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A week defined by first-in-human starts across rare genetic disease, led by antisense entering Dravet syndrome from the field that already rewrote spinal muscular atrophy. Around it, first patients dosed in rare vascular and cardiomyopathy programs with near-empty competitive fields, a first-in-class readout in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and orphan designations that quietly reshape the economics behind them.
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference drove the week’s pipeline news, but the signal that mattered most came from a lab: the first brain link that let one paralysed person move and feel through another. Around it, a tau target validated and contested in the same week, an oral entrant scaling in Huntington’s, and anti-amyloid therapy fighting its real battle, which is access.
Thirty four healthcare deals crossed the wire the week of July 13, 2026. Four of the five that matter paid cash for something that already works: an operating rare-disease pharmacy, an FDA-approved drug, a Phase 3 asset with Breakthrough.
Half of England’s heart failure patients have spent decades watching the other half get all the drugs. That’s the context for what NICE did this week. On 16 July, the institute published final draft guidance recommending finerenone for adults with chronic heart failure with preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction. NICE estimates up to 280,000 … Read more
NICE recommended 66 new treatments last year and rejected seven but 25 evaluations were terminated before anyone ruled on them.
DealFlow H1 2026 Review: M&A Rebounds as Upfront Deal Spending Doubles Synopulse · DealFlow · Healthcare & life sciences dealmaking · H1 2026 review M&A came back big, and wrote the cheque in cash M&A value rose 96% to $188 billion in the first half of 2026 and upfront payments jumped 72%, as acquirers paid … Read more
Germany’s lawmakers had no shortage of warnings. Drugmakers objected. Trade groups objected. So did opposition voices inside the country’s own government. The reform passed anyway. Late on Friday, the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, approved a health insurance financial reform package by 318 votes to 284, with four abstentions. That is not a comfortable … Read more
The FTC has settled its insulin pricing case against Caremark, the CVS-owned pharmacy benefit manager, claiming up to $13 billion in patient savings over the next decade.
The Pulse – Weekly biopharma intelligence – Synopulse Synopulse The Pulse Synopulse’s weekly biopharma briefing – deals, approvals, readouts and access, across every therapy area. WEEKLY6 – 12 July 2026Wk 28 · 2026 The Hub Neurology19 Onco+Immuno30 CardioMeta17 Approvals The big events this week Deal Vertex acquires Crinetics for $10 billion The week’s largest transaction … Read more
Women in the UK wait more than nine years, on average, to be told they have endometriosis. A new pair of tests could start to close that gap and do it without surgery. On 7 July, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft guidance recommending that two non-invasive diagnostic tests, Endotest … Read more