The University of Chicago

Dr. Maraganore brings more than three decades of experience leading discovery, development and commercialization of groundbreaking medicines Founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals led company through global approval and commercialization of its first five RNAi medicines SAN DIEGO , March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Protego Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to pioneering first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that reprogram protein folding to address systemic amyloid diseases and other protein misfolding disorders, today announced the appointment of John M. Maraganore, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Maraganore is a highly accomplished life sciences industry leader widely recognized for his contributions to the discovery, development, and commercialization of groundbreaking medicines. "It's an honor to have a luminary like Dr. Maraganore join Protego's Board of Directors," said Brent Warner, Protego's CEO. "His reputation in the biotech industry precedes him, as he is widely respected for successfully tackling some of the most complex scientific and commercial challenges. His insight and expertise will be invaluable as we move our programs forward." For more than three decades, Dr. Maraganore has held leadership roles at a range of biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations and has served as a board member and advisor for numerous public and private biotech companies and industry organizations. "Targeting protein misfolding pathways is an exciting frontier in biomedical science and holds the promise of new treatments for monogenic protein misfolding diseases that cause a range of illnesses," Dr. Maraganore said. "I'm eager to play a role, especially as Protego advances its lead drug candidate into a pivotal clinical trial for AL amyloidosis, a rare and often fatal condition caused by protein misfolding." Dr. Maraganore was the founding CEO and a Director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2021, leading the company from early RNA interference (RNAi) research to the global approval and commercialization of its first five RNAi medicines: ONPATTRO®, GIVLAARI®, OXLUMO®, Leqvio®, and AMVUTTRA®. During his time with the company, he built Alnylam into an industry leader with more than $25 billion in market capitalization and more than 20 pharmaceutical partnerships. He continues to serve on the company's Scientific Advisory Board. He served in a senior leadership role at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, overseeing oncology, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic franchises, as well as M&A and strategy. Earlier in his career at Biogen, he invented and led the development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin). He also held scientific roles at ZymoGenetics and The Upjohn Company. He currently serves as Co-CEO of cardiovascular medicine company, Corsera Health, Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, Venture Advisor at Atlas Ventures, Executive Partner at RTW Investments, and Senior Advisor at Blackstone. He is a director of several public companies, including Beam Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and chairs or serves on the boards of multiple private biotechnology companies. Dr. Maraganore serves on the Board of BIO (Chair, 2017–2019; Chair Emeritus), the Termeer Foundation, and several advisory boards supporting innovation in life sciences. He earned his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago. About Protego Biopharma Protego Biopharma is a San Diego-based biotech company focused on developing small-molecule drugs that target protein misfolding pathways. By reprogramming cellular processes to restore proper protein function, Protego aims to treat rare and systemic diseases with precision and improved patient outcomes. For more information, visit . View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Protego Biopharma

FRIDAY, Feb. 27, 2026 — For most teens, turning 19 is a milestone of early adulthood. But for those relying on Medicaid, it often triggers a birthday cliff where health insurance simply vanishes. A new study from the University of Chicago highlights a systemic issue: The moment a person is no longer classified as a child by the government, their risk of becoming uninsured soars. It looked at more than 9.4 million Medicaid enrollees across 47 state Medicaid programs born between 1991 to 2001. The study, published recently in JAMA Pediatrics , found that 35.6% of these young adults without chronic health issues were disenrolled from Medicaid at age 19. Medically complex patients — those with conditions like cystic fibrosis or heart disease — were also affected. While they were more likely to keep coverage than their healthier peers, 13% still lost their insurance the moment they turned 19. The researchers found that where a young adult lives is often the biggest factor in whether they stay insured. In some states, the risk of a medically complex person losing coverage by age 21 was as low as 3%. In others, it was as high as 37%. For healthier young adults, the gap was even wider, with disenrollment rates hitting nearly 84% in certain regions. “I was really surprised at the variation among states,” lead author Betsy Cliff , an assistant professor at UChicago, said in a news release. “Two equally sick people living in different places can have a very different probability of losing health insurance.” Some factors boosted the chance of becoming disenrolled from Medicaid insurance at age 19: Being male; having income-based versus disability-based coverage; living in a state that has not expanded Medicaid to all low-income individuals; and living in a state where managed care health plans dominate. The study noted that patients with complex conditions, particularly mental health and heart conditions, were among the most likely to lose their coverage. Without insurance, researchers said these individuals often skip maintenance medications or miss appointments with specialists, which can lead to expensive and poorer outlooks for these folks. The researchers pointed out that the system often fails because it is too complex to navigate without help. Many 19-year-olds are also aging out of school systems or pediatric offices that previously helped them with paperwork. “Individuals face so many changes when they turn 19. … It’s a very stark example of how arbitrary the health insurance system can be,” Cliff noted. Only about a third of people who lost insurance successfully got it back, the study showed. Of the young adults who lost coverage, 38% of those with complex conditions and 29% of those without complex conditions reenrolled within 12 months of losing coverage. Cliff suggested that offering care navigators could help prevent these insurance gaps. “This description provides an example of the patchwork and somewhat arbitrary nature of health insurance that is a key feature of the U.S. health system," the researchers concluded. "This work adds to evidence that the myriad policies that govern Medicaid coverage result in differential risks of disenrollment by condition and geography, which can lead to disparities in health care access and health.” Sources University of Chicago Medical Center, news release, Feb. 24, 2026 JAMA Pediatrics, Feb. 16, 2026

Globus Medical had a successful Q4 of 2025, as well as overall growth for the full year. Worldwide net sales were $826.4 million, an increase of 25.7%, in Q4, while full-year sales reached $2,938.9 million, an increase of 16.7%. In addition, base business, excluding Nevro, net sales were $726.7 million, an increase of 10.6% for Q4, and for the full year, net sales were $2,645.3 million, an increase of 5.0%. “Momentum built throughout 2025 accelerated in the fourth quarter, capping off a strong finish to the year with double-digit sales and earnings growth,” Keith Pfeil, President and CEO at Globus, said in an earnings call. “We delivered above market, top-line growth, across the portfolio, including our core spine franchise, while delivering meaningful margin expansion – reflecting disciplined execution. Looking ahead to 2026, our focus lies in driving durable momentum, centered on scaling growth and sustainable operating leverage. We are confident in our ability to launch a robust new product pipeline and expand our high-touch sales force, while maintaining speed and agility, as we realize our long-term goal of addressing unmet clinical needs with differentiated procedural solutions. We are focused on achieving improved surgical outcomes through the Globus surgical intelligence closed loop ecosystem, bringing together patient selection, surgical techniques and complementary implants.” Globus’ U.S. spine business also capped-off 2025 by growing revenue 10% over the prior-year quarter, and Enabling Technologies grew 19% over the fourth quarter of 2024. This momentum in spine is being credited to a successful integration of NuVasive and Nevro, which Globus acquired in April 2025 in an effort to expand its pain, spinal cord and neuromodulation portfolios. “We do believe that a strong first 12 to 18 months will set us up to capitalize on future growth opportunities from a synergy execution standpoint,” Globus Medical CFO Kyle Klein said during the earnings call. As a result of the strong performance, Globus has reaffirmed its guidance for full-year 2026 revenue to be in the range of $3.18 to $3.22 billion. All eyes have been on Globus’ spine performance over the last year, as analysts have waited to see how the Nuvasive and Nevro integrations will go. And so far, financials for the company have been strong. Globus Medical’s second quarter sales for 2025 reached $745.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 18.4% , led largely by its U.S. spine business. Globus Medical and NuVasive caused a stir across the spine market when they first announced a planned merger in September 2023 in a $3 billion all-stock deal. Investors reacted harshly at first to the Globus-NuVasive deal and analysts were quick to point to past deals in the spine market that have had difficult integrations and considerable sales force disruptions due to cultural differences, however shareholders of both companies approved the merger with more than 99% voting in favor. In 2025, Globus acquired Nevro for $250 million, as Nevro was struggling under the amount of increased competition in the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) market. Immediately following the acquisition, Globus had what analysts called a disappointing quarter , leading some to wonder if the company bit off more than it could chew with Nevro. However, the company seems to have turned things around over the last several months. As a result, analysts at Needham have raised the price target on Globus shares to $114 from $112 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. While analysts at BTIG have remained neutral on the company following Q4 2025, they noted that the majority of the company’s upside comes from its spine growth. “GMED is now the #2 company in the global Spine market following the completion of its merger with NuVasive and a meaningful player in Spinal Cord Stimulation as well following its acquisition of Nevro. We had previously worried about integration risk, sales dissynergies, and impacts to margins for both acquisitions,” BTIG analysts wrote. “Through FY24, GMED proved that it can integrate NuVasive with minimal sales disruptions and improving margins. FY25 was off to a weaker start in Core Spine but bounced back in 2H25 with robust underlying Spine performance while Nevro profitability improved. With shares back to prior levels seen in FY24, we think they are likely to perform in line with the market for the foreseeable future.”