JANUARY-FEBRUARY , 2023 | THE HEALTH

“ We are excited to officially welcome the talented Abiomed team to Johnson & Johnson . Their patient-first philosophy aligns with Our Credo and Our Purpose to change the future of health for humanity ,” said Joaquin Duato , CEO of Johnson & Johnson .

“ This acquisition marks another

IN findings from a new global survey , nearly half ( 44 per cent ) of the expert healthcare professionals ( HCPs ) surveyed across seven countries reported that the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors prevented some people living with systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE ) from getting optimal care in the past two years , increasing their risk for organ damage .

Organ damage , which occurs most commonly in the kidneys , skin , and heart , is a key determinant of poor long-term prognosis in SLE . Delays in care – such as those experienced during the pandemic as reported by survey respondents – can be critical , as organ damage can occur in up to 48 per cent of people living with lupus , most within five years of diagnosis . Lupus flares can also increase the risk of organ damage , and some surveyed HCPs report that nearly a quarter ( 23 per cent ) of their patients experienced an increase in flares compared to pre-pandemic .

The survey of 648 rheumatologists , nephrologists and internal medicine specialists offers global insight into the range of factors that , in addition to the pandemic , contribute to the increased risk some lupus patients have for developing organ damage , such as lupus nephritis , an important step on Johnson & Johnson ’ s path to accelerating growth in our MedTech business and delivering innovative medical technologies to more people around the world .”

Ashley McEvoy , Executive Vice President and Worldwide Chairman of MedTech at Johnson & Johnson , added : “ The completion of this acquisition allows Johnson & Johnson MedTech to expand our portfolio in the high growth cardiovascular markets , adding solutions for heart recovery to our global market leading Biosense Webster electrophysiology business . “ Fueled by Johnson & Johnson ’ s global scale and commercial and

inflammation of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure and is one of the most common complications of SLE .

Dr Rajeev Raghavan , nephrologist , Clinical Professor of Medicine , University of Houston Tilman Fertitta Family College of Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor , Baylor College of Medicine said : “ Organ damage is a very real risk for people living with lupus and these survey results underscore the critical need for improved tools and guidelines .”

Mike Donnelly , Vice President of Communications , Lupus Foundation of America ( Secretariat of the World Lupus Federation ) said : “ Some of these findings echo what we know about the experiences of people with lupus and organ damage .

“ These important conversations are happening between people with lupus and their doctors , but more action is needed and should be happening at diagnosis if we are going to truly reduce the burden of organ damage on people with lupus and their families .” clinical strength , we are excited to explore the opportunities and possibilities ahead to reach even more patients with critical unmet need .”

Johnson & Johnson ’ s tender offer for all outstanding shares of Abiomed for an upfront payment of US $ 380 per share in cash , corresponding to an enterprise value of approximately US $ 16.6 billion , which includes cash acquired , expired at 11:59 p . m ., New York City time , on Dec 21 , 2022 .

Abiomed shareholders will also

BioNTech SE ( BioNTech ) announced on Dec 23 , 2022 , the initiation of a first-inhuman Phase 1 study with BNT165b1 , the first candidate from the Company ’ s BNT165 program , to develop a multiantigen malaria vaccine candidate .

BioNTech will initially evaluate a set of mRNA-encoded antigens of the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum ( P . falciparum ) to help select the multi-antigen vaccine candidate to proceed to planned later-stage trials .

This first clinical trial ( NCT05581641 ) will evaluate the safety , tolerability and exploratory immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate BNT165b1 . BNT165b1 expresses certain parts of the circumsporozoite protein ( CSP ).

The World Health Organisation ( WHO ) estimated that there were over 247 million cases of malaria and 619,000 associated deaths in 2021 . P . falciparum caused the majority of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa . Ninetyfive per cent of all cases occurred in the African region with children under five years old being the most vulnerable population , due to a high risk of severe disease progression and chronic complications .

So far , one vaccine has been approved in children for prevention of a malaria infection . There is still medical need for the development and manufacturing of highly efficacious vaccines preventing malaria caused by P . falciparum to achieve the goal of

receive a non-tradeable contingent value right (“ CVR ”) entitling the holder to receive up to US $ 35.00 per share in cash if certain commercial and clinical milestones are achieved .

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company , LLC , the depositary for the tender offer , has advised Johnson & Johnson that approximately 25,759,195 shares of Abiomed common stock were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn in the tender offer , representing approximately 57.1 per cent of the then-outstanding shares of Abiomed ’ s common stock .

In connection with the completion of the transaction , Abiomed ’ s common stock ceased trading on NASDAQ .

malaria eradication and to reduce the physical and socioeconomic burden of malaria in highly endemic areas .

BioNTech ’ s proprietary BNT165 program is part of the Company ’ s Malaria project first announced in July 2021 and has two key objectives :

First , to develop a well-tolerated and highly effective mRNA vaccine with durable protective immunity to prevent blood-stage Malaria infection , clinical disease and disease-associated mortality as well as reduction of secondary transmissions .

The second objective is to develop sustainable vaccine production and supply solutions on the African continent , including the Company ’ s BioNTainer solution which aims to contribute to WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s ( Africa CDC ) mission to promote health and strengthen the capacity of the region to detect , prevent , control and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats .

MODERNA , Inc ., a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA ( mRNA ) therapeutics and vaccines , and OriCiro Genomics K . K ., a pioneer in cell-free DNA synthesis and amplification technologies , announced on Jan 4 , 2023 , that they have entered into a definitive agreement through which Moderna will acquire OriCiro for $ 85 million .

“ With this acquisition , we obtain best-in-class tools for cell-free synthesis and amplification of plasmid DNA , a key building block in mRNA manufacturing ,” said Stéphane Bancel , Chief Executive Officer of Moderna .

“ OriCiro ’ s technology strategically complements our manufacturing expertise and further accelerates our research and development engine . We look forward to welcoming the OriCiro team to Moderna .”

“ Moderna has demonstrated remarkable speed and ability to impact lives through their innovative platform and mRNA therapeutics . I am confident that our technology and talent will be a highly strategic fit with Moderna ,” said Nasir Kato Bashiruddin , Chief Executive Officer of OriCiro .

“ We are thrilled to join forces with Moderna to realize the full power of OriCiro for the benefit of patients ,” added Seiji Hirasaki , President and Co-founder of OriCiro . – The Health