Pharma News

Health care providers in developing countries know that oral rehydration salts (ORS) are a lifesaving and inexpensive treatment for diarrheal disease, a leading cause of death for children worldwide, yet few prescribe it.

A new Northwestern Medicine study has found the immune system in the blood of Alzheimer’s patients is epigenetically altered. That means the patients’ behavior or environment has caused changes that affect the way their genes work.

Many of these altered immune genes are the same ones that increase an individual’s risk for Alzheimer’s. Northwestern scientists theorize the cause could be a previous viral infection, environmental pollutants or other lifestyle factor and behaviors.

The NIHR has selected the University of Birmingham to run the National Collaborative for its Research Support Service (RSS) from 1 February 2024.

The RSS was launched on 1 October 2023. The service provides expert research design, methodological support, advice, and collaboration to all researchers in England throughout the pre- and post-application/research process, regardless of geographic location and research interest.

BioNTech SE a next-generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases, and Autolus Therapeutics plc a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, announced a strategic collaboration aimed at advancing both companies’ autologous CAR-T programs towards commercialization, pending regulatory authorizations. In connection with the strategic collaboration, the companies entered into a license and option agreement and a securities purchase agreement.

Bristol Myers Squibb announced two regulatory acceptances for applications for neoadjuvant Opdivo (nivolumab) with chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant Opdivo for the perioperative treatment of resectable stage IIA to IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the supplemental Biologics Application (sBLA) and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of October 8, 2024.

Low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) are one of the most dangerous complications of diabetes and pose high risk during cognitively demanding tasks requiring complex motor skills, such as driving a car. The utility of current tools to detect hypoglycemia is limited by diagnostic delay, invasiveness, low availability, and high costs. A recent study published in the journal NEJM AI provides a novel way to detect hypoglycemia during driving.

A tiny device built by scientists at MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology could be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of cell therapy treatments for patients suffering from spinal cord injuries.

Novartis announced that it has entered into an agreement to make a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire MorphoSys AG, a Germany-based, global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines in oncology.

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are difficult to diagnose before symptoms begin to appear. However, disease-related biomarkers such as aggregated proteins called amyloids could provide important insight much earlier, if they can be readily detected. Researchers publishing in ACS Sensors have developed one such method using an array of sensor molecules that can light up amyloids. The tool could help monitor disease progression or distinguish between different amyloid-related conditions.