TOKYO – October 28, 2026 -- Astellas Pharma Inc. has secured an exclusive option on a worldwide license to Audax Biosciences' immuno-oncology candidate DAX-044 in a transaction worth up to US$1.34 billion, excluding royalties.

Audax receives US$285 million up front and on option exercise

Audax will receive US$285 million in combined up-front and option-exercise payments. It is also eligible for development and commercial milestones of up to US$1.05 billion, plus tiered double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales if DAX-044 is approved.

SALT LAKE CITY – October 27, 2026 -- Thorne converted 80% of its paper batch records to electronic batch records (EBR) in 2026 using MasterControl Manufacturing Excellence (Mx), earning the Manufacturing Excellence Award at MasterControl's 2026 Masters Summit. The October event named four winners of the Masters of Excellence Awards, which recognize MasterControl customers in quality management, manufacturing, asset excellence and innovation.

IRVINE – October 27, 2026 -- SBC Medical Group Holdings (Nasdaq: SBC) will put its AI-driven longevity strategy in front of Asian investors this month, with CFO and COO Yuya Yoshida presenting at Cantor Fitzgerald Hong Kong's inaugural Asia Longevity Forum on October 26, followed by investor meetings on October 27 and a non-deal roadshow on October 28.

Irvine – October 27, 2026 -- SBC Medical Group Holdings (Nasdaq: SBC) has begun in-house development of a DNA methylation test to estimate biological age, entering a longevity market that Report Ocean projects will grow from about $800 billion in 2025 to about $2 trillion by 2035.

HERNDON, Va. – October 27, 2026 -- Akima subsidiary Pinnacle Solutions has won a $24 million Other Transactional Authority (OTA) award from U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command to build virtual reality maintenance trainers for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) fleet. The total value assumes all options are exercised over a 30-month period of performance.

BILLERICA – October 21, 2026 -- E Ink and FUJIFILM Imaging Systems Co., Ltd. plan to start mass production of a 55-inch color ePaper signage display in March 2027, aiming to replace printed posters in Japan's railway industry.

Tokyo – October 20, 2026 -- A four-company consortium led by NTT Innovative Devices has been selected for a NEDO-backed project to build mass-production technologies for optical chiplets, with a target of more than a tenfold gain in manufacturing productivity over current R&D-stage processes.

Tokyo – October 19, 2026 -- Cellid Inc. has placed its AR glasses reference design, built on proprietary waveguide technology, in the Computer History Museum's new "Extended Reality: Visions of the Future" exhibit, alongside disassembled components of its HJ1 AI Smart Glasses.

Bridgewater – – October 19, 2026 -- Insmed (Nasdaq: INSM) has launched BRINSUPRI Tablets 25 mg (brensocatib hydrate) in Japan, making it the first and only approved, commercially available treatment for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) in the country.

Japan's health ministry cleared the once-daily oral tablet in August 2026

The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare approved BRINSUPRI based on results from the Phase 3 ASPEN study. The label covers adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older.

San Diego – October 19, 2026 -- Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CAPR) will present 24-month skeletal muscle and cardiac data from its Phase 3 HOPE-3 trial of Deramiocel in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) at the World Muscle Society Congress, weeks ahead of an FDA PDUFA target action date of November 22, 2026.

The 31st Annual Congress (WMS 2026) runs September 29 to October 3, 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan. Capricor will deliver one late-breaking poster and one oral presentation on Deramiocel, plus two preclinical posters from its StealthX exosome platform.