Trigriluzole

A roundup of the most newsworthy healthcare press releases from PR Newswire, including business strategies shaping the future of healthcare and three major health news trends. NEW YORK, March 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each month, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help healthcare journalists and consumers stay on top of the month's most popular releases and newsworthy trends, here's a recap of some of the past month's most read- and engaged-with stories. The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download. Continue Reading PR Newswire Monthly Health Press Release Roundup, February 2025. Photos provided by CINDE, Sebela Pharmaceuticals Inc and WeWard. BD Announces Intent to Separate Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions Business to Enhance Focus, Drive Growth and Unlock Value "Our BD 2025 strategy has transformed the company into a faster-growing, more profitable organization positioned at the forefront of long-term growth trends in health care," said Tom Polen, chairman, CEO and president of BD. FDA Approves MIUDELLA®, the First Hormone-Free Copper Intrauterine System (IUS) in the U.S. in Over 40 Years, from Sebela Women's Health Inc. "This innovative intrauterine device may allow for improvements in discontinuation rates due to pain and bleeding and in expulsion rates. This would be very meaningful for women looking for hormone-free options," said Principal Investigator David K. Turok, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah. Lilly launches additional Zepbound vial doses and offers new savings for self-pay patients Self-pay patients with obesity now have additional Zepbound vial options, including 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg and 10 mg doses. In addition to expanding the doses available, Lilly has reduced prices of the 2.5 mg and 5 mg vials to $349 per month and $499 per month, respectively. Costa Rica Continues to Strengthen Its Position as a Leading Hub for Life Sciences Companies Since 2017, Costa Rica's medical device exports have grown at an average annual rate of 18%, surpassing $8 billion in 2024. This rapid expansion has positioned the country as Latin America's second-largest exporter of medical devices and the fifth-largest supplier of these products to the United States. The Cigna Group Launches Actions to Drive Positive Change for Customers and Patients "The health care system in America needs to be better, and we have challenged ourselves to help lead and drive systemic change," said David M. Cordani, chairman and CEO of The Cigna Group. "We do a lot of good for many people, but we need to do better for everyone. We are committed to implementing tangible actions across our company to help drive better health outcomes and health care experiences." Biohaven Announces FDA Acceptance and Priority Review of Troriluzole New Drug Application for the Treatment of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Troriluzole has a well-established safety profile and if approved, would be the first and only FDA-approved treatment for Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), a rare, genetic, life-threatening neurodegenerative disease. AbbVie and Xilio Therapeutics Announce Collaboration and Option Agreement to Develop Novel Tumor-Activated Immunotherapies The collaboration will combine AbbVie's oncology expertise and Xilio's proprietary tumor-activation technology to develop novel immunotherapies, including masked T-cell engagers. Solventum Announces Sale of its Purification & Filtration Business to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for $4.1B "We are confident that Thermo Fisher will provide the Purification & Filtration business – which offers filters and membranes for use in the manufacturing of biopharmaceutical and medical technologies, microelectronics and food, beverage products and drinking water – the strategic investment and resources needed for sustaining growth and delivering customer solutions," said Bryan Hanson, Solventum CEO. FDA Approves First Rapid-Acting Insulin Biosimilar Product for Treatment of Diabetes As a rapid-acting insulin, Merilog helps to lower mealtime blood sugar spikes to improve control of blood sugar in people with diabetes. The approval is for both a 3 milliliter (mL) single-patient-use prefilled pen and a 10 milliliter (mL) multiple-dose vial. Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Launches Billion Cells Project with 10x Genomics and Ultima Genomics to Advance AI in Biology "Biology not only needs more data – the field needs more data faster and in interoperable formats to support AI models that address specific problems, and this project represents a unique approach to scaling and standardizing scientific outputs for AI and more," said Jonah Cool, Cell Science Senior Science Program Officer at CZI. Medtronic earns U.S. FDA approval for the world's first Adaptive deep brain stimulation system for people with Parkinson's DBS is similar to a cardiac pacemaker, but for the brain. It uses a surgically implanted neurostimulator via a minimally invasive procedure to transmit electrical signals to specific parts of the brain affected by debilitating neurological disorders. Illumina unveils first-of-its-kind spatial transcriptomics technology Illumina has announced a new spatial technology program that will empower researchers to map complex tissues and understand cellular behavior at an unprecedented scale. "With this innovation, we are setting a new bar that will drive the next wave of scientific discoveries and unlock a deeper understanding of biology," said Steve Barnard, PhD, chief technology officer of Illumina. U.S. FDA Approves EMBLAVEO™ (aztreonam and avibactam) for the Treatment of Adults With Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections With Limited or No Treatment Options "As bacteria evolve, industry, government, and clinical experts must work together to ensure that the infectious disease community has the tools to advance public health," said Roopal Thakkar, M.D., executive vice president, research & development, chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "We're proud to offer this important novel treatment option to urgently address the significant threat of antimicrobial resistance." U.S. FDA Approves Expanded Label for Astellas' IZERVAY™ (avacincaptad pegol intravitreal solution) for Geographic Atrophy Since receiving a permanent J-code in April 2024, IZERVAY has had month-over-month growth in the U.S. with more than 210,000 vials distributed through the end of December 2024. Texas Children's Hospital and UT MD Anderson Announce Joint Venture to End Childhood Cancer The partnership forms the nation's largest complement of pediatric subspecialty care and services to children diagnosed with all types of cancer within a single entity, with operations planned to launch in early 2026. For more news like this, check out all of the latest health-related releases from PR Newswire. Trending Topics Among the health news that was distributed in February, the PR Newswire team was able to spot several larger stories that highlight the trends shaping the industry. American Heart Month: February featured extensive focus on cardiovascular health with diverse awareness initiatives across multiple sectors. Prevention took center stage as Venus Williams invested in the WeWard walking app, Planet Fitness promoted strength training accessibility, and Texas advocates rallied for cardiac emergency response plans in schools during Heart Month. Former Miss Ohio Lindsay Davis joined cardiologists to raise awareness for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, while NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis partnered with the CDC Foundation's Live to the Beat campaign to address hypertension's impact on Black adults. HIMSS25: The healthcare technology sector generated significant wire activity surrounding the 2025 HIMSS Global Health Conference in Las Vegas (March 3-6). AI innovation dominated announcements, with companies unveiling solutions ranging from Kontaktio's agentic AI for care orchestration to Amtelco's AI-powered virtual agent Ellie. Industry collaboration also emerged as a key theme, with major EHR providers MedAllies, Epic, Netsmart, and eClinicalWorks announcing a joint demo, while Microsoft partnered with Canary Speech to advance digital health transformation. Rare Disease Day: As Rare Disease Day approached on Feb. 28, PR Newswire distributed numerous announcements highlighting advocacy efforts and research breakthroughs. The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) released a critical report on newborn screening programs and later partnered with Paramount Pictures to amplify awareness. The Rare Disease Diversity Coalition prepared to host its 2nd Annual RISE Awards, while NFL legends joined advocates from 49 states for the 14th annual Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill. Additional mainstream support for the rare disease community came from the New York Stock Exchange with a special pre-market update commemorating Rare Disease Day. Looking ahead: This March, women's health themes will likely dominate coverage surrounding International Women's Day (March 8) and throughout Women's History Month. PR Newswire also anticipates significant activity around National Nutrition Month, with releases spotlighting dietary innovations and wellness campaigns. Do you have a health press release to distribute? Sign up with PR Newswire to share your story with the audiences who matter most. Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists. Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following free features: Customization: Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story. Subject Matter Experts: Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles. Related Resources: Our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, features regular media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more. 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Biohaven’s potassium channel drug has failed a late-stage study in bipolar mania, according to a statement in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. The Phase 2/3 study included an estimated 256 people who were voluntarily hospitalized for a manic episode from bipolar disorder. The participants received either Biohaven’s drug, known as BHV-7000, or placebo once a day for three weeks, according to a federal clinical trials database . However, the treatment arm “did not statistically separate” from the placebo group on the primary endpoint, Biohaven said in its earnings report Monday. The primary endpoint is known as the Young Mania Rating Scale, an 11-item measure of manic symptoms and their severity. Biohaven said that results are expected to be shared at an upcoming conference. BHV-7000 is an activator of Kv7.2/7.3, a potassium channel in the brain that’s key to regulating neuron excitability. Biohaven is also studying the drug in pivotal trials in major depressive disorder, as well as focal and generalized epilepsy. Biohaven is expected to share results from the major depressive disorder study in the second half of this year and the focal epilepsy study in the first half of 2026. Pfizer in 2022 acquired Biohaven Pharmaceuticals for $11.6 billion, netting the migraine drug Nurtec ODT. The present-day Biohaven, Biohaven Ltd., was spun out as an independent company with a set of experimental drugs, and is led by the same CEO, Vlad Coric. Biohaven is awaiting an FDA decision in the third quarter of this year on one of those drugs, troriluzole, for the rare neurodegenerative disease spinocerebellar ataxia. The FDA refused to review Biohaven’s application for troriluzole in 2023 after the drug failed to hit the primary endpoint in a pivotal study. The biotech has also made forays into the burgeoning immune and inflammatory diseases space, where it’s studying two IgG antibody degraders that it hopes can be used in a range of autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis. The biotech hopes its protein degraders can compete with a hot class of immunology drugs known as FcRn inhibitors, which are being developed by argenx, UCB and Johnson & Johnson, among others. The goal of these therapies is to lower levels of nefarious autoimmune antibodies in the body. Biohaven said Monday that the 1,000 mg weekly injection of its IgG degrader BHV-1300 achieved a median reduction of 80% of total IgG antibodies at four weeks in an ongoing Phase 1 study. This study was conducted with an “optimized subcutaneous administration” of the drug, Biohaven said in its press release . Biohaven reported initial results from a single ascending dose study in healthy volunteers in May and said at the time it would move forward with a multiple ascending dose study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The biotech then reported in December that the drug had cut levels of autoimmune antibodies by over 60% at the lowest dose tested in a multiple ascending dose study. Biohaven did not explicitly disclose its study participants when reporting results related to its IgG degrader in December or on Monday. Companies developing treatments for lowering autoimmune antibodies have reported changes in IgG antibody levels in both healthy volunteers and people with autoimmune diseases — Immunovant’s shares once doubled on healthy volunteer data. On Monday, Biohaven told Endpoints News that the study with the optimized version of BHV-1300 was conducted in healthy volunteers, but then backtracked to say it is not disclosing the nature of participants in the study.