--- title: 'Industry Daily Summary: What Happened on October 19, 2026' headline: Beckman Coulter Diagnostics names Catherine Jennings president description: The FDA outlined a rare-disease framework as drugmakers struck research deals and Bausch + Lomb changed CEOs. url: https://thebench.bio/news/industry/2026-10-19 topic: industry date: '2026-10-19' covers: - '2026-10-19' date_published: '2026-10-19T12:03:01Z' date_modified: '2026-10-19T12:03:01Z' tags: - Industry - Regulatory - Software sources: 4 publisher: TheBench.Bio --- # Industry Daily Summary: What Happened on October 19, 2026 **Beckman Coulter Diagnostics names Catherine Jennings president** The FDA outlined a rare-disease framework as drugmakers struck research deals and Bausch + Lomb changed CEOs. ## Today in brief Catherine Jennings will lead Beckman Coulter Diagnostics after more than 20 years in healthcare leadership. [1] The FDA set out priorities for adapting drug development and review to rare diseases. [2] ## Also worth knowing - Jennings previously led Boston Scientific’s Vascular Therapies business, which generated about $2 billion in annual revenue. [1] - Saudi Arabia’s biotech strategy has identified partners, locations and capital. [3] - AstraZeneca and insitro agreed to a drug-discovery collaboration in MASH and cardiomyopathies. insitro will receive $40 million upfront and may earn up to about $1.46 billion in milestones. [2] - Bausch + Lomb named Thomas J. Appio interim CEO after Brent Saunders left by mutual agreement. The companies said preliminary third-quarter results support an expected increase to 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance. [2] - On October 16, the FDA approved Roche’s Enspryng for adults with thyroid eye disease. [2] - The European Medicines Agency’s committee recommended marketing authorization for Lilly’s Foundayo for weight management and type 2 diabetes in adults. The European Commission will make the final decision. [2] - Chai Discovery and GSK began a drug-discovery collaboration. GSK’s lab tests found binders for every target tested during its evaluation of Chai’s protein design and folding models. [4] - India’s Technology Development Board agreed to provide Peptris Technologies ₹86 crore for a project intended to advance four drug candidates through preclinical work. [4] ## The day in numbers - **$90 million**: Gilead’s upfront payment to Vir for work on three masked T-cell engager candidates. [2] - **$1.74 billion**: Maximum additional milestone payments Vir may receive from Gilead. [2] - **52.9% vs. 23.4%**: Share of Enspryng and placebo recipients, respectively, who met the specified proptosis response in SatraGO-2. [2] ## Also published - [Novavax critic Shah Capital ends its activism campaign](), pharmaphorum - [Your DTP programme has five vendors and no spine](), pharmaphorum - [PACE: BIO’s 15th annual patient advocacy event focuses on access](), Bio.News - [From reactive to predictive: How data is redefining pharma logistics](), pharmaphorum - [STAT+: Does Isomorphic Labs have what it takes to revolutionize drugmaking?](), STAT Biotech - [Khosla Ventures doubles down on Even Healthcare to challenge India’s hospital economics](), TechCrunch Biotech and Health - [Notable TechBio startups and companies operating in Indonesia 🇮🇩](), MetaphysicalCells ## Sources 1. [Jennings becomes President of Beckman Coulter Diagnostics](), Pharmafile, 2026-10-19 2. [Your Questions Answered: Foundayo’s EU Panel Backing, Enspryng for TED, Gilead’s Masked TCE Bet, FDA’s Rare Disease Overhaul, and More](), Pharmaceutical Executive, 2026-10-19 3. [From strategy to scale: How Saudi Arabia is building a biotech ecosystem](), BioPharma Dive, 2026-10-19 4. [Latest News on TechBio Revolution 📒](), MetaphysicalCells, 2026-10-19 --- TheBench.Bio wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: [2]: [3]: [4]: