Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

TOKYO – October 29, 2026 -- Astellas Pharma Inc. has secured an exclusive option on a worldwide license to Audax Biosciences' immuno-oncology candidate DAX-044 in a transaction worth up to US$1.34 billion, excluding royalties.

Audax receives US$285 million up front and on option exercise

Audax will receive US$285 million in combined up-front and option-exercise payments. It is also eligible for development and commercial milestones of up to US$1.05 billion, plus tiered double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales if DAX-044 is approved.

Audax carries the program into a Phase 1 study expected to start in 2027. DAX-044 is currently in IND/CTN-enabling development.

Thousand Oaks – October 29, 2026 -- Amgen's Board of Directors declared a fourth-quarter 2026 dividend of $2.52 per share, the company (NASDAQ: AMGN) announced.

Amgen sets December 11 payment date for Q4 dividend

The dividend will be paid on December 11, 2026, to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 20, 2026.

Dow Jones and Nasdaq-100 member keeps dividend in focus for investors

Amgen is one of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index. The company is advancing a pipeline and portfolio of medicines for cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases, and obesity and obesity-related conditions.

Brea, California – October 29, 2026 -- Envista Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NVST) reduced waste generation by 40% year over year and water consumption by 19% in 2025, according to its sixth annual sustainability report.

Envista Smile Project donates $2.4 million, reaching nearly 20,000 patients

The dental products group donated $2.4 million through the Envista Smile Project to expand access to care and oral health education. Services, products and charitable support reached close to 20,000 patients.

Lost time injury rate falls 17% year over year

Envista also reported a 17% year-over-year decrease in its lost time injury rate, the report's workforce safety metric.

Thousand Oaks – October 29, 2026 -- Amgen's dazodalibep reduced systemic disease activity in Sjögren's disease patients by 5.6 points on the ESSDAI scale at Week 48 in the Phase 3 OASIZ-301 trial, against 3.8 points for placebo. The company will present the late-breaking data at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2026.

Both dazodalibep regimens beat placebo on the primary endpoint

Patients entered OASIZ-301 with an average ESSDAI score of 10.2. The trial enrolled approximately 621 adults with moderate-to-severe systemic disease activity (ESSDAI of at least 5).

The 1,500 mg every-four-weeks regimen cut scores by a least-squares mean of 5.6 points, 1.8 points better than placebo (adjusted p<0.001). The 3,000 mg every-12-weeks regimen cut scores by 5.2 points, 1.4 points better than placebo (adjusted p=0.010). Treatment effects appeared as early as four weeks.

NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 -- Breakthrough T1D, the global type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and advocacy organization, has presented four awards to researchers whose work spans disease prevention, insulin pump therapy, beta cell biology and large-scale clinical trials. The recipients were recognized at a ceremony in Philadelphia earlier in October 2026.

Chief Scientific Officer Sanjoy Dutta, Ph.D., said the honorees embody the organization's mission "to accelerate research toward cures for type 1 diabetes while improving the lives of those who live with it."

MILAN – October 29, 2026 -- Bracco Imaging will invest $230 million to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility for injectable contrast media in Sanford, North Carolina, creating an expected 200 jobs.

Plant targets the company's largest market

The United States is Bracco's largest market. The sterile manufacturing site will add U.S. production capacity for injectable contrast media used in diagnostic imaging. Bracco says the added capacity will help it meet growing demand and respond to customer needs.

The facility will join existing production operations in Europe, Asia and Canada, giving the company a more geographically diversified manufacturing network. Bracco frames the project as a supply chain resilience measure.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – October 29, 2026 -- Ovation Healthcare has released a playbook to help rural hospitals convert the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) into lasting operational gains, as states move through application, review, award and implementation.

CMS awards the full $50 billion to all 50 states

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded the full $50 billion authorized for the program to all 50 states. The money is distributed at $10 billion per year from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2030.

Ovation Healthcare frames the funding as a chance for rural hospitals to strengthen financial performance, expand access to care and build the capabilities to serve their communities.

ARLINGTON, Va. – October 29, 2026 -- March of Dimes has awarded $150,000 each to two early-career researchers, committing $300,000 in total through its 2026 Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Awards. The recipients are Dr. Helen Vuong, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and Dr. Laurie Eldredge, MD, PhD, of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Vuong to test whether the maternal gut microbiome carries iron's effects to the fetal brain

Vuong, an assistant professor in Minneapolis, studies the intersection of the maternal gut microbiome and fetal neurobiology. Her grant targets iron, an essential micronutrient that is deficient in 50 percent of pregnant women globally.

Carlsbad – October 29, 2026 -- ImpediMed has appointed Nicole L. Stout, DPT, CLT-LANA, FAPTA, as Chief Clinical Innovation Officer, effective November 1, 2026, to speed adoption of its SOZO Digital Health Platform in cancer survivorship care.

Stout will lead clinical strategy, research, medical affairs and key opinion leader engagement. Her mandate is to expand use of the platform across care settings.

Stout's research helped establish the Prospective Surveillance Model

Stout has spent more than 25 years in cancer rehabilitation and survivorship. Her research helped build the evidence base for the Prospective Surveillance Model (PSM), which pairs pretreatment baseline assessments with risk-stratified interval monitoring. Patients are referred to supportive care when changes appear.

San Diego – October 29, 2026 -- SEKISUI Diagnostics has launched the OSOM COVID-19/Flu A&B Combo Test, a 510(k)-cleared rapid test that detects and differentiates SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A and B from a single anterior nasal swab in professional healthcare settings.

CLIA-waived assay is manufactured in the USA for point-of-care use

The product is a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for the qualitative detection of influenza A and B nucleoprotein antigens and SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen. It is intended for individuals with signs and symptoms of respiratory tract infection. SEKISUI Diagnostics manufactures the test in the USA and backs it with a technical services team of medical laboratory professionals.

QC Inside feature removes separate quality control costs

Each kit includes QC Inside, which eliminates separate quality control (QC) costs. It also provides two additional patient tests for external QC at no charge.