Pharma News

Germany and Canada have restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 60 and 55 respectively, due to fear that it can lead to deadly blood clots.

Health Minister of Germany, Jens Spahn and state officials agreed unanimously on Tuesday to only give the vaccine to people aged 60 or older unless they belong to a high-risk category for serious illness from COVID-19 and have agreed with their doctor to take the vaccine despite the small risk of a serious side-effect.

ICMR reported that Covishield and Covaxin vaccines are effective against the UK and the Brazilian variants of coronavirus, and several laboratories are involved in work against South African strain. Addressing a weekly press conference of the Union health ministry, ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava also said of 11,064 genome samples sequenced in the country, the UK variant of the virus was detected in 807, the South African variant in 47 and the Brazilian variant was found in one.

Takeda announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted the Company’s filing packages for its dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003) which is being investigated for the prevention of dengue due to any dengue virus serotype in individuals ages four to 60. Takeda intends to submit regulatory filings in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand during 2021.

A new once-weekly basal insulin injection demonstrated similar efficacy and safety and a lower rate of low blood sugar episodes compared with a daily basal insulin, according to a phase 2 clinical trial. The study results, which will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, compared an investigational drug called basal insulin Fc (BIF) with insulin degludec, a commercially available long-lasting daily insulin, in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A University of New Mexico research team conducted a data analysis that has found that as a larger portion of the population gets vaccinated against COVID-19, it becomes economically advantageous to start relaxing social distancing measures and open businesses. Francesco Sorrentino, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is lead author of “Data-driven Optimized Control of the COVID-19 Epidemics,” published March 22 in Scientific Reports.

Cancer is incurable, but if the disease is detected in time, effective treatment can be done. Scientists have developed a new technique, which can be helpful in timely detection of breast cancer. Researchers say this technique will help save the lives of women battling breast cancer.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), and Stelis Biopharma Pvt. Ltd., the biopharmaceutical division of Strides, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in India, have partnered to produce, and supply a minimum of 200 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus sufficient to vaccinate 100 million people. The agreement between RDIF and Stelis Biopharma was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare LLP (part of Enso Group), RDIF's coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccines in India.

The coronavirus’ structure is an all-too-familiar image, with its densely packed surface receptors resembling a thorny crown. These spike-like proteins latch onto healthy cells and trigger the invasion of viral RNA. While the virus’ geometry and infection strategy is generally understood, little is known about its physical integrity.

Even as vaccines are becoming more readily available in the U.S., protecting against the asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 is key to ending the pandemic, say two Georgetown infectious disease experts.