GI & Endoscopy

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. acquired 90.83 percent of TiGenix's voting rights through its previously announced takeover effort.

Here are eight updates on GI companies from the past week:

David Lieberman, MD, began his term as the 113th president of the American Gastroenterological Association Institution June 5, at the conclusion of Digestive Disease Week.

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy launched a public awareness campaign centered on the link between chronic heartburn and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Jack Cole, DO, is a gastroenterologist at Greenville, N.C.-based Gastroenterology East.

Pentax Medical entered into distribution agreements with Avantis Medical Systems and CapsoVision.

Evoke Pharma submitted a new drug application to the FDA for its acute and recurrent diabetic gastroparesis nasal spray Gimoti. The spray relieves symptoms in adult women.

There have been five recent deaths in association with liquid-filled intragastic balloons for the treatment of obesity, bringing the total number of deaths to 12 since 2016, CNN reports.

Salix Pharmaceuticals presented data from its phase 3 trial of Rifaximin, finding the drug treated irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea patients effectively but with a small number of adverse events.

William Salyers, Jr., MD, is a gastroenterologist at KU Wichita (Kan.) Gastroenterology.