the cPass™ sVNT Kit and technical expertise for vaccine evaluation . The two companies have agreed to expand sVNT utilities in Japan for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development .

BC-PIV is a non-transmissible viral vector developed by BioComo and Mie University . It is derived from recombinant human parainfluenza virus type 2 ( hPIV2 ).

Canon Medical ’ s support for liver studies

CANON Medical announced its support for the iLEAD ( innovative Liver , Elasticity , Attenuation and Dispersion ) study , an international multicenter study evaluating quantitative ultrasound imaging tools against liver biopsy ( the current clinical gold standard ), available on the Aplio Liver Package for the assessment of Steatosis , Fibrosis , and Inflammation in the clinical environment .

This Multicenter study focuses on assessing NASH ( Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis ) using non-invasive innovative ultrasound liver imaging techniques against the current gold standard of liver biopsy .

Over 200 patients will be recruited for the study , with researchers from China , Japan , South Korea , the United States , and Europe comparing their results .

Non-invasive ultrasound diagnostics , according to researchers , can provide a faster , safer , and more widely available assessment of NASH , which may benefit patients by allowing for earlier detection , treatment , and follow-up .

The Aplio system now includes three distinct technologies ; Shear Wave Elastography ( SWE ), Shear Wave Dispersion ( SWD ), and Attenuation Imaging ( ATI ); as well as an integrated multi-parametric reporting capability that integrates quantifiable liver imaging into daily practise . — The Health