After being selected as an awardee of J&J’s Innovation QuickFire Challenge On Neuroscience in June, Korean bioventure BIORCHESTRA has been attracting attention from the global neuroscience community. CEO Branden Ryu talks to Scrip what makes its technology unique and how it aims to meet major unmet needs in RNA therapeutics and neurodegenerative disorders.

As the World Health Organization brands the Indian virus a “variant of concern,” the UK is planning to use a lab-grown virus variant in challenge trials of current and new vaccines, and is also investing in new variant vaccine testing facilities. A new study will use Oxford Immunotec’s T cell test to monitor people’s immunological response to infection or vaccination.

During the first quarter, medical device company mergers and acquisition totalled $10.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $5bn.

The European Medicines Agency says hacked COVID-19 vaccine data has been leaked online, and Australia’s chief medical officer defends the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against scientists’ claim that it is not effective enough.