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2026 Patient Innovators Awards winners announced at Courier Health's annual Summit. Oct 13, 2026, 09:00 ET Honorees celebrated as biopharma gathered in New York City to chart the future of the patient experience NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Courier Health, the leading technology company for managing patient experiences, today announced the winners of the second annual Patient Innovators Awards, which recognize the biopharma teams and leaders going above and beyond to improve patient access, innovation, and overall outcomes. Winners were announced live on October 6th at the third annual Patient Innovators Summit in New York City. The invite-only event brought together Patient Services, Access & Reimbursement, and Commercial IT & Analytics leaders from more than 75 biopharma companies. Together, attendees represented more than 100 disease states and roughly 35 million patients with previously unmet needs. Four teams and one individual were recognized for driving innovation and measurably improving the patient experience: * Rare Disease Champions of the Year: KalVista, a Company of Chiesi Group * Patient Services Team of the Year: Priovant Therapeutics * Field Access Team of the Year: UCB, Inc. * Patient Champion of the Year: Rob Chuba, Alkermes * Patient Innovators of the Year: Bristol Myers Squibb's CAR T-cell therapy Patient Access Support Services (PASS) team "Being named Patient Services Team of the Year is a testament to the team and program we're building," said Lee Liberator, Vice President of Patient Services and Reimbursement at Priovant Therapeutics. "We've built a unique program centered around what patients actually need from us, and we're proud to be recognized for our commitment to innovating and championing a better patient experience." In his opening keynote, Danny Sigurdson, Founder and CEO of Courier Health, described the moment as a fork in the road. As manufacturers take greater internal control of their programs, data ownership, outcomes-based measurement, and AI-enabled workflow innovation have become critical. Organizations that invest in the right foundation will gain greater operational leverage to focus on their core competency - supporting patients and providers - while those that don't will fall further behind. "This year's Patient Innovators Awards winners are proof that a better path, and a brighter future, is already being built," said Danny Sigurdson. "These teams and our individual Patient Champion of the Year aren't afraid to challenge the status quo and rethink how their programs run. They never lose sight of the patient, and it's an honor to recognize their contributions." This year's Patient Innovators Summit featured 11 industry speakers from companies including Alkermes, Beren Therapeutics, Corcept Therapeutics, Compass Pathways, Dyne Therapeutics, Genentech, and Tarus Pharmaceuticals. The audience also heard a powerful firsthand story from Mark Dant, rare disease advocate and Volunteer Executive Director for the Ryan Foundation. About Courier Health Courier Health is a New York City-based technology company on a mission to improve the patient experience for hundreds of millions of people living with a chronic condition or rare disease. The company develops and delivers the fastest-growing patient experience solution for the life sciences industry. Companies that choose Courier Health are achieving double-digit improvements to patient starts, time-to-start and ongoing adherence to life-altering therapies. As host of the invite-only Patient Innovators Summit and publisher of The State of Patient-Centricity in Biopharma report, Courier Health is backed by leading investors, including Oak HC/FT, Norwest and Work-Bench. Follow Courier Health on LinkedIn and learn more at www.courierhealth.com. SOURCE Courier Health

The FDA has approved Genentech's Tecentriq in combination with a fluoropyrimidine and oxaliplatin for adjuvant treatment of stage III deficient DNA mismatch repair colon cancer. This marks Tecentriq's twelfth indication in the US. The approval follows results from the Phase III ATOMIC study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The trial showed Tecentriq plus chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 50% compared to chemotherapy alone. The 36-month disease-free survival was 86% with Tecentriq combined with mFOLFOX6, versus 76% with mFOLFOX6 alone. Nearly 25% of colon cancers are diagnosed at stage III. Almost one in three patients with stage III colon cancer experience recurrence within five years. This represents the first approved adjuvant immunotherapy regimen for this patient population.

Alector licenses Parkinson's drug program to Genentech for $1.27B. On Oct 7, 2026 Alector has entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to develop and commercialize AL050, an investigational therapy designed to treat a key cause of neurodegeneration linked to Parkinson's disease. Under the agreement, Genentech will receive worldwide rights to AL050, which is designed to address deficiencies in glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an enzyme linked to Parkinson's disease, particularly in people carrying mutations in the GBA1 gene. Alector will receive $100 million upfront from Genentech and could receive up to an additional $1.17 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. The company will also be eligible for tiered royalties based on net sales. AL050 combines an engineered version of the GCase enzyme with Alector's proprietary Alector Brain Carrier (ABC) technology. The approach is designed to help the therapy cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain, where GCase deficiency can cause harmful lipids to build up in nerve cells. The therapy is intended to break down glucosylsphingosine and glucosylceramide, two lipids that can accumulate when GCase activity is reduced. Alector believes reducing this buildup could help improve cell function and potentially slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. GCase deficiency is increasingly being studied as an important driver of Parkinson's disease. People with GBA1 mutations are at higher risk of developing the disease, although GCase-related mechanisms may also play a role in patients without these mutations. Under the partnership, Genentech will take responsibility for the development, regulatory work, manufacturing and commercialization of AL050 across all potential indications. Alector will retain ownership of its ABC technology and continue using the platform in its wholly owned pipeline. Alector CEO Arnon Rosenthal said the company designed AL050 to address two major challenges in treating GCase deficiency: developing an enzyme with strong and lasting activity and delivering it effectively into the brain. The deal also gives Alector additional resources to advance its other programs. The company said the partnership extends its cash runway into 2029. Alector plans to use these resources to advance its subcutaneously delivered, brain-enabled anti-Aβ antibody program toward multi-cohort clinical data in Alzheimer's disease. The company also plans to move its brain-enabled tau siRNA and alpha-synuclein siRNA programs through IND-enabling studies and toward regulatory filings. The collaboration marks another major step in Genentech's efforts to develop new treatments for Parkinson's disease, while giving Alector the financial support to continue developing therapies targeting neurodegenerative diseases.