INDUSTRY NEWS

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Generative AI Medical Writing Tool for the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries From TrialAssure Gets a Major Upgrade to Make Scientific Document Creation Easier

December 11, 2024

CANTON, Mich. (December 10, 2024) – TrialAssure®, a global leader in AI-enabled, human-driven solutions for the pharmaceutical industry and beyond, today announced a groundbreaking addition to its TrialAssure LINK® AI content creation and medical writing tool. The new Microsoft Word AI Assistant enables content generators, like medical writers, and other content generators across several industries,…

Latest Bill Introduced That Threatens Ethical Animal Research

October 24, 2024

SB 1019, or “Queenie’s Law”, was recently introduced by Sens. Wojno and Polehanki, as a companion to 2023 legislation in the Michigan House as a response to research studies conducted at Michigan’s public universities. If enacted, public bodies, i.e., research institutions, would be prohibited from using “a dog for experimental purposes in a manner that…

MichBio Joins Medtech Partners in Asking Congress to Pass H.R. 1691

October 24, 2024

MichBio joined AdvaMed, MDMA, as well as fellow state medtech associations and other stakeholders in a letter seeking Congressional passage of H.R. 1691, the Ensuring Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act. It comes on the heels of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issuing its final rule back in August 2024 on the…

House Approves BIOSECURE Act

October 24, 2024

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed HR 8333, commonly known as the BIOSECURE Act. The bill passed 306-81, far exceeding the two thirds vote required to pass. The text of this bill was unamended from the version approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability in May (the “House bill”). Analysts have said…

Michigan Launches Rare Disease Advisory Council

October 24, 2024

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services has made appointments to a newly constituted Rare Disease Advisory Council. A rare disease is a condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. There are more than 7,000 known rare diseases and almost 1 in 10 Michiganders suffer from a rare disorder. The…

M3D Inc Awarded NSF SBIR Phase I Grant for Advanced Gamma Camera Design

October 18, 2024

M3D Inc. has secured a $275,000 SBIR Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance its research on gamma camera designs aimed at improving sentinel lymph node biopsies, particularly in tough-to-navigate head and neck cancer cases. Surgeons often face a challenge when a lymph node is too close to the tumor. Radiotracers…

ONL Therapeutics Closes $65 Million in Oversubscribed Series D Financing

September 13, 2024

ANN ARBOR, Mich., September 13, 2024 – ONL Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for protecting the vision of patients with retinal disease, today announced that it has secured $65M in Series D financing. Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. led the round that was backed by a consortium of investors that included…

CMS Finalizes Expedited TCET Coverage Pathway

August 28, 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a new Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) Pathway to expedite Medicare coverage of some FDA-approved breakthrough products. Under this finalized pathway, eligible US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated breakthrough devices that fall within a Medicare benefit category can obtain national coverage for several years…

First Drugs Subject to Inflation Reduction Act Price Provisions

August 28, 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced recently the prices that they have set for the first 10 medications as an outcome of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug provisions. For the first time, the law provides Medicare the ability to directly “negotiate” (in effect, set, as otherwise significant penalties are imposed) the prices…

FTC HOLDS PUBLIC MEETING ON PBMs

August 28, 2024

  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a virtual open meeting on the heels of issuing its Interim Report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). A press release summarized the report’s findings. Members of the public and other stakeholders provided arguments for PBM reform at the virtual meeting, citing the many ramifications that PBM business practices have had on patient…

TransPharm Preclinical Solutions: Pioneering Infectious Disease Research from Jackson, MI, with a Global Reach – MichBio Member Feature

August 19, 2024

On January 22nd, 2007, Pfizer Global Research and Development in Ann Arbor closed its doors, resulting in thousands of job losses. Just two days later, Dan Ross established TransPharm Preclinical Solutions. Ross’s motivations for starting the company were numerous, with the loss of his beloved job being a significant factor. Determined to continue working in…

State Supports Establishing Innovation Evergreen Fund

July 11, 2024

A new $60 million Michigan Innovation Fund to help launch Michigan-based startups got the support of the Michigan legislature last month, as it was included in the $82.5 billion state budget lawmakers passed for the 2025 fiscal year. While the $60 million met most lawmakers’ expectations, three House representatives are sponsoring a pending bill package that would…

MichBio Helps Sell Michigan LifeSciences at SelectUSA Summit

July 11, 2024

MichBio was honored to be part of Team Michigan at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, the highest profile event in the United States to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations (EDOs), and industry experts to make deals happen. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Investment Summit is a one-stop shop for…

Proposed USPTO Rules Likely to Cause Harm

July 11, 2024

The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Terminal Disclaimer Practice to Obviate Nonstatutory Double Patenting. The intent is to make it cheaper and easier to strike down whole families of patents to prevent them “from potentially deterring competition.” “BIO [Biotechnology Innovation Organization] believes that the proposed…

MichBio Attends 2024 BIO Convention As State Ambassador

July 11, 2024

Stephen Rapundalo, PhD, MichBio President and CEO and Emily Brockman, Director, Member Relations, joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in hosting the State of Michigan Pavilion at this year’s BIO International Convention, the largest global event for the biosciences industry. The 2024 event witnessed 19,500 industry leaders attending from 70 countries, and a record…