Pharmaceuticals & Biopharmaceuticals

Calgary – September 29, 2026 -- Providence Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. has formed its first Clinical Advisory Board to guide development of its therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccine programs, including a personalized vaccine for pediatric brain cancer and off-the-shelf precision therapies for solid tumors.

Chief Medical Officer Leon Rozen chairs new four-member advisory panel

Dr. Rozen leads the board, which brings in Ezra Cohen, MD; Melinda Merchant, MD, PhD; and John Powderly, MD, to steer clinical strategy for the company's cancer vaccine pipeline.

Tempus AI oncology chief joins board with immunotherapy track record

Ezra Cohen currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for Oncology at Tempus AI. He previously held roles as Professor of Medicine and Division Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego.

Plainsboro, N.J. – – September 29, 2026 -- Novo Nordisk reported that adults with type 2 diabetes who escalated their semaglutide dose to 2 mg showed a statistically significant 6% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) compared with patients who switched to tirzepatide, according to real-world data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting 2026 in Milan.

Retrospective analysis covers 636,525 patients on semaglutide 1 mg

The COMPETE SWITCH Cardiovascular study used Komodo Health's Healthcare Map claims database, spanning January 2018 to September 2025, to compare outcomes for patients escalating from semaglutide 1 mg to 2 mg against those switching to tirzepatide at doses up to 15 mg. The cardiovascular cohort included 185,705 adults who escalated to semaglutide 2 mg and 23,104 who switched to tirzepatide, tracked via an intention-to-treat approach for death, heart attack, and stroke.

Washington, D.C. – September 29, 2026 -- LUNGevity Foundation has committed $2 million to fund two three-year clinical research projects aimed at improving the diagnosis of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs), a condition affecting more than 1.5 million Americans annually after routine chest CT scans.

The funding, awarded through the 2026 RTFCCR/LUNGevity Early Detection Award in partnership with the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR), targets a diagnostic gap that currently forces many patients into unnecessary invasive procedures or prolonged uncertainty when non-invasive tools fail to determine whether a lung nodule is benign or malignant.

San Francisco – September 29, 2026 -- Innovent Biologics reported an 84.6% overall response rate for its trispecific antibody IBI3003 at the recommended Phase 2 dose in heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients, data presented in an oral session at the 23rd International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting 2026.

Trial identifies 360 μg/kg as the optimal dose after testing three dose levels

Among 26 patients treated at 360 μg/kg with a median follow-up of 7.57 months, median progression-free survival has not yet been reached. The cohort produced 11 stringent complete responses, 4 very good partial responses, and 7 partial responses. Response rates climbed to 94.7% among 19 patients who had received only 2 to 4 prior lines of therapy, and 92.3% among 13 patients without extramedullary disease.

Washington D.C. – September 29, 2026 -- Implantica AG launched its FDA-approved RefluxStop device in the U.S. market at the American Foregut Society (AFS) 2026 Annual Meeting, drawing an over-capacity crowd of more than 120 surgeons and gastroenterologists that forced organizers to turn away additional attendees.

FDA approval opens U.S. market for non-encircling GERD device

Following its recent Premarket Approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, RefluxStop entered a U.S. GERD treatment market estimated at 78 million patients. Unlike conventional anti-reflux surgeries that wrap around the esophagus, RefluxStop is designed to restore natural anatomy without encircling the food passageway, aiming to reduce side effects such as dysphagia and inability to belch or vomit.

Indianapolis – September 29, 2026 -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) reported that its oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo (orforglipron) at 17.2 mg produced 1.5% greater weight loss and 0.3% greater A1C reduction than oral semaglutide 25 mg over 52 weeks in adults with type 2 diabetes, based on an indirect treatment comparison presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Milan.

Indirect analysis draws on ACHIEVE-3 and PIONEER PLUS trial data

The comparison, covariate-adjusted for gender, age, baseline A1C and baseline weight, found weight-loss differences ranging from 1.5% to 2.4% and A1C reductions of 0.3% to 0.6% in favor of Foundayo 17.2 mg across multiple statistical methods. The 95% confidence interval for weight loss was -2.7% to -0.2%, and for A1C reduction was -0.6% to -0.1%.

Valencia – – September 29, 2026 -- Arthex Biotech has appointed Glenn Sblendorio, former CEO of IVERIC bio, as Chairman of its Board of Directors as the clinical-stage RNA therapeutics company advances its lead program ATX-01 through Phase I/IIa trials for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1).

Sblendorio brings three decades of biotech exit experience to Arthex's board

Sblendorio most recently led IVERIC bio, Inc. as CEO until its acquisition by Astellas Pharma, Inc. He previously served as President and Chief Financial Officer of The Medicines Company through its acquisition by Novartis, and as Executive Vice President and CFO of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until it was acquired by OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Earlier in his career he was a Managing Director at MPM Capital Advisors.

Shanghai – – September 29, 2026 -- Hengrui Pharma has licensed its investigational obesity and diabetes drug HRS-1596 to Novo Nordisk in a deal worth up to 2.6 billion US dollars, including a 300 million dollar upfront payment.

Novo secures global rights excluding Greater China

Under the agreement, Novo obtains exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise HRS-1596 worldwide, excluding the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan Region. Hengrui Pharma retains eligibility for royalties on net sales of the drug within Novo's licensed territory, on top of the milestone-based payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial targets.

Chengdu, China – September 29, 2026 -- iRegene Therapeutics has secured clinical trial clearances in both China and the United States for NouvSight001, an off-the-shelf cell therapy targeting retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a retinal disease affecting roughly 1.5 million people worldwide.

China's NMPA clears Phase I/III trial while FDA grants Phase I/II clearance with special exemption

China's National Medical Products Administration authorized a Phase I/III trial to assess safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of NouvSight001 in RP patients. The U.S. FDA separately cleared a Phase I/II trial for the same indication and granted a special exemption, building on the Orphan Drug Designation the agency awarded the program in 2024.

Shanghai – September 29, 2026 -- IASO Biotechnology reported a 90% objective response rate and 90% minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity rate for its BCMA-targeted in vivo CAR-T therapy IASO206, generated via a single intravenous infusion without lymphodepleting chemotherapy, in first-in-human Phase 1 data presented as a late-breaking oral session (LBA-11) at the 2026 International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting.