Pharma News

In the largest study to date on the subject, researchers found no evidence to support a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of autism, ADHD and intellectual disability in children. The findings, using data from a nationwide cohort of over 2.4 million children born in Sweden, including siblings not exposed to the drug before birth, were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from researchers at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health and Karolinska Institutet of Sweden.

Almost 1 in 5 adults with congenital heart disease living in Israel had or developed an abnormal heart rhythm/arrhythmia during a five-year study, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

Novartis today announced data from the ALITHIOS open-label extension study showing sustained efficacy of first-line, continuous Kesimpta® (ofatumumab) treatment for up to six years in recently diagnosed – defined as starting treatment within three years of initial diagnosis – treatment-naïve people living with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).

Roche announced data from the Phase III OCARINA II study (S31.006) of OCREVUS (ocrelizumab), an investigational twice-yearly, 10-minute subcutaneous (SC) injection. Results showed near-complete suppression of clinical relapses and brain lesions in people with relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (RMS or PPMS) which reinforce the potential benefits of this investigational formulation. Treatment with OCREVUS SC led to rapid and sustained B-cell depletion in the blood.

FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) announced the launch of the CDER Center for Clinical Trial Innovation (C3TI). C3TI’s mission is to promote CDER clinical trial innovation activities through enhanced communication and collaboration, both internally within CDER and externally.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) currently afflicts nearly seven million people in the U.S. With this number expected to grow to nearly 13 million by 2050, the lack of meaningful therapies represents a major unmet medical need. Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have now identified promising real-world links between common HIV drugs and a reduced incidence of AD. The study, led by Jerold Chun, M.D., Ph.D., was published in Pharmaceuticals.

A recent breakthrough study from the lab of Tanya Kalin, MD, PhD, professor of Child Health and Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, has shown potential to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients suffering from lung cancers.

“We have identified the novel protein FOXF1 that stabilizes blood vessels inside the lung tumors, decreases intertumoral hypoxia and prevents lung cancer metastases,” explained Dr. Kalin, the senior author on this study.

GSK plc announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a Biologics License Application (BLA) for its 5-in-1 meningococcal ABCWY (MenABCWY) vaccine candidate. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date for a regulatory decision by the US FDA on this application is 14 February 2025.

Dr Javier Díez-Domingo, Principal Investigator, FISABIO (Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community, Spain) said: “These final data demonstrate continued protection over more than a decade with high efficacy maintained in both the 50+ and 70+ age groups.