Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

Chicago – October 15, 2026 -- The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) is one of 24 associations profiled in a new book on how professional bodies guided their members through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author Joanna M. Pineda documents association response across health care and education

"When It Mattered Most: The Untold Story of How Associations Protected Professions and Saved Industries During the Pandemic" was written by association executive Joanna M. Pineda. It covers organizations in health care, education and other industries. AAE appears in the health care section with a chapter titled "When the Pain Can't Wait."

Pineda wrote the book to document pandemic response that often happened outside public view. Associations had to interpret rapidly changing information, advocate for their professions and supply resources to members when no established playbook existed.

Toronto – October 15, 2026 -- PointClickCare has appointed Armughan Ahmad, former chief executive of AI data company Appen (ASX: APX), to its board of directors as the health tech company pushes an AI-first strategy, while Rob Eberle steps down after more than 11 years on the board.

Ahmad brings 25 years of enterprise technology leadership to the board

Ahmad has led multi-billion-dollar businesses through shifts from enterprise data centers to cloud computing to artificial intelligence. At Appen, he led a company serving leading AI labs, hyperscalers and large enterprises.

Before Appen, he was President and Managing Partner of Digital at KPMG, where he ran a digital business delivering services with software products. Earlier, as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Dell Technologies, he oversaw the Hybrid Cloud and High-Performance Computing solutions portfolio, including bringing AI systems to market with NVIDIA.

Indianapolis – October 15, 2026 -- More than one in four ulcerative colitis (UC) patients (27.7%) treated with Eli Lilly and Company's Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz) achieved comprehensive disease control at one year, compared with 14% on placebo, according to a post hoc analysis of the LUCENT-2 trial.

In the VIVID-1 Crohn's disease trial, 20.4% of Omvoh-treated patients reached corticosteroid-free deep remission, versus 2% on placebo. Lilly will present both analyses at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2026.

Cambridge, Mass. – October 15, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted a second Fast Track Designation to Marengo Therapeutics' invikafusp alfa, extending the drug's expedited status from one tumor type to all tumor mutational burden high (TMB-H) solid tumors regardless of tissue of origin.

The new designation covers unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic TMB-H solid tumors that have progressed after prior treatment, including immune checkpoint inhibition, and for which no satisfactory treatment options exist. Marengo believes invikafusp alfa is the first immuno-oncology T-cell agonist to receive Fast Track Designation in a biomarker-defined, tissue-agnostic indication.

Friendswood, Texas – October 15, 2026 -- Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) will release its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2026, after the close of market on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.

Management hosts webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 5

Company management will discuss the results on a live webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on the same day. A brief question-and-answer session will follow management's commentary.

Investors can access the webcast through the Investor Relations page of the company's website. The company asks participants to join at least 10 minutes before the start time. A replay will be available after the webcast concludes.

Bronx – October 15, 2026 -- Montefiore Einstein has unveiled a renovated labor and delivery suite at Jack D. Weiler Hospital, funded by a $9.68 million grant from the New York Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program.

The Weiler Mother Baby Unit, on the sixth floor at 1825 Eastchester Road, received a redesigned workflow and capital upgrades to its L&D rooms, maternal surgical suite, and triage and waiting areas. Five of six construction phases are complete. The final phase covers the last two L&D rooms and a back service elevator upgrade, and is planned for completion in early 2027. The work proceeded in phases with no interruption to patient care.

Taipei – October 15, 2026 -- MetaTech AP Inc. (TPEx: 3224) reported revenue of NT$1.391 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 21% year over year. The company outlined its 2027 strategy at an investor conference, with electronics and biomedicine as its two growth engines.

Electronics revenue rises 24.7% on AI server and power supply demand

The electronics business grew 24.7% year over year in the first nine months. MetaTech AP is pursuing opportunities in AI servers, power supplies and semiconductors. For 2027, it plans to strengthen AI-related applications and sales in the segment.

New York – – October 15, 2026 -- Expert Consumers has named Sharps Assure a top choice for veterinary clinics, citing flat-rate mail-back kits, container sizes from 1 quart to 28 gallons, and no required long-term contracts. The review is published on an affiliate site that may earn commissions from sales made through its links.

Flat-rate kits replace recurring pickup fees

Each Sharps Assure kit price covers the container, return packaging, authorized shipping, treatment and final disposal. The review contrasts this with scheduled pickup services, which can charge for visits whether or not a container is full. Clinics order another kit only when they need more capacity, which ties spending to actual waste volume.

The review says this suits independent offices, mobile veterinarians, specialty clinics and shelters with low or changing volumes. It also names newly opened practices that cannot yet predict monthly sharps output.

Shanghai – October 15, 2026 -- WuXi XDC (2268.HK) has won "Best CDMO" at the 2026 World ADC Awards for the fourth consecutive year and "Best CRO" for the second, making it the only contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) to take both titles two years running.

WuXi XDC reports record 51 new iCMC projects in first half of 2026

According to the company's 2026 interim results, WuXi XDC had more than 810 global clients as of June 30, 2026. Fifteen of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies by revenue are among its partners. The company has helped clients submit more than 160 IND applications and now holds 328 iCMC projects. The 51 signed in the first half of 2026 are a record.

Headcount exceeds 3,600, and more than 50% of employees hold a master's degree or higher.

Stockholm – October 15, 2026 -- The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected SciBase Holding AB's Nevisense electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technology as the primary endpoint in its THREAT study, which will test how environmental exposures affect the skin barrier in 80 healthy volunteers.

NIH and Swiss institute launch THREAT study on everyday exposures

THREAT (Testing Harms Related to Exposure to Allergenic Toxins) is led by the NIH in collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF). The study design is described in an editorial in the peer-reviewed journal Allergy, titled "Exploring the Link Between Environmental Exposures and Disease via Direct Challenge."