Skip to the rundown
GetYourBrief Biotech desk · February 18, 2026
Search

Rundown · Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Biotech news on February 18, 2026

On Wednesday, February 18, 2026 the Biotech desk recorded 14 news events. The earliest report came from wqcs.org at 00:00 UTC. 2 more events were reported; they are listed at the end.

  1. 01

    Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says AGI could arrive in five to eight years.

    4 outlets · first: economictimes.indiatimes.com

    Machine summary Digit reported he said the world is entering a golden era of science and that AGI is closer than expected, while Moneycontrol reported he said AGI is still not here.

    1. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis predicts AGI arrival within 5 to 8 years.
    2. The prediction was made during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
    3. Hassabis characterized the coming decade as a 'golden era of science' for researchers.
    4. Specific warnings were issued regarding biosecurity and cybersecurity risks as AI scales.
    5. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said AGI could arrive in five to eight years and that the world is entering a golden era of science.

    Reported by Digit, economictimes.indiatimes.com, moneycontrol.com and freepressjournal.in.

  2. 02

    ImmunityBio shares rose after EU approved ANKTIVA for bladder cancer

    3 outlets · first: The Motley Fool Fda approval

    Machine summary The Motley Fool reported on Feb. 18 that ImmunityBio shares climbed after the EU approved ANKTIVA for bladder cancer.

    1. The European Union approved ANKTIVA for bladder cancer, according to the reports.
    2. ImmunityBio shares soared following the approval, according to the reports.

    Reported by The Motley Fool, Nasdaq and AOL.com.

    • ANKTIVA
    • ImmunityBio

  3. 03

    FDA will drop two-study requirement for new drug approvals, aiming to speed access

    3 outlets · first: dailybulletin.com Fda approval

    Reported by dailybulletin.com, baltimoresun.com and sandiegouniontribune.com.

  4. 04

    Coverage recordfinanznachrichten.de: “DelveInsight Business Research, LLP: Phenylketonuria Market to Reach New Heights by 2034, Driven by Innovative Therapies and Rising Diagnosis Rates”

    3 outlets · first: thetimesofbengal.com Pharma

    Reports ran between 22:37 and 23:15 UTC on Feb 18.

    The outlets that reported this event are listed with links to their reports; no summary of ours passed our automated checks for it, which says nothing about the event (how they work).

    Reported by thetimesofbengal.com, Pr Newswire and finanznachrichten.de.

    • Phenylketonuria
    • DelveInsight Business Research

  5. 05

    Lifespan Vision Ventures co-leads Sift Biosciences $3.7M pre-seed round

    3 outlets · first: Newswire Canada Funding

    Machine summary Lifespan Vision Ventures co-led a $3.7 million pre-seed financing round for Sift Biosciences, according to the source reports.

    1. Lifespan Vision Ventures co-led a $3.7 million pre-seed financing round for Sift Biosciences, according to the reports.

    Reported by Newswire Canada, PR Newswire UK and citybiz.

    • Lifespan Vision Ventures
    • Sift Biosciences

  6. 06

    Doceree launches AI-powered Admanager

    2 outlets · first: finanznachrichten.de Pharma Mostly press releases

    Machine summary prnewswire.com reports that Admanager, powered by Doceree, launched a platform intended to help healthcare publishers take back control. The outlet says artificial intelligence is changing healthcare publishing.

    Reported by Pr Newswire and finanznachrichten.de.

  7. 07

    Study suggests AI helps individual scientists but not science

    2 outlets · first: wqcs.org Pharma

    Reported by wqcs.org and kccu.org.

  8. 08

    Wellgistics Health invests in mental health AI startup

    2 outlets · first: Seeking Alpha Funding

    Machine summary Wellgistics Health has made a strategic investment in a stealth mental health AI startup, according to Seeking Alpha and newjerseytelegraph.com. The company is targeting expansion into the mental health software market, the reports said.

    1. Wellgistics Health invested in a stealth mental health AI startup, according to Seeking Alpha.
    2. Wellgistics Health is targeting expansion into the mental health software market, according to newjerseytelegraph.com.
    3. The reports describe the investment as strategic.

    Reported by Seeking Alpha and newjerseytelegraph.com (Big News Network).

    • Wellgistics Health
    • Mental Health AI
    • Stealth Mental Health AI Startup

  9. 09

    Merck and Mayo Clinic Launch AI-Driven Drug Discovery Collaboration

    2 outlets · first: Yahoo Finance Pharma

    Machine summary Yahoo Finance reported that Merck and Mayo Clinic announced a new research and development collaboration supporting AI-enabled drug discovery and precision medicine.

    Reported by Yahoo Finance and Mayo Clinic News Network.

  10. 10

    Study finds tropical disease can now be transmitted in most of Europe

    2 outlets · first: aol.co.uk Pharma

    Machine summary A study found that a tropical disease can now be transmitted in most of Europe, according to reports.

    1. The study found it can now be transmitted in most of Europe.

    Reported by aol.co.uk and The Guardian.

  11. 11

    Zealand Pharma reports positive Phase 1a results for ZP9830

    2 outlets · first: manilatimes.net Clinical trial

    Machine summary Zealand Pharma announced positive Phase 1a topline results for its Kv1.3 channel blocker ZP9830, according to the reports.

    Reported by manilatimes.net and Rttnews.

    • Zealand Pharma
    • Kv1.3 channel blocker
    • ZP9830

    Full coverage: every report, when each was published, and who was named (2 outlets)

  12. 12

    Beta Bionics, NeoGenomics Q4 2025 earnings call transcripts

    1 outlet · first: Insider Monkey Pharma

    Machine summary Beta Bionics and NeoGenomics reported Q4 2025 results.

    Reported by Insider Monkey.

    • Nasdaq
    • NeoGenomics, Inc.
    • Beta Bionics, Inc.

  13. 13

    Coverage recordSeeking Alpha: “OneSpaWorld Non-GAAP EPS of $0.24 misses by $0.02, revenue of $242.1M misses by $0.7M”

    1 outlet · first: Seeking Alpha Pharma

    The outlets that reported this event are listed with links to their reports; no summary of ours passed our automated checks for it, which says nothing about the event (how they work).

    Reported by Seeking Alpha.

    • OneSpaWorld

  14. 14

    Coverage recordSeeking Alpha: “Insmed Q4 2025 Earnings Preview”

    1 outlet · first: Seeking Alpha Pharma

    The outlets that reported this event are listed with links to their reports; no summary of ours passed our automated checks for it, which says nothing about the event (how they work).

    Reported by Seeking Alpha.

    • Insmed

More events reported

No summary of ours and no outlet headline passed our automated checks for these, which says nothing about the events (how they work); the outlets and their reports are linked.

  1. · 2 outletsShropshire Star, expressandstar.com
  2. · 2 outletsarkansasonline.com, markets.financialcontent.comNamed in the reports: Bayer

Each summary and its key facts are a machine summary of the reports linked under it; the outlets, times and counts come from those reports' own records. How a rundown is built.

Also covered for this desk

6 events homed on another desk that the Biotech desk also carried on February 18, 2026.

  1. Feb 18 · Healthcare medpagetoday.com: “Moderna Says the FDA Will Consider Its New Flu Shot After Resolving a Public Dispute” 18
  2. Feb 18 · Healthcare finanznachrichten.de: “Grünenthal Group: Grünenthal proprietary NaV 1.8 inhibitor enters clinical development” 2
  3. Feb 18 · Healthcare NIH director Jay Bhattacharya to take over as acting CDC head 2
  4. Feb 18 · Climate businesstoday.in: “India AI Impact Summit 2026: India prioritising AI for healthcare, agriculture and climate, says Ashwini Vaishnaw” 1
  5. Feb 18 · Healthcare Chulalongkorn University Debuts AnthoRice Complex for Hair Regrowth 1

The days around it

Sources: the outlets' reports linked on this page; counts and times from GetYourBrief's record of those reports (methodology).