Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

Raleigh – October 13, 2026 -- Ledger Run, a clinical trial financial management provider, has appointed former Cytel and Oracle product executive Anne Pelz as Vice President of Product and is increasing R&D spending to build an AI-powered, end-to-end financial platform.

Pelz brings more than two decades of life sciences technology experience

Pelz began her career in product management at PHT Corporation, later acquired by Clario, where she led development of what became Clario's cornerstone mobile tool. She then moved to Parexel, managing medical imaging software development and working as a solutions consultant for its eCOA division. As vice president of product at Cytel, she helped build and launch a clinical trials management platform, before taking a similar executive role at Oracle. She holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University and an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Boston – October 13, 2026 -- Red Queen Bio PBC has recruited Ian Watson, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense, to lead its government affairs strategy as the AI biosecurity company expands its work with federal buyers.

Watson to engage the Department of War, Department of Energy and HHS

Watson will deepen the company's relationships across the federal government, national laboratories and agencies including the Department of War, the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services.

CEO and co-founder Nikolai Eroshenko said the biosecurity landscape is evolving faster than many traditional systems were designed to respond, and that Watson understands what it takes to deploy and scale new technological capabilities.

Langhorne, Pa. – October 13, 2026 -- Perspecta has launched a redesigned version of its ProviderDirectoryAI (PDAI) solution, adding list, map and card views and client-specific member content to a search tool used by health plans, workers' compensation teams and provider organizations.

The redesign extends existing provider search capabilities and targets users on mobile, tablet and desktop. Perspecta says it built the update from client and end-user feedback.

PDAI adds three search views and distance-based sorting

Users can switch between list, map and card views. Healthcare professionals can review detailed provider information, while members can compare options and find providers close to home or work. Interactive maps and distance-based sorting show where providers are located.

Research Triangle Park – October 13, 2026 -- IQVIA has selected four Veeva applications (CTMS, eTMF, Study Startup and Site Connect) as enterprise standards for its clinical development studies, extending a partnership that previously covered Veeva's EDC.

IQVIA and Veeva widen the clinical technology tie-up beyond EDC

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) and Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) announced the expansion on Oct. 13, 2026. The companies say the combined offering is intended to raise trial speed and efficiency, strengthen site centricity and improve decision-making.

All Veeva clinical solutions are also available through IQVIA for sponsors that want a full Veeva technology stack.

London – October 13, 2026 -- Mothers in the U.K., Sweden and France report having 2-2.1 children on average, against the 2.8-2.9 they say they want, according to new data from the IVI Institute Fertility Barometer. The study surveyed 24,074 women aged 19 to 49 across nine countries.

IVI Institute, formerly IVI RMA Global, released the regional findings as it consolidates its clinics under a single name. Clinics will operate as IVI Fertility, Livio and Create Fertility as members of IVI Institute.

Women start families later than planned in all three markets

81-84% of women in the three countries are already mothers or want children, and 68-70% rate motherhood as a medium-high or high priority. Among women who reported a target age, 31-41% had their first child later than desired.

MADRID – October 13, 2026 -- An estimated 6.8 million women across nine countries are experiencing infertility right now, according to the inaugural IVI Institute Fertility Barometer, which also finds that 36% of women with a target age for starting a family had their first child later than desired. IVI Institute, formerly IVI RMA Global, released the study alongside a group-wide rebrand that unites its clinic networks.

Survey of 24,074 women quantifies the gap between desired and actual family size

GfK, a NielsenIQ company, conducted the online survey of women aged 19 to 49 in Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, the UAE, the U.K. and the U.S. Fieldwork ran from May 16 to July 3, 2026. The margin of error is ±0.63 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with larger margins among subgroups.

Dallas – October 13, 2026 -- Koya Medical will put its CEO and CFO in front of investors at two conferences on consecutive days, October 19 and 20, 2026, as the vascular disease device maker promotes the commercial momentum of its portfolio.

CEO Doraiswamy presents at Goldman Sachs in New York on October 19

Andy Doraiswamy, Koya's chief executive, will present on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Goldman Sachs Healthcare Private Company Conference. The session takes place at the Goldman Sachs Client Center in New York City.

CFO Rippole takes the Bank of America stage in Boston on October 20

Damian Rippole, the company's chief financial officer, will present on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at The MedTech Conference hosted by AdvaMed. His slot is part of the Bank of America Company Presentations, held in Room 050 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston.

Santa Barbara – October 13, 2026 -- Rona Therapeutics will receive up to $100 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments from Roche under an exclusive worldwide license for its investigational RNAi candidate targeting activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7), with potential for a further $1.06 billion in milestones.

Rona is eligible for $1.06 billion in milestones plus tiered royalties

The additional $1.06 billion covers development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Rona is also eligible for tiered royalties on global net sales. Combined with the upfront and near-term payments, headline deal value reaches roughly $1.16 billion if all milestones are met.

The candidate uses Rona's proprietary extrahepatic delivery platform, which targets tissue outside the liver. Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) receives the exclusive license for the asset worldwide.

Uppsala – October 13, 2026 -- Akiram Therapeutics reported no dose-limiting toxicities among the eight patients treated so far with its lead radiopharmaceutical candidate 177Lu-AKIR001 in a Phase I trial, with treatment-related adverse events limited to grade 1-2.

The Swedish clinical-stage biotech will present the first clinical data at the EANM 2026 Congress in Vienna, October 17-21. The abstract was selected as a Top Rated Oral Presentation (TROP).

Sustained tumor retention supports continued dose escalation

The first-in-human study is evaluating 177Lu-AKIR001 in patients with irresectable or metastatic CD44v6-positive solid tumors who have no remaining standard treatment options. At data cut-off, eight patients had been treated, and four of them received repeat treatment after the first administration.

Shanghai – October 13, 2026 -- Shanghai Ark Biopharmaceutical (ArkBio) has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of its investigational new drug application for AK0406, allowing a phase II trial of the long-acting antiviral drug-Fc conjugate for influenza prevention in the general U.S. population.

CDC data shows 24,000 U.S. flu deaths despite vaccines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the 2025–2026 influenza season caused at least 32 million illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths in the United States. ArkBio says shifting circulating viruses and variable immune response limit vaccine protection, particularly among older adults and immunocompromised people.