Pharma News

The first clinical trial specifically designed to test the safety of the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring in pregnant women has begun in southern and eastern Africa. The National Institutes of Health-funded study also will test the safety of a daily oral antiviral tablet for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in pregnant women and will assess how much they accept and use these two HIV prevention tools. The study will complement an ongoing NIH-funded trial of PrEP in adolescents and young women during pregnancy and the first six months after birth. PrEP is available in some countries and is being rolled out in others, while the dapivirine ring is under regulatory review by the European Medicines Agency for potential use in sub-Saharan Africa.

Government ministers and senior officials from over 100 countries will meet in Stockholm, Sweden from 19-20 February to discuss new steps to halve road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030, in line with global targets agreed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Genome editing is a groundbreaking technology used to introduce intentional genomic alterations in animals and has the potential to improve human and animal health, animal well-being and to enhance food production and quality. It is paramount, however, that as we move forward, we maintain standards of safety and effectiveness.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized marketing of software to assist medical professionals in the acquisition of cardiac ultrasound, or echocardiography, images. The software, called Caption Guidance, is an accessory to compatible diagnostic ultrasound systems and uses artificial intelligence to help the user capture images of a patient’s heart that are of acceptable diagnostic quality.

The roles that pharmacists in community, hospital and clinical biology can play in preventing the spread of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV and supporting the efficient management of infection by healthcare systems are outlined in a new document published by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). The document was developed by an emergency taskforce set up by FIP following the World Health Organization’s declaration that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

As part of its quest to provide access to life-saving medication and making a difference in the lives of patients, Cipla Medpro South Africa (Pty) Limited (“Cipla Medpro”), wholly-owned subsidiary of Cipla Limited, India (“Cipla”) and South Africa’s third largest pharmaceutical company in the private sector, has recently concluded an exclusive agreement (the “Agreement”) securing originator and authorised generic brands of an atypical anti-psychotic drug, Quetiapine (the “Medicine”).

U.S Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to enable emergency use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2019-nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel. To date, this test has been limited to use at CDC laboratories; today’s authorization allows the use of the test at any CDC-qualified lab across the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO)  spells out the need to step up cancer services in low and middle-income countries. WHO warns that, if current trends continue, the world will see a 60% increase in cancer cases over the next two decades. The greatest increase (an estimated 81%) in new cases will occur in low- and middle-income countries, where survival rates are currently lowest.

An artificial virus capable of attacking superbug infections resistant to antibiotics has been bioengineered by researchers at UCL, NPL, University of Cambridge, University of Exeter and King’s College London.

Strides Pharma Science Limited (Strides) announced that its step‐down wholly‐owned subsidiary, Strides Pharma Global Pte. Limited, Singapore, has entered into a definitive asset transfer and licensing agreement with Pharmaceutics International, Inc.(Pii) to acquire 18 ANDAs for the US market.