Pharma News

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame discovered a new type of cell in the heart that may help regulate heart rate, and could be an important key in understanding certain types of congenital heart defects and other diseases that involve the heart.

Roche announced the launch of the cobas® 5800 System, a new molecular laboratory instrument, in countries accepting the CE mark. Testing is one of the first lines of defense to protect a patient’s general well-being and is vitally important in quickly guiding their treatment. The cobas 5800 System helps address challenges that laboratories are facing from an increase in patient testing, reimbursement complexities and the need for a more diverse testing menu while providing meaningful and timely results.

Pfizer Inc announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Trillium Therapeutics, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Pfizer Inc announced it is seeking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its investigational oral antiviral candidate, PAXLOVID™ (PF-07321332; ritonavir), for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalizations or death. This submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes clinical data from the Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR (Evaluation of Protease Inhibition for COVID-19 in High-Risk Patients) interim analysis. Rolling submission of non-clinical data for PAXLOVID was initiated with the U.S. FDA in October 2021.

Sanofi announced an equity investment of $180 million and a new strategic collaboration with Owkin comprised of discovery and development programmes in four exclusive types of cancer, with a total payment of $90 million for three years plus additional research milestone-based payments. Owkin, an artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medicine company, builds best-in-class predictive biomedical AI models and robust data sets.

Icure Pharmaceutical Inc a biopharmaceutical company in Korea, announced that its donepezil patch, a treatment of Alzheimer’s-type dementia, received a drug product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea.

The drug product approval process took 7 months after it filed an application in April 2021. With the approval, Icure marks the first commercialization of the donepezil patch in the world.

Nicox SA an international ophthalmology company, today announced that patent EP 3,769,753, expiring in 2040 and covering the Company’s product candidate in development for blepharitis, NCX 4251, has been issued by the European Patent Office (EPO). The patent covers ophthalmic suspensions comprising a specific form of fluticasone propionate nanocrystals and the method for manufacturing the ophthalmic suspensions. Examination of corresponding patent applications providing exclusivity in the United States (U.S.), China, Japan and other territories is in process.

ONWARD Medical N.V a medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury, today announced Grégoire Courtine, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and co-Director of NeuroRestore, demonstrated the effectiveness of ONWARD’s ARC Therapy to stabilize blood pressure after spinal cord injury during his Presidential Special Lecture at NEUROSCIENCE 2021.

New research led by the University of Bristol, has shown the drug losartan, normally used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), is not effective in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in people with mild-to-moderate disease after 12 months of treatment. However, the drug could still be of benefit if prescribed for longer and if given to people with very early disease. The findings are from the phase 2 multi-centre clinical trial known as RADAR ((Reducing pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease through Angiotensin taRgeting).