Life Sciences Tools & Services

On October 10, the AI-Empowered Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer Summit Forum and the launch ceremony for the National Respiratory Medicine Center's Lung Cancer Precision Diagnosis and Treatment Standardization Project, hosted by the National Respiratory Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University and the Guangdong Provincial Chest Disease Society, and organized by KingMed Diagnostics, was held in Guangzhou. At the event, DeepGEM 2.0, a multimodal AI model for lung cancer pathology genomics jointly developed by the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University and KingMed Diagnostics, was officially released. A multicenter research project involving 50 medical institutions nationwide was also launched, marking the model's formal entry into large-scale clinical validation. According to Dr. Liu Si, head of KingMed Diagnostics' artificial intelligence division, DeepGEM 2.0 analyzes routine digital pathology slide images without requiring additional sampling and can deliver results in as little as one minute. Building on the original six genes—EGFR, KRAS, ALK, ROS1, TP53, and LRP1B—it adds BRAF, ERBB2, FGFR, MET, NTRK, and RET, bringing the total to 12 genes and achieving full coverage of genes corresponding to approved targeted therapies for lung cancer in China. The model will subsequently be deployed in a lightweight form at more than 500 medical institutions. Using an approach of AI-based initial screening combined with targeted validation of specific genes, it is expected to reduce the cost of lung cancer genetic testing to the range of several hundred yuan. Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Guangzhou National Laboratory, said that in the new AI era, scientific research must aim high while serving the people. In 2025, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, together with KingMed Diagnostics and Tencent, released DeepGEM, a multimodal pathology genomics model capable of identifying genes from images. After nearly a year of multicenter data validation and clinical refinement, and iterative optimization using nearly 8,000 digital pathology slides from 31 provinces across China provided by KingMed Diagnostics, it has been upgraded to version 2.0. Liang Yaoming, chairman and CEO of KingMed Diagnostics, said that AI pathology technology brings new opportunities to narrow regional disparities in diagnosis and treatment and to reduce costs while improving efficiency. KingMed Diagnostics will leverage the network advantages of its nationwide intelligent medical diagnostic service platform to bring innovative pathology AI technology to primary-level healthcare.

Adaptive Biotechnologies' modeled fair value per share has been lifted from US$26.36 to US$28.31, reflecting analyst optimism around the clonoSEQ minimal residual disease franchise. Multiple firms have raised their fair value estimates in recent months, including TD Cowen, BTIG, Piper Sandler and Guggenheim, with Guggenheim most recently at US$32 and Goldman Sachs at US$35. Goldman Sachs sees Adaptive Biotechnologies as a leader in next generation sequencing minimal residual disease testing, with current penetration at about 13% of the potential patient population. On the bearish side, Craig Hallum has flagged possible confusion around the proposed 2027 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clinical laboratory fee schedule, since some billing codes used by the company are among those facing proposed cuts of up to 15%, though the firm does not expect a significant direct financial impact. In the updated model, revenue growth has adjusted from 16.84% to 16.03%, net profit margin from 3.77% to 3.95%, future P/E from 328.9x to 344.6x, and the discount rate from 8.23% to 8.24%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has helped launch the Digital CMC Consortium to advance digital Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls for biopharma. The initiative brings together biopharma companies, technology providers, and regulators to work on shared digital standards for CMC data, aiming to support faster therapy development, more efficient regulatory reviews, and digital lifecycle management across drug programs. Thermo Fisher Scientific operates across life sciences tools, diagnostics, and biopharma services, and its US$242.8b size gives it the breadth to help shape shared data standards that many pharma clients may end up using. The company already supports programs like Quantum BioPharma's Phase 2 Lucid MS trial and offers platforms such as OSD Express and Steriles Express that structure data and workflows across development and manufacturing. A practical signal to watch is how many drug programs and partners explicitly adopt Digital CMC based workflows or defined solutions such as OSD Express, Steriles Express or KinetiSol projects over the next CPHI cycle through late 2027.

Bangkok Genomics Innovation Public Company Limited, or BKGI, reported first-half 2026 results with net profit of 62.05 million baht, up 49.65 million baht, or 400%, from net profit of 12.40 million baht in the same period a year earlier. Total revenue came to 309.39 million baht, up 157.02 million baht, or 103%, from total revenue of 152.37 million baht in the same period last year. Dr. Saowalak Dansakul, Chief Executive Officer of BKGI, said the company is transitioning from a provider of NIFTY testing services to a full-service health and genomics innovation provider through three business models: instrument placement with reagent purchases, instrument purchases with reagent purchases, and instrument leasing with reagent purchases. It is also expanding its Precision Oncology portfolio with the OncoPRESS service and BRCA 1/2 testing, which are already partially reimbursed by the National Health Security Office. On revenue structure, the share from instrument and reagent sales rose to 55%, above the 45% from services, with reagent sales, which are recurring revenue, accounting for 36% of total revenue, or about 110 million baht, and the company expects to begin recognising significant revenue from reagent use starting in the third quarter of 2026. The ATMP group has begun contributing about 40.4 million baht in revenue and will become a driver of continuous reagent sales from 2027 onward. The company is also studying the feasibility of producing reagents in Thailand to manage supply chain and logistics risks, and expects second-half 2026 operating results to grow from the first half, supported by Oncology, Wellness & Longevity, NGS and ATMP, as well as the government-backed Phase 2 of the Genomics Thailand project.

Tigermed announced that as of September 30, 2026, the company had repurchased a total of 20.9635 million shares through centralized bidding, accounting for 2.4347% of total share capital, with a total transaction amount of 824 million yuan. The repurchase price range was 38.22 yuan to 42.78 yuan per share, in line with the requirements of the repurchase plan.

IQVIA introduced IQVIA Life Science Models, a suite of purpose-built models for life sciences, at TechIQ 2026. The models combine IQVIA's proprietary expert content, deep domain knowledge and established regulatory, compliance and privacy frameworks, and are built using technologies including NVIDIA Nemotron and supported by Amazon Web Services infrastructure. In initial evaluation across 50 trials and 270 endpoints, 85% of predictions were on target or clinically close. The models enable clinical study simulation and protocol optimization, including endpoint selection, patient eligibility criteria, dose selection and sample size planning, as well as digital twins and synthetic controls that support more efficient study designs. In clinical development, Life Science Models extend IQVIA's Predictive Clinical Development approach, enabling sponsors to simulate studies and test key assumptions before execution.

Tempus announced an expanded, multi-year collaboration with Moderna and Merck to support the potential commercialization of intismeran autogene, also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, a potential first-in-class individualized neoantigen therapy being evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma and other cancer types. Intismeran autogene is jointly developed by Moderna and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and the new collaboration builds on joint efforts initiated last year. Under the agreement, Tempus will manage the timely collection and transfer of tumor tissue and blood samples required for next-generation sequencing, and, subject to applicable regulatory approvals, will also provide NGS services to support the intismeran autogene design and manufacturing process. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. Moderna Chief Business Officer Said Francis said the partnership lets the company leverage Tempus's commercial footprint and advanced sequencing capabilities, while Jannie Oosthuizen, President of Global Oncology and MSD International, said such collaborations are helping build the infrastructure needed to bring individualized neoantigen therapies to patients at scale.

QIAGEN N.V. announced new artificial intelligence capabilities to help researchers analyze complex biological and genomic data faster while keeping the scientific evidence behind the results visible. The expansion includes IPA Investigator, a new AI research companion for QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, and the new QIAGEN Discovery Platform, which extends these capabilities into automated drug discovery workflows. The new offerings build on more than 25 years of biomedical knowledge from QIAGEN Digital Insights, whose bioinformatics solutions are used by around 150,000 users. The global market for AI in bioinformatics is projected to more than double from about $12 billion in 2026 to more than $25 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. At the University of Bergen in Norway, researchers tested IPA Investigator using complex datasets that deliberately introduced misleading sample comparisons, and Dr. Simona Chera, Professor at the University of Bergen, said the tool identified the problem, cautioned against overinterpreting the results and suggested a better experimental design.

BTIG downgraded Personalis to Neutral from Buy on Tuesday, with analyst Mark Massaro saying Tempus AI is highly likely to close its acquisition of the cancer test maker at the announced terms. Tempus AI agreed in July to acquire Personalis in a $1.5B deal, a time when Personalis was exploring a potential sale and reportedly drawing takeover interest from multiple parties, including Merck. Citing an S-4 filing, Massaro said Personalis received M&A interest from as many as five bidders but chose a lower bid from Tempus because the company's board had antitrust concerns over the higher bidder. Massaro removed his $16.25 per share target and said he does not expect a higher bidder to emerge, expecting the deal to close at the agreed-upon price of $16.25 per share.

Bruker Corporation announced a seminal bioRxiv preprint describing a draft atlas of the human plasma proteome at isoform, or proteoform, resolution, conducted by principal investigator Markus Ralser at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and collaborators. By combining intact protein fractionation with diaPASEF mass spectrometry on Bruker timsTOF mass spectrometry systems, the researchers detected 5,077 plasma protein groups across 179,049 distinct proteoforms, with a high-confidence map comprising 44,083 proteoforms and a median of eleven proteoforms per protein. The study indicates that canonical proteins account only for a fraction of protein diversity in the blood stream and may constitute less than half of total protein content, and the workflow did not use nanoparticle-based enrichment. Dr. Markus Ralser, Einstein Professor of Biochemistry and Head of the Institute of Biochemistry at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, said the first draft of the plasma proteoform atlas shows that proteoforms are not rare exceptions but a defining feature of plasma biology. The preprint, titled "A draft atlas of the human plasma proteome at isoform resolution," was posted on September 28, 2026, and the draft isoform atlas is intended as a starting point for future proteoform in-depth studies across individuals, physiological states and diseases.

Tempus AI has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tempus ECG-MR, an AI tool for early mitral regurgitation detection. The clearance landed on top of a strong run in the shares, with a 1-day share price return of 9.03% lifting the latest quote to US$83.55 and building on a 30-day share price return of 29.29%, though the 1-year total shareholder return remains down 10.17%. The stock now trades above the average analyst target and above some intrinsic value estimates, with the most followed narrative anchoring fair value nearer $75.68, framing the latest close as roughly 10% overvalued. The company reported Q2 revenue growth of 22% year over year, with oncology testing volumes up 31% and Data Licensing and Modeling revenue up 36%, and it raised 2026 revenue guidance to around $1.6 billion while expecting approximately $65 million of Adjusted EBITDA. Risks to the story include a drag on profitability from the integration of Personalis and cooling expectations around AI products.

Shares of genomics company Pacific Biosciences of California jumped 9.9% in the afternoon session after EpiSign Inc. and Geneyx Genomex Ltd. announced a partnership to integrate genomic and epigenomic analysis for rare disease interpretation, incorporating data from PacBio HiFi sequencing. The partnership combines DNA methylation episignature analysis with genomic and multi-omics capabilities to advance rare-disease interpretation. Through the agreement, EpiSign METRIC 5-base extends automated episignature analysis for over 300 disorders to Geneyx customers analyzing DNA methylation data produced by PacBio HiFi, Illumina 5-base, and Oxford Nanopore sequencing. After the initial pop, the shares cooled down and closed the day at $2.88, up 15% from the previous close. PacBio is up 56.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $2.88 per share, it has set a new 52-week high.

Tempus AI has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for two next-generation AI cardiovascular products, Tempus ECG-MR and Tempus ECG-PH. Tempus ECG-MR analyzes standard 12-lead resting electrocardiograms to detect signs associated with undiagnosed moderate or severe mitral regurgitation, while Tempus ECG-PH is an AI-enabled software device that analyzes standard 12-lead ECG data and provides a binary output for signs associated with pulmonary hypertension. The clearances come as the AI-ECG analysis market is expected to grow from $2.01 billion in 2025 to $2.40 billion in 2026, a compound annual growth rate of 19.3%, according to the Business Research report. Among peers, GE HealthCare's Advanced Imaging Solutions segment, which combines the former Imaging and AVS businesses, generated $3.77 billion in revenues in the second quarter of 2026, up 5.0% organically, with segment EBIT margin rising 90 basis points to 13.9%. iRhythm Holdings, whose platform is supported by more than 3 billion hours of curated ECG data and more than 12 million patient reports, expanded work with Desert Oasis Healthcare and signed two commercial agreements through Luum during the second quarter of 2026. Tempus shares have declined 17.7% over the past year, and the stock currently trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 7.30X versus an industry average of 4.82X.

CellCarta has established a strategic partnership with Waters Corporation to jointly pursue companion diagnostic and next-generation flow cytometry opportunities with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The collaboration will initially emphasize flow cytometry-based programs, aiming to give sponsors a coordinated path from biomarker strategy through clinical development, regulatory submission and global commercialization. Waters will provide underlying technology capabilities including instrumentation, reagents, standardized panels, assay development, software analysis, and where appropriate custom reagent and IVD commercialization, while CellCarta will integrate and deploy assays across its global CDx Lab Network, supporting Phase I-III clinical trial testing, analytical and clinical evidence generation, regulatory and logistics support, and commercial laboratory services. The companies cited existing platform alignment between CellCarta's CAP-accredited laboratory in Jining, China and BD flow cytometry platforms as a practical foundation for global sponsors seeking to include China in future multinational CDx and biomarker programs. Todd Chermak, President of CellCarta, said the partnership offers sponsors a more connected path from biomarker strategy through global clinical development and, where appropriate, commercialization, and that the companies are already engaging pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on near-term opportunities.

IQVIA Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.15 per share, up 12.1% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.02 by 4.3%, while revenues of $4.37 billion rose 8.7% and topped the consensus mark of $4.29 billion by 1.6%. In the quarter, Research & Development Solutions net new bookings increased 19% year over year to $3.2 billion, and trailing-12-month bookings escalated 13% to $11.3 billion. The company repurchased $398 million of shares in the second quarter, part of $950 million bought back in the first half of 2026, leaving $2.8 billion of authorization as of June 30, 2026. Operating cash flow rose 26% year over year to $558 million and free cash flow increased 23.3% to $360 million, while net debt was $14.1 billion and net leverage stood at 3.6X adjusted EBITDA. IQVIA pays no cash dividends on its common stock, and peers Paychex and Fiserv also reported quarterly results.

Cooke & Bieler's Mid Cap Value Equity Strategy named Charles River Laboratories International as its second largest contributor in its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, citing better than expected first quarter earnings as support for its thesis that demand is stabilizing after a period of cyclical contraction. The firm described Charles River Laboratories as the world's largest provider of outsourced nonclinical drug development services, serving pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms with drug discovery, development, and safety testing. The stock closed at $294.59 per share on September 28, 2026, returned 4.34% over the past month, and is up 88.28% over the past year, giving the company a market capitalization of $14.19 billion within a 52-week range of $146.20 to $303.31. The Cooke & Bieler Mid Cap Value Strategy returned 8.05% in the quarter, lagging the Russell Midcap Value Index's 13.4%, with an underweight in Information Technology driving nearly all of the shortfall as that sector surged 60% on AI capex. Forty-seven hedge fund portfolios held Charles River Laboratories at the end of the second quarter, up from 43 in the previous quarter.

Agilent Technologies Inc. announced the launch of the Agilent BioTek Gen5 AI cell identification module, a new image analysis software add-on that brings AI-based cell identification and segmentation into BioTek Gen5 imaging analysis. Developed for use with compatible Agilent BioTek automated imaging systems, the module performs AI-based segmentation without requiring conventional threshold setting or parameter tuning, and is designed to reduce manual image-analysis steps and support consistent cell counting and confluence analysis. The module supports label-free and fluorescence, live-cell and kinetic assays, and its integration with Gen5 lets researchers using compatible BioTek Cytation and Lionheart automated imagers apply AI-based segmentation within their existing imaging assays. Xavier Amouretti, vice president and BioTek business unit leader at Agilent, said the module brings AI-based segmentation directly into the established BioTek imaging workflow to reduce the effort associated with image analysis. Agilent, which generated revenue of $6.95 billion in fiscal year 2025 and employs approximately 18,000 people worldwide, said the launch expands the image-analysis capabilities available within Gen5 and reflects its focus on integrating automation and AI into laboratory workflows.

Qiagen has received U.S. FDA clearance for its QIAstat-Dx gram-negative bloodstream infection panel, giving American laboratories full access to the company's rapid sepsis testing portfolio in a single automated system. The clearance lands after a period of mixed trading for the NYSE-listed QGEN, with the share price up 15.1% over the past 90 days but still down 5.4% year to date, while the 1-year total shareholder return of 3.2% points to modest longer term gains. A widely followed narrative puts Qiagen's fair value at $46.27, only slightly above the last close at $45.01, a tight but meaningful gap for valuation debates. On a price-to-earnings basis, the stock trades at 22.7x earnings, above a fair ratio of 20.2x but below peer levels at 44.6x and the wider Life Sciences group at 38.3x. The company's story could break if QuantiFERON immigration volumes stay weak for years and if tight research budgets keep labs delaying higher margin instrument upgrades.

QIAGEN announced that U.S. labs now have access to its full QIAstat-Dx bloodstream infection portfolio after FDA clearance of a one-hour gram-negative bacteria and antibiotic resistance panel, which complements an existing gram-positive and fungal panel. The clearance broadens QIAGEN's coverage to 33 bloodstream pathogen targets and 28 resistance markers, reinforcing the clinical relevance of its automated QIAstat-Dx platform in guiding treatment decisions for life-threatening infections like sepsis. The company's narrative projects $2.5 billion revenue and $563.2 million earnings by 2029, requiring 6.0% yearly revenue growth and about a $153.9 million earnings increase from $409.3 million today. Some of the lowest analysts were already cautious, assuming only about 4.6% annual revenue growth to roughly US$2.4 billion and earnings of US$581 million, and they worry that if new panels like QIAstat-Dx's bloodstream tests fail to convert early traction into sustained adoption, Qiagen's growth story could look very different from the consensus view.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced on September 23 the launch of the Gibco CHO-K1 Catalog Panel, a cGMP-ready portfolio of basal and feed media designed to accelerate cell growth and protein production for CHO-K1 host lines used in biologics and biosimilars development. Offered in liquid and dry powder formats, the ready-to-use catalog panel lets development teams rapidly evaluate and optimize upstream bioprocesses, and in a 14-day fed-batch study select panel combinations yielded up to 73% higher antibody titer and up to 202% higher peak viable cell density compared to benchmark media. The release follows Thermo Fisher's second-quarter 2026 results, in which revenue grew 10% year-over-year to $11.99 billion on 5% organic growth, GAAP diluted EPS expanded 9% to $4.68, and adjusted EPS rose 13% to $6.03. Second-quarter adjusted operating income reached $2.73 billion, a 22.8% adjusted operating margin with 80 basis points of year-over-year expansion, and the company repurchased $1.0 billion of shares in the quarter while opening its U.S. Bioprocess Design Center in Plainville, Massachusetts. Thermo Fisher's GAAP operating margin stood at 17.4% in the second quarter of 2026, still below its 2021-2022 historic peak levels, and the planned divestiture of its microbiology business introduces a near-term revenue drag that new bioprocess launches must work to replace.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced several product and collaboration updates earlier this month, including the cGMP-ready Gibco CHO-K1 Catalog Panel for bioprocessing, a reseller agreement to distribute Evosep's Eno separation platform in proteomics workflows, and expanded involvement in molecular residual disease programs with Biodesix and Memorial Sloan Kettering. Together, the moves deepen Thermo Fisher's role across biologics manufacturing, advanced proteomics, and ctDNA-based cancer monitoring. The Gibco CHO-K1 Catalog Panel sits within Thermo Fisher's biopharma solutions stack alongside offerings such as CTS OpTmizer and CHOvantage cell line tools, and is positioned to support customers from development through manufacturing. Thermo Fisher's narrative projects $54.8 billion revenue and $10.0 billion earnings by 2029, with a $645.15 fair value implying 5% downside to its current price, while some of the lowest ranked analysts assume only about US$54.2 billion of revenue and US$8.7 billion of earnings by 2029. The company said persistent China and tariff risks remain a consideration for investors.

Gilead Sciences and Thermo Fisher Scientific each raised their full-year outlooks after reporting stronger quarterly results, though their growth profiles differ sharply. Gilead's second-quarter product sales excluding Veklury rose 10% to $7.6 billion, with HIV sales up 12% to $5.7 billion, Biktarvy up 7% to $3.8 billion, Descovy up 48% to $967 million, and Yeztugo generating $232 million versus $15 million a year earlier, prompting management to guide 2026 product sales of $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion and product sales excluding Veklury of $29.8 billion to $30.1 billion. Thermo Fisher reported fiscal second-quarter revenue up 10% to $11.99 billion, including 5% organic growth, with adjusted EPS up 13% to $6.03 and adjusted operating margin expanding to 22.8% from 21.9%, and raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $24.93 to $25.33 from $24.64 to $25.12. Gilead's growth carries concentration risk, as HIV accounted for $5.69 billion of its $7.63 billion in quarterly product sales, while $11.2 billion in acquired in-process R&D tied to the Arcellx, Tubulis and Ouro Medicines deals drove GAAP and non-GAAP losses per share of $8.45 and $6.75. Thermo Fisher's broader base depends on a durable recovery in customer spending, with organic growth accelerating from 1% in the first quarter to 5% and China returning to growth even as academic and government demand there remained subdued.

Codexis, Inc. announced an agreement with a pioneering siRNA drug innovator to explore stereo-defined fragment synthesis using its ECO Synthesis Manufacturing Platform. Under the agreement, Codexis will use the platform to produce stereo-defined oligonucleotide fragments through a fully enzymatic process, which the innovator will assemble into the final duplex via ligation. The collaboration will also compare enzymatically synthesized fragments with conventional solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis, evaluating purity, product quality, and ligation performance, with results allowing the innovator to assess the technology's potential for future clinical development programs. The agreement builds on advances presented at TIDES USA 2026, where Codexis for the first time demonstrated full-length siRNA synthesis with precise control of phosphorothioate stereochemistry via StereoSelect, a capability of ECO Synthesis. Alison Moore, President and CEO at Codexis, said the agreement is an important next step in bringing the company's latest ECO Synthesis capabilities to a customer.

QIAGEN N.V. announced that U.S. laboratories now have access to the complete QIAstat-Dx bloodstream infection portfolio after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared a new panel for gram-negative bacteria and antibiotic resistance markers. The new QIAstat-Dx BCID GN Plus AMR Panel identifies 13 gram-negative bacterial pathogen targets and 18 antimicrobial resistance markers in about one hour, complementing the recently FDA-cleared QIAstat-Dx BCID GPF Plus AMR Panel for gram-positive bacteria and fungi, which covers 20 pathogen targets and 10 resistance markers. Together, the two panels cover 33 pathogen targets and 28 antimicrobial resistance markers. The clearance also expands the QIAstat-Dx infectious disease testing menu in the U.S., which already includes tests for respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, as well as for meningitis and encephalitis. QIAstat-Dx combines sample preparation, multiplex PCR testing and data analysis in a single automated workflow, and is available in more than 100 countries with more than 5,200 cumulative placements as of the end of 2025.

Bio-Techne Corporation shareholders voted on September 23 to approve the company's acquisition by Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, while rejecting the executive compensation proposal attached to the deal. The German group is paying $73 a share in cash, valuing the business at about $11.3 billion including debt. The shares closed at $72.57 on September 24, which is 43 cents below what the buyer has agreed to pay. The antitrust waiting period in the United States expired on September 18, removing the hurdle that most often delays a transaction of this kind, and Bio-Techne expects the deal to complete in late 2026 or early 2027 subject to the remaining approvals. The rejected pay vote is advisory rather than binding, so the payments proceed regardless, but it signals that owners felt the split between what they receive and what executives receive was wrong.

Agilent Technologies shares have gained about 9.6% in the month since its third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report, outperforming the S&P 500. The company reported non-GAAP earnings of $1.62 per share, up 18% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.46%, while revenues of $1.88 billion rose 8.1% on a reported basis and 7.3% on a core basis, surpassing the consensus mark by 2.08%. Strength reflected broad demand across pharma and China, with the Advanced Therapeutics Division growing nearly 30% and instrument book-to-bill above 1.0 for the 10th consecutive quarter. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Agilent expects revenues of $1.98-$2.00 billion, implying reported growth of 6.4-7.4% and core growth of 5.2-6.2%, with non-GAAP earnings of $1.71-$1.74 per share. For the full fiscal year, revenues are projected at $7.49-$7.51 billion, representing reported growth of 7.8-8.1%, and non-GAAP earnings are expected at $6.18-$6.21 per share, up 15 cents at the midpoint from the prior guide.

Adaptive Biotechnologies is back in focus after the National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its multiple myeloma guidelines to more fully embed minimal residual disease testing and explicitly reference the company's clonoSEQ assay. Investors reacted quickly to the guideline update, with Adaptive Biotechnologies' share price up 6.02% over the past day and posting a 12.65% 30-day share price return. The 1-year total shareholder return of 125.21% and 3-year total shareholder return above 4x suggest strong momentum that has only recently started to recover from a 5-year total shareholder return decline of 13%. The most followed narrative pegs Adaptive Biotechnologies' fair value at $26.36 against a last close of $29.57, implying the stock is 12% overvalued. The story could break if reimbursement shifts under the proposed 2027 CMS fee schedule, or if key partnerships underperform and dilute the company's MRD thesis.

QIAGEN N.V. announced the launch of QIAmini, a compact automated sample preparation system aimed at research laboratories that still process samples by hand. The benchtop instrument, about the size of a sheet of printer paper, processes up to eight samples per run and automates DNA and RNA extraction and purification, cutting hands-on time by over 80% across evaluated workflows. QIAGEN estimates the addressable market at more than 100,000 potential instrument placements worldwide, targeting academic laboratories and other research customers with smaller sample batches. Five dedicated QIAmini kits support processing from tissue, cells, cheek swabs, whole blood, body fluids and stool, with applications including PCR, digital PCR and next-generation sequencing. QIAmini is the third new QIAGEN sample preparation system launched in 2026, following QIAsprint Connect for high-throughput research sample processing and QIAsymphony Connect for medium-throughput research and clinical use, expanding the company's automation portfolio from small batches to high-throughput research and clinical testing.

Adaptive Biotechnologies highlighted that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's updated multiple myeloma guidelines now include a dedicated page on minimal residual disease testing and specifically reference its FDA-cleared clonoSEQ assay with preferred high-sensitivity thresholds and expanded testing timepoints. The explicit inclusion of clonoSEQ by name, alongside broader recommendations for routine and longitudinal MRD assessment, strengthens its position as a standardized tool in myeloma care and could influence how often clinicians order the test across a patient's treatment journey. The company announced in June 2026 that it is exploring a separation of its MRD and Immune Medicine businesses, a structural change that could interact directly with recurring clonoSEQ volumes and the ongoing risk of prolonged unprofitability at the consolidated level. Adaptive Biotechnologies' narrative projects $491.4 million in revenue and $18.5 million in earnings by 2029, requiring 16.8% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $82.4 million from -$63.9 million today, while the most optimistic analysts had already projected about US$499.3 million of revenue and US$31.8 million of earnings by 2029 before this NCCN update.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced the Gibco CHO-K1 Catalog Panel, a new off-the-shelf media offering for biologics developers. The panel includes cGMP-ready, chemically defined, animal-origin-free basal and feed media intended for broad process development and manufacturing use. The company said the new solution is designed to give biologics and biosimilars producers scalable, ready-to-use options for cell culture performance, productivity, and product quality. The launch connects directly to Thermo Fisher's broader role supplying life sciences tools and services, from analytical instruments and diagnostics to biopharma services, for both large and emerging drug developers. The company said the offering supports its bioprocessing productivity catalyst around expansion in pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing and deeper end-to-end integration with biopharma customers, though it does not address the flagged risk around the group's high debt load.

Maccura Biotechnology announced that the company recently received Medical Device Registration Certificates issued by the Sichuan Provincial Medical Products Administration, covering a total type I collagen amino-terminal extension peptide assay kit, a beta-collagen special sequence assay kit, and an osteocalcin assay kit. All are direct chemiluminescence reagents used to assist in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. To date, the company has obtained a cumulative total of 145 reagent product registration certificates on its direct chemiluminescence platform.

Maccura Biotechnology announced on September 24 that it has received Medical Device Registration Certificates issued by the Sichuan Medical Products Administration for three new products: a total type I collagen amino-terminal extension peptide assay kit, a beta-collagen special sequence assay kit, and an osteocalcin assay kit. To date, the company has obtained a total of 145 reagent product registration certificates under its direct chemiluminescence platform. In the first half of 2026, Maccura Biotechnology achieved revenue of 1.034 billion yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 34.26 million yuan.

Bio-Techne shareholders voted to approve and adopt the definitive agreement under which Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany proposes to acquire the life sciences tools, reagents and diagnostics provider. The vote came at a Special Meeting of Shareholders held today, with final results certified by the independent inspector of elections to be reported in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Chief Executive Officer Kim Kelderman said the shareholder support marks an important milestone toward completing the transaction and that the combined company will be positioned to support customers across the full spectrum of life science workflows. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 expired at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on September 18, 2026. Bio-Techne continues to expect the transaction to close by late 2026 or early 2027, subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of remaining required regulatory approvals.

Agilent Technologies executives said the company's growth has accelerated to nearly 10% to 11% from roughly flat two years ago, with operating margin up more than 100 basis points despite tariff headwinds, as they outlined drivers including China, instrument replacement cycles and lab automation at a J.P. Morgan conference. Chief Executive Officer Padraig McDonnell said China delivered broad-based strength in the fiscal third quarter, with double-digit growth in pharma and food and high-teens growth in advanced materials, and management expects the country to be a mid- to high-single-digit long-term growth market. Agilent is less than halfway through its liquid chromatography replacement cycle, which it estimates could add 200 to 300 basis points to the overall business, and about one-quarter through its gas chromatography cycle, worth roughly 100 basis points of growth. The advanced therapeutics CDMO business grew 30% in the fiscal third quarter, and Chief Financial Officer Adam Elinoff said Train C is expected to begin operations in spring 2027 and is 75% booked for next year, with Train C and Train D together roughly doubling site revenue to about $300 million at full capacity. McDonnell said Agilent has begun booking its first reshoring and onshoring orders, with five of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies placing orders, supporting a projected $300 million opportunity by 2030 that represents about one-third of an estimated $1 billion market opportunity.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Tempus AI with a Neutral rating and a $75 price target on September 21, flagging renewal risk in the company's data business even as diagnostics growth stays visible. The call landed the same day Tempus announced an extension of its partnership with Recursion Pharmaceuticals through 2029, replacing potentially discretionary fees with $42 million of committed payments. Tempus generated $382.5 million of second-quarter revenue, up 22% year-over-year, with Diagnostics revenue up 20% to $289.3 million, oncology volumes up 31%, and MRD testing at 9,000 tests, up 38% from the prior quarter. The Data and Applications segment grew faster, with revenue up 28% in the quarter and Insights revenue up 36%, alongside roughly $200 million in new Data and Applications licenses signed during the quarter. Management estimates FDA approval of tumor-only xT CDx could add about $85 million of annual revenue beginning in 2027, while the company also received FDA clearance for a third cardiovascular AI product and was selected for an ARPA-H program worth up to $9.5 million. Short interest stood at 29.46 million shares, or 29.17% of the float, down from 33.23 million a month earlier, while ARK Investment Management raised its stake 5% to 10.02 million shares and Citadel expanded its position 318% to 2.51 million shares.

PureTech Health reported $220 million in cash and short-term investments at the parent-company level and said its operational runway should last at least through the end of 2028, excluding potential monetization proceeds. Seaport Therapeutics raised $260 million in gross proceeds through a Nasdaq IPO in May, and PureTech holds a 31.2% equity interest in Seaport valued at approximately $360 million as of Sept. 18, 2026. Celea Therapeutics secured $180 million from healthcare investors and began its global Phase III SURPASS-IPF trial of deupirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with PureTech holding a 35.4% stake plus royalties, milestones and sublicense-income rights. Gallop Oncology, wholly owned by PureTech, received FDA Fast Track designation for LYT-200 in relapsed or refractory high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and plans to begin a 125-patient Phase II STRIDE-MDS trial once external financing is secured. PureTech said it has generated more than $1 billion from the collective Karuna Therapeutics and Cobenfy economics and estimated approximately $50 million in potential future proceeds from its remaining Cobenfy rights, based on analyst consensus as of mid-August.

Avantor has expanded the availability of its RIM single-use bioprocessing portfolio across the Asia Pacific region, strengthening its presence in a key biopharma manufacturing market. The portfolio includes single-use consumables such as bioprocessing bags, assemblies, tubing and components, plus mixing and storage hardware, and is manufactured at Avantor's Changzhou, China facility, the company's first single-use production site in APAC. That 2,600-square-meter plant operates under ISO 9001:2015 certification and Good Manufacturing Practice standards, and RIM products are available exclusively to APAC customers. The move aligns with management's broader Revival strategy, and in the second quarter of 2026 the Bioscience & Medtech Products segment posted double-digit order growth and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1x, with management expecting the segment to return to organic growth in the second half of 2026. Avantor currently has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, and its shares have gained 38.4% year to date versus 3.4% growth for the industry and a 10.1% rise in the S&P 500.