Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

Seoul – October 13, 2026 -- South Korea's GCCL and LabConnect signed a memorandum of understanding on October 12 to link their North American and Asia-Pacific (APAC) central laboratory capabilities for joint sales and project execution in global clinical trials.

Partners formalize a relationship spanning more than 20 years

The agreement builds on a collaboration that has run for more than 20 years. It aims to improve the operational efficiency of global trial projects by combining each company's regional expertise. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The signing took place at GCCL's headquarters. GCCL CEO Kwan-goo Cho attended, as did LabConnect's Jeff Mayhew, Founder and Strategic Commercial Advisor, and Joshua Gentile, Senior Vice President, Head of Commercial Sales and Marketing.

Philadelphia – October 13, 2026 -- Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, closed its inaugural Clinical & Research Congress after more than 80 sessions and scheduled the 2027 edition for Washington, D.C., October 15-17, 2027.

The congress ran October 9-11, 2026, in Philadelphia. It brought together clinicians, researchers, scientists, healthcare professionals, industry leaders, people with lived experience and community advocates.

Sessions span immunotherapies, islet cell therapies and AI-driven tools

The program covered endocrinology, discovery science and immunotherapies, and emerging technologies including AI and digital twins. It also addressed islet cell and disease-modifying therapies, and access to care for the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community.

Friendswood – October 13, 2026 -- Management recommendations changed in line with TissueCypher risk classifications for 96% of patients in a multi-center Barrett's esophagus cohort, according to data Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) is presenting at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting in Nashville, Oct. 9-14.

The company is presenting three studies: two case reports and one multi-center cohort study. All three examine whether the molecular test adds risk information beyond histopathology.

TissueCypher and clinicopathologic scoring agreed only slightly in the multi-center cohort

The cohort study (P5192) compared TissueCypher with the Progression in Barrett's (PIB) clinicopathologic approach and found only slight agreement (Cohen's κ = 0.04). TissueCypher classified 83% of patients as low risk and 17% as intermediate/high risk. The PIB score classified 31% as low risk and 69% as intermediate/high risk.

New York – October 13, 2026 -- New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) has appointed Meghan Delaney, DO, MPH, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective October 13, 2026, ending Christopher D. Hillyer's 17-year tenure atop the nonprofit blood and life sciences group.

The Board of Trustees selected Delaney following an extensive national search. Hillyer, who has led NYBCe since 2009, will become Special Advisor to the Board of Trustees. He will work with Delaney on the transition and continue to provide strategic guidance to the Board and leadership.

Los Angeles – October 13, 2026 -- R&S Holdings, a Maryland-based behavioral health organization, has acquired Innovo Detox, a Pennsylvania provider of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services, in a transaction advised by M&A Healthcare Advisors (MAHA). Financial terms were not disclosed.

MAHA served as exclusive sell-side advisor on an accelerated timeline

MAHA, a FINRA-licensed investment bank focused on healthcare, represented Innovo exclusively. Managing Director Andre Ulloa and Senior Associate Mike Abud led the engagement.

The deal required structuring as a clean, standalone acquisition. MAHA coordinated the diligence process and worked with legal counsel on both sides to keep the transaction moving, and it closed on an accelerated timeline.

Burlington – October 13, 2026 -- Eighty-six percent of 21 heart failure patients at imminent risk of hospital admission were decongested at home without hospitalization using SQ Innovation's subcutaneous furosemide product Lasix ONYU, according to interim results from the investigator-sponsored Gator SCALES-WHF study.

Three patients were admitted within 30 days for additional treatment. The data were presented on October 11 at the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Annual Scientific Meeting 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

University of Florida study tests same-day home treatment pathway

Gator SCALES-WHF is a prospective, open-label, single-arm, real-world study at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Principal Investigator Mustafa M. Ahmed, MD, leads the trial, and cardiology fellow Jude ElSaygh, MD, presented the interim data.

Pittsburgh – October 13, 2026 -- STERIS, a roughly $6 billion-revenue infection prevention provider with 18,000 Associates, has agreed to acquire Pittsburgh-area surgical safety specialist Xodus Medical, adding a portfolio of operating room consumables.

Financial terms were not disclosed in the announcement.

STERIS Targets Double-Digit Growth in Specialty Surgical Products

STERIS President and CEO Dan Carestio said Xodus Medical's portfolio complements and expands the STERIS offering, particularly through consumables used in the operating room. He said the business has demonstrated an ability to grow at double-digit rates, supported by a specialty product portfolio, a steady stream of new products and a highly effective commercial team.

Carestio said the combined company aims to enhance service to customers and create value for STERIS shareholders.

San Francisco – October 13, 2026 -- Avive Solutions will supply five Avive Connect AEDs along the course of the 36th Walk for Life & Famously Hot Pink 10K + 5K in Columbia, South Carolina, as the event's first aid sponsor. The race, presented by Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, takes place Saturday, October 13, 2026.

Medical volunteers will carry the defibrillators on the route

Event medical volunteers will carry the five devices along the course, so trained professionals have them at hand during a cardiac emergency. Jeffery Faw, the foundation's Executive Director and Chief Development Officer, said the event draws thousands of participants each year and that the devices give the medical team current technology for such an emergency.

Menlo Park – October 13, 2026 -- Endovascular Engineering, Inc. (E2) has received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for both the Hēlo Thrombectomy System and Hēlo Return, a blood return system the company describes as the first cleared for use with continuous vacuum aspiration.

FDA clears two devices for pulmonary embolism treatment

The Hēlo platform is built for treating pulmonary embolism (PE). The FDA's decision followed its review of clinical data from the ENGULF IDE study, which demonstrated safety and efficacy of the Hēlo Thrombectomy System. E2 says it is now accelerating plans to bring the platform to a broad range of physicians and patients.

St. Louis – October 13, 2026 -- Labrador Retrievers kept lean from puppyhood lived a median of 1.8 years longer than heavier matched littermates, according to findings from the 14-year Purina Life Span Study, which the Purina Institute is revisiting on the study's 25th anniversary.

Lean-fed dogs reached a median life span of 13.0 years versus 11.2 years for controls

The study followed 48 Labrador Retrievers from seven litters. Each pair of matched littermates received the same complete and balanced diet, but one dog was fed 25% less food than its sibling to maintain lean body condition. The sibling served as the control. The Purina Institute describes it as the first-ever canine lifelong dietary study.

The 1.8-year gap equals a 15% extension in median life span. Lean-fed dogs also stayed free of treatment for age-related chronic conditions for longer, reaching 12.0 years before treatment was required versus 9.9 years for control-fed dogs.