Max Healthcare Institute Limited announced that consequent to the receipt of the order of the Hon’ble National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) sanctioning the Composite Scheme of Amalgamation and Arrangement (Scheme) involving demerger of allied health and associated activities of Max India into Advaita Allied Health Services Limited, an amalgamation of the residual Max India (post demerger) and demerger of healthcare business of Radiant Life Care Private Limited into Max Healthcare, the amalgamation and demergers as per the sanctioned scheme have been successfully completed. Abhay Soi will be the Chairman and Managing Director of MHIL.

Max India shall stand dissolved effective without being wound up and subsequently the equity shares of the MHIL will get listed on both Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) in due course after completing procedures according to the related regulations. The record date for allotting equity shares of Max Healthcare to Max India shareholders as per the approved share exchange ratio has been set as June 15, 2020.

This is a significant step in the Scheme entailing demerger of Radiant’s healthcare business into MHIL, which will result in Abhay Soi and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP (KKR) acquiring a significant majority stake in Max Healthcare and ultimately listing of the combined entity at BSE and NSE.

Commenting on this development, Abhay Soi, Chairman, MHIL said,“We are very excited about our future as a combined entity which will augment our size, scale and capabilities to provide best-in-class healthcare services in the country. MHIL will emerge as the second-largest hospital chain in India with strongly established brand equity and centres of excellence for high-end quaternary care with a significant part of its capacities in key metros, particularly Delhi-NCR and Mumbai.

Our operating culture rests on the bedrock of medical and service excellence, high-quality patient experience, ethical practices, and adopting cutting-edge technology. I am confident that we will continue to incrementally contribute to the development of quality healthcare services and meet the growing medical needs of our country. Going forward, we plan to expand our operations by investing in growth and leveraging an asset-light operating approach. Since the announcement of this transaction, MHIL over the last few quarters has implemented a robust business improvement plan, the results of which are visible in the financial performance of MHIL. I believe that several synergies will play out over the next 2 to 3 years, which will enable us to realize significant benefits from our coming together.”

MHIL will emerge as the second-largest hospital network across India in terms of revenues and one of the top three hospital chains in the country in terms of bed capacity. MHIL will operate over 3,500 beds across India, including tertiary and quaternary care facilities, offering high-end critical and super speciality care, supported by strong local brands such as BLK Hospital, Max Hospital-Saket, Max Smart Hospital-Saket, Max Hospital – Patparganj, Max-Hospital-Shalimar Bagh, Nanavati Hospital, etc. MHIL will further build on its strong presence in the metros through brownfield expansion of bed capacity, enhancing the depth and width of its medical programs and enhancing its leadership position in these high-end markets.

Radiant, promoted and founded by Abhay Soi and backed by KKR, had acquired a 49.7 per cent stake in Max Healthcare in June 2019 for a consideration of around INR 2,136 crore. Over the last few quarters, MHIL has implemented various initiatives to grow revenues and rationalise costs, resulting in a healthy financial and operational performance built on the pillars of medical and service excellence. Going ahead, MHIL is confident of driving multiple synergies and creating significant value.

The transaction is being completed through the following steps as per the Scheme:

• Following the demerger, Radiant’s healthcare assets merged into Max Healthcare with the simultaneous merger of residual Max India into  Max Healthcare
• As a result of this merger, shareholders of Max India will receive 99 equity shares of the Merged Entity (MHIL) of the face value of INR 10 each for every 100 equity shares of the face value of INR 2 each that they hold in Max India as on the relevant record date
• Shareholders of Radiant will receive 9,074 equity shares of the face value of INR 10 each in Max Healthcare for every 10 equity shares of the face value of INR 10 each held in Radiant as on the relevant record date
• Post-merger, Max India stands dissolved and MHIL, which is the newly merged entity comprising of combined healthcare assets of Radiant and Max Healthcare, will get listed on both the BSE and the NSE after completing necessary regulatory requirements
• Abhay Soi shall be the promoter of the merged entity (MHIL) and KKR shall be the co-promoter

A collaboration between Toshiba and Shinshu University has resulted in the development of a ‘tumour-tropic liposome technology’ for gene therapy that could pave the way for new cancer treatments.

The team of researchers and Toshiba, led by Professor Yozo Nakazawa at the Department of Pediatrics, Shinshu University, have together developed the ‘tumour-tropic liposome technology’ which uses unique, nano-sized, and biodegradable liposomes.

The liposomes – which are small sacks of molecules that can carry drugs – have been developed by Toshiba to accurately and efficiently deliver therapeutic genes to targeted cancer cells. This method allows for a much safer method of delivery compared to the current practice, which uses viruses.

Tumour-tropic liposome technology for cancer

The technology is able to deliver therapeutic genes selectively, and the team of researchers have demonstrated that it can deliver to T-cell leukaemia cells – achieving a 30-fold increase in uptake and 400-fold increase in gene expression than normal T-cells.

Gene therapy works on cancer by inserting therapeutic genes into targeted cells, where they can repair and enhance cell functions.

Therapeutic genes need a carrier to introduce them into a cell as the nucleic acid which encodes the DNA and RNA that triggers gene expression cannot penetrate the cell membrane. Currently, gene therapy uses viruses to do this, however, it raises concerns over the risk of infection and cell tropism.
Biodegradable liposomes

Due to the concerns regarding the use of viruses, Shinshu University and Toshiba are collaborating to utilise biodegradable liposomes as non-virus carriers of therapeutic genes.

The researchers have demonstrated that the biodegradable liposomes are an effective and efficient carrier in animal studies. The results also confirmed the successful suppression of tumour growth. As there is no effective treatment for relapsed or refractory T-cell tumours, Shinshu University is continuing research toward a solution.

Using its knowledge in materials technology Toshiba designed the liposomes with lipids that degrade naturally in cells. This form of delivery is also highly efficient, as a comparison of tumorous cells and normal T cells found that the former surpassed the latter in therapeutic gene uptake and expression.

Toshiba will continue to contribute its specialised capabilities in materials science to the collaboration with Shinshu University.

Change Healthcare announced the acquisition of PDX, a leader in providing patient centric and innovative technologies for pharmacies and health systems.

PDX’s fully integrated retail, specialty, and outpatient pharmacy solutions aim to drive superior operational results for pharmacies while improving outcomes for patients. Their portfolio of solutions includes an Enterprise Pharmacy System™ software, a comprehensive suite of products and services that range from robust data analytics to revenue cycle management, and a flexible clinical services platform.

Today’s transaction complements Change Healthcare’s recent acquisition of eRx Network and demonstrates the company’s continued investment in core aspects of the business to fuel innovation and long-term growth. The combination of Change Healthcare, eRx Network, and PDX will result in faster, more integrated development and cross selling opportunities for Change Healthcare’s combined portfolio of pharmacy network, software, and analytics solutions.

“For over 30 years, PDX has played a critical role in helping pharmacies streamline operations and leverage automation and business intelligence––essential elements in an increasingly competitive retail pharmacy landscape,” said Neil de Crescenzo, president and CEO of Change Healthcare. “Combined with our existing Change Healthcare solutions, we now have a broad portfolio of offerings for pharmacies, an expanded high-quality customer base with significant growth opportunities, and the potential to enter new markets.”

Pharmacies and health systems across the U.S. benefit from technologies and services provided by PDX. Built on a 30-plus year commitment to excellence in healthcare and optimal patient outcomes, PDX has delivered pharmacy and clinical technology solutions that allow pharmacies to process prescriptions, perform reconciliation and adjudication, manage and give authorized caregivers and patients access to healthcare records. This is accomplished through solutions including Absolute AR® revenue cycle management for pharmacies, the PDX pharmacy software management system with applications to assist retail pharmacies with inventory management, clinical programs, and business intelligence, and point of sale solutions.

“After founding PDX with Ron Austring in 1985, PDX has been extremely fortunate to attract a talented group of people to create the Absolute AR®, National Health Information Network® (NHIN), and Freedom Data Systems, Inc.® companies and organizations. Under the leadership of Neil de Crescenzo, the dedicated staff of the PDX companies will continue to serve the pharmacy industry with superior products and services,” said Ken Hill, founder and chairman of the board, PDX Companiesi.

About Change Healthcare
Change Healthcare is a leading independent healthcare technology company that provides data and analytics-driven solutions to improve clinical, financial and patient engagement outcomes in the U.S. healthcare system. We are a key catalyst of a value-based healthcare system, accelerating the journey toward improved lives and healthier communities.

CHNG-IR
iEnterprise Pharmacy System is a trademark of PDX, Inc. in the United States, and/or other countries. Absolute AR and National Health Information Network are registered trademarks of National Health Information Network, Inc. in the United States, and/or other countries. Freedom Data Systems, Inc. is a registered trademark of Freedom Data Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

QIAGEN announced the launch of novel solutions enabling faster, better analysis of genomic variations in cancer – accelerating multiple applications of Precision Medicine. QIAGEN is showcasing its broad portfolio of Sample to Insight solutions for cancer in connection with the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, being held virtually from May 29-31.

Among the highlights:

The new QCI Interpret One software solution joins the QIAGEN Clinical Insights (QCI) portfolio, which has been used to analyze and interpret next-generation sequencing (NGS) data from 1.6 million clinical cases to date. QCI Interpret One enables molecular pathologists to more rapidly and confidently deliver clinically relevant reports designed to improve patient outcomes based on complex genomic testing data.

The new QIAseq Pan-cancer Multimodal (1.44 Mb, 605 gene) panel for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) of solid tumors and heme malignancies leverages the unique QIAseq Multimodal technology which begins with a total nucleic acid extraction, followed by simultaneous preparation of DNA and RNA libraries. The Pan-cancer panel enables the detection of DNA and RNA aberrations, known and unknown RNA fusions in addition to assessment of TMB and MSI status in multiple samples types from a single sample input.

QIAGEN has launched the novel QIAseq Targeted Methyl panels, the first and only NGS-based products for targeted methylation analysis with the increased analytical sensitivity and sequence-targeting capabilities of the company’s proprietary Single Primer Extension technology. The solutions offer faster one-day workflows and data analysis pipelines for predesigned and custom-tailored panels in a full range of cancer applications, designed specifically for low-input samples including liquid biopsy and FFPE.

“While we serve the world’s needs for testing tools in the COVID-19 pandemic, QIAGEN also continues to deliver cutting-edge molecular solutions for cancer research and improving patient outcomes. We are fully engaged with customers in oncology, making the most of digital technologies and virtual settings such as the 2020 ASCO Annual Meeting,” said Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer at QIAGEN. “Our new QCI Interpret One clinical decision support software solutions, QIAseq Pan-cancer Multimodal and QIAseq Targeted Methyl panels provide oncology researchers with valuable tools and additions for variant interpretation, liquid biopsy applications as well as comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) and biomarker discovery. They create true Sample to Insight solutions for a variety of oncology research applications.”

Expanding QIAGEN Clinical Insights portfolio

The release of QCI Interpret One adds an important solution to the QIAGEN Clinical Insights portfolio, the clinical decision support software platform for germline, hereditary cancer and somatic interpretation and decision support. QCI Interpret One delivers variant- and disease-specific evidence for every variant in any somatic panel, backing each classification with the latest peer-reviewed publications, oncologist-reviewed interpretation summaries, and an “expert second opinion” for confident variant classification.

“The job of the molecular pathologist is more challenging than ever for variant interpretation. This is why it’s important to have access to the latest and best variant interpretive data,” said Dr. Ravindra Kolhe of Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia. “QIAGEN’s new QCI Interpret One is impressive. It combines the former N-of-One interpretation summaries with QIAGEN’s QCI Interpret structured variant interpretation database. No one is better than QIAGEN for Variant Interpretation. From a large complex panel you can quickly filter variants, classify variants according to AMP and NCCN guidelines and add disease specific and oncologist reviewed pre-formulated interpretive comments. The depth, breadth and quality quickly gives you the confidence you need when there is so much information and complexity to deal with now.”

Expanding QIAseq portfolio for multimodal applications and liquid biopsy

The new QIAseq Pan-cancer Multimodal panel for comprehensive profiling of solid tumors and heme malignancies, which enables simultaneous preparation of DNA and RNA libraries, and comprehensive detection of SNPs, indels, CNVs and RNA fusions in addition to assessment of TMB and MSI status from a single total nucleic acid sample input.

Designed to support the growing demand for workflow and assay consolidation, the QIAseq Multimodal technology enables not only the consolidation of two separate NGS-based DNA and RNA variant profiling workflows into one, but also enables scalable and parallel interrogation of up to thousands of targets in one enrichment step in one single tube. Ideal for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) and biomarker discovery, this 1.44 Mb panel consists of more than 600 target genes and fusions involved in the onset, progression, and treatment response across different cancer types, as well as microsatellite instability (MSI) markers, is complemented by an efficient workflow that significantly reduces hands-on and turn-around time from sample to sequencing from a typical 2-3 day workflow down to a single day.

Additionally, the innovative QIAseq Targeted Methyl panels provide valuable insights into DNA methylation, a biological process active in cancers that can modify the function of genes and affect gene expression. These flexible solutions offer faster one-day workflows and data analysis in predesigned panels for breast and colorectal cancer, immuno-oncology and T-cell infiltration (expected later in 2020), plus rapid, online custom design capabilities to create tailored panels for customer-specific applications.

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare) and Life Sciences (academia, pharma R&D and industrial applications, primarily forensics). As of March 31, 2020, QIAGEN employed approximately 5,100 people in over 35 locations worldwide.