Pharma News

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that T cells from people who have recovered from COVID-19 or received the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are still able to recognize several concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Their new study, published online on July 1, 2021 in Cell Reports Medicine, shows that both CD4+ “helper” T cells and CD8+ “killer” T cells can still recognize mutated forms of the virus. This reactivity is key to the body’s complex immune response to the virus, which allows the body to kill infected cells and stop severe infections.

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at Kings College London, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool and the Karolinska Institute, has shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body. The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that it originates in the brain.

The COVID-19 catastrophe in India has resulted in more than 30 million people infected with the virus and nearly 400,000 deaths, though experts are concerned that the figures most likely are much higher. Meanwhile, another public health crisis has emerged along with COVID-19: the widespread misuse of antibiotics.

Researchers from the Laboratory of Oncolytic-Virus-Immuno-Therapeutics (LOVIT) at the LIH Department of Oncology (DONC) are working on the development of novel anticancer strategies based on oncolytic viruses, “good” viruses that can specifically infect, replicate in and kill cancer cells. In particular, the LOVIT team elucidated the mechanism through which the H-1PV cancer-destroying virus can attach to and enter cancer cells, thereby causing their lysis and death.

Cipla Limited, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited announced that the five companies will collaborate for the clinical trial of the investigational oral anti-viral drug Molnupiravir for the treatment of mild COVID-19 in an outpatient setting in India.

Niramai Health Analytix, a Deeptech health startup raised research funding from impact investor CDC for NIRAMAI FeverTest, which was launched last year.

With leveraging of computer vision and AI to analyze and monitor crowd compliance to COVID-19 guidelines, NIRAMAI FeverTest’s smart software enables screening for COVID-19 symptoms in public places.

Aragen Life Sciences (formerly GVK BIO), a leading Contract Research and Development Organization, headquartered out of Hyderabad, India, announces an expansion of their discovery research agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, with the goal of accelerating the discovery pipeline of Boehringer Ingelheim.

Sandoz announced the launch of generic oncology treatment Pemetrexed in 11 countries across Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Spain.

Pemetrexed, as a monotherapy or in combination with cisplatin, is indicated for first-line, second-line and maintenance treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) other than predominantly squamous cell histology, and for the treatment of chemotherapy naïve patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma.

XPRIZE, the worlds leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanitys grand challenges, and IBM Watson, IBMs AI technology for business, today announced the Grand Prize Winner in the USd 5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Challenge. First launched in 2016, the five-year global competition looked to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and spark creative, innovative and audacious demonstrations of the technology that are truly scalable to solve societal grand challenges.