Catania/Madrid, June 11, 2025 – Italian ophthalmology company SIFI will be fully acquired by Faes Farma, a leading Spanish pharmaceutical company. SIFI’s shareholders have signed an agreement to this effect, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. The transaction values SIFI at a double-digit multiple of its 2024 EBITDA and includes success-based payments tied to milestones for the drug Akantior. The acquisition will create one of the most comprehensive ophthalmology portfolios in the industry. SIFI brings its established pharmaceutical and surgical business lines, as well as high-growth segments such as contract manufacturing and rare diseases. Together with Laboratorios Edol, a Portuguese company recently acquired by Faes Farma, ophthalmology will account for approximately 20 percent of the group’s pro forma revenues. The integration will enable portfolio synergies, cross-selling opportunities, and operational and cost efficiencies. The acquisition opens up access for Faes Farma to high-growth markets such as Italy, France, Romania, and...

The first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism is set to continue on Tuesday in London with a second day of talks. The gathering of key officials from the world’s two largest economies is widely seen as a crucial step in easing tensions between the two countries, sending a positive signal to the global economy. The highly anticipated trade talks come just days after a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. They are aimed at implementing the consensus reached by both leaders and continuing to foster dialogue and cooperation in economic and trade fields. The London talks are a direct outcome of the Geneva discussions in May, when both sides agreed to pause the escalating tariffs and establish a consultation mechanism to continue negotiations. The Geneva meeting featured the first face-to-face…

Ascend Advanced Therapies (Ascend), a gene-to-GMP development partner, has received GMP certification for Quality Control (QC) testing at its site in Munich, Germany. “The team successfully completed a joint inspection by the government of Upper Bavaria and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute in September of 2024,“ said Karl Heller, VP and Head of Site at Munich. “Building on our world-class innovation and development capabilities, the GMP certification enables streamlined stability testing and release of higher quality AAV-based gene therapy products.“ The Munich facility is now certified to perform advanced commercial assays for DNA impurities, vector genome titer, capsid titer and process residuals using state-of-the-art techniques, including droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and automated immunoassay. These methods offer key advantages over traditional approaches like qPCR and manual ELISA: ddPCR provides high robustness and removes the need for reference standards, while automated immunoassay improves reproducibility, speeds…

London/Edinburgh, June 10, 2025 – A new study led by the University of Edinburgh reveals alarming gaps in testing uterine cancer patients for Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition that increases the risk of other cancers such as colon cancer. Despite guidelines from the UK's National Health Service (NHS), less than half of eligible patients were tested for this hereditary disease. Lynch syndrome, which affects about one in 300 people, increases the risk of uterine cancer to 50 percent compared to three percent in the general population. Only five percent of those affected are aware of their condition. A diagnosis allows for preventive measures such as regular colonoscopies, aspirin use, or hysterectomies, which can reduce cancer risk, improve treatment outcomes, and lower costs for the NHS. According to the study, published in BMJ Oncology (doi.org/10.1136/bmjonc-2024-000688), over 2,500 cases of uterine cancer in the UK and Ireland were examined between 2022 and 2023. While…