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The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to three scientists for developing a technique to help analyze the inner workings of the brain, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, Delaware, and North Carolina.
- California: The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to a trio of scientists for developing a technique to help analyze the inner workings of the brain. The three scientists are Karl Deisseroth, a professor bioengineering and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Peter Hegemann, a professor of experimental biophysics at Humboldt University in Berlin; and Georg Nagel, a professor of plant physiology at the University of Wurzberg in Germany. Hegemann and Nagel discovered a protein in algae called channelrhodopsin before Deisseroth "transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells." This method, which is called optogenetics, uses pulses of light to activate or turn off groups of neurons in the brain, which can help researchers find new ways to treat different health conditions like blindness, depression, addiction, and dementia. According to the Nobel Prize committee, the scientists' work has "laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience." The three scientists will equally split a prize of $1.2 million for their work. Other Nobel Prizes, including for physics, chemistry, literature, and peace, will be awarded later this week, with the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science awarded next Monday. (Johnson/Sands, New York Time, 10/5; Ronald/Hunt, CNN, 10/5)
- Delaware: AstraZeneca will invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics as part of an expanded partnership between the two companies. According to Summit, AstraZeneca will buy $2 billion of convertible preferred shares at a common stock price of $18.36 per share, or a 10% premium to the stocks' five-day volume-weighted average price. Aside from the investment, the companies are also planning to collaborate on developing cancer treatments. The companies have already signed a clinical collaboration agreement that will evaluate AstraZeneca's sonesitatug vedotin with Summit's ivonescimab as a potential treatment for gastrointestinal cancers. They have also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that outlines a planned agreement to test Summit's ivonescimab with several of AstraZeneca's medicines in different clinical trials. The agreement is mutually non-exclusive, and each company will retain its development and commercial rights. (Schisgall, Wall Street Journal, 9/28)
- North Carolina: Last month, the Wake County board of commissioners voted 5-2 to approve a proposed merger between WakeMed Health & Hospitals and Atrium Health. The two health systems first shared their plans for a merger in early May, with Atrium expected to invest $2 billion in WakeMed to help expand facilities, technology, workforce, and access to care across the state. "This combination will expand access to affordable, nationally leading care, strengthen mental health and other critical services, grow local jobs, increase investment in nonprofit and community-based organizations, address social drivers of health, catalyze innovation and improve the health and well-being of Wake County for generations to come," the health systems said in a joint press release. With the board's approval, the proposed merger will move on to a regulatory review process. The merger previously drew scrutiny from both Wake County leaders and state officials due to competition, governance, and healthcare cost concerns. (Scheetz, Becker's Hospital Review, 9/21)
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