Top Stories Monday, Mar. 27: Elon Musk-Led Neuralink Seeks Humam Trial Collaborators, Credit Suisse May F

Benzinga

Despite concerns about potential animal-welfare violations, Elon Musk-led Neuralink is searching for a suitable partner to conduct human clinical trials of its brain-implanted chips.
Neuralink, a brain implant firm, has reached out to Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the biggest neurosurgery centers in the U.S., to explore the possibility of partnering for clinical trials.
The company intends to start the trials as soon as regulatory bodies grant permission to conduct tests on humans, reported Reuters, citing six people familiar with the matter.

First Citizens BancShares Inc (NASDAQ:FCNCA) agreed to purchase the troubled Silicon Valley Bank.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based First Citizens agreed to a deal to purchase all deposits and loans of SVB, according to a statement issued by the bank.
First Citizens was among the two suitors vying for SVB, which federal regulators seized.
The other was Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY).

Days after accusing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) of having "exclusive access" to the entire OpenAI codebase and wondering how the chatGPT-parent became a $30 billion for-profit company, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk once again had something to say about the company he co-founded and then left.
A Twitter user named DogeDesigner and a designer at Dogecoin (DOGE/USD) took a potshot at OpenAI, saying Musk "donated the first $100M" to the company when it was non-profit.
OpenAI has become a "closed-source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft."

On Monday, Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) issued a joint statement regarding its 2023 annual meeting and related director elections. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management decided not to proceed with director nominations.
As of January, Activist investor Elliott looked to nominate a slate of directors at Salesforce, signaling a fight for board seats.
The decline in Salesforce's shares drew activists to the company.
Earlier In March, Salesforce reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued strong guidance.

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) announced topline results from an interim analysis of the NATALEE Phase 3 trial evaluating Kisqali (ribociclib) plus endocrine therapy (ET) in a broad population of patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) early breast cancer at risk of recurrence.
Kisqali plus ET significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence, compared to standard adjuvant endocrine therapy alone, with consistent benefit in patients with stage II and stage III EBC regardless of nodal involvement.

BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) has reported Q4 FY22 revenues of €4.28 billion, down from €5.5 billion a year ago, due to the changes in the demand for COVID-19 vaccines.
Full-year revenues reached €17.3 billion, down from €18.9 billion a year ago.
The company posted Q4 diluted EPS of €9.26, down from €12.18 a year ago.
Approximately 2 billion doses of Comirnaty, the COVID-19 vaccine, were invoiced in 2022, including approximately 550 million doses of Omicron-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.

Reuters

Swiss Financial Market, Supervisory Authority FINMA, is reportedly considering disciplinary action against Credit Suisse Group AG's (NYSE: CS) managers.
FINMA President Marlene Amstad told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag it was "still open" whether new proceedings would be started, but the regulator's main focus was on "the transitional phase of integration" and "preserving financial stability."

The proposed purchase by Électricité de France SA (OTC: ECIFY) of the nuclear steam power division held by General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has attracted the attention of the U.K. competition watchdog.
According to a statement by the British antitrust agency, the transaction is expected to raise concerns about competition,
The report added that, before opening a formal inquiry, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had invited preliminary feedback on the deal's possible effects in the U.K. from interested parties.

Bloomberg

BridgeBio Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: BBIO) is reportedly attracting takeover interest as some large pharmaceutical companies are studying a potential acquisition of the biotech firm.
BridgeBio may decide to remain independent longer so it can benefit from the results of upcoming drug trials, some of the people said.

Marathon Asset Management LP's gained around $30 million due to its opportune bet on Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) bonds.
The hedge fund amassed around $150 million in bonds in Credit Suisse's senior operating company at rock bottom prices just days before the Swiss bank offered to repurchase them at a high premium in a March 16 statement.

The Guardian

Michael Kagan, the Chief Technology Officer at Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), said cryptocurrencies do not "bring anything useful for society."
Kagan on Sunday told The Guardian that the utility of cryptocurrencies for humanity is questionable at best.
"I never believed that [crypto] is something that will do something good for humanity. People do crazy things, but they buy your stuff, and you sell them stuff. But you don't redirect the company to support whatever it is."

Financial Times

Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY) and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC: BMWYY) battery supplier Northvolt weighed securing over $5 billion of financing.
Northvolt is bargaining with several banks to raise the debt financing.
The Swedish start-up became Europe's answer to CATL of China and South Korea's LG.
Northvolt produced the first battery from its European factory just south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden at the end of 2021, likely to cover space equivalent to 70 football pitches.

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