NVIDIA has announced a $50m private investment in public equity in tech-focused Recursion Pharmaceuticals to create artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted drug discovery models, sending Recursion’s stock to skyrocket. This investment and partnership news was followed by a 116 % rise in Recursion’s stock price when markets opened on 12 July, compared to the previous day. The investment is accompanied by plans for collaboration to distribute these using NVIDIA cloud services and follows the strategic acquisition of Cyclica and Valence to enhance Recursion’s machine-learning and AI capabilities. This year, there has been an increased focus on using AI in drug discovery among other applications. Several companies have touted their reliance on AI, with Insilico Medicine’s AI-discovered drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis starting its Phase II trial. GlobalData analysts have identified more than 250 unique active drugs using terms such as “AI” or “machine learning” in their drug description ...
Roche has announced positive results from a late-stage study of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a twice-yearly subcutaneous injection in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) or primary progressive MS. Over 2.8 million people worldwide are affected by MS, a disabling and unpredictable neurological disease in which the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers the nerves, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Relapsing-remitting MS accounts for approximately 85% of MS cases and is characterised by episodes of new or worsening signs or symptoms followed by periods of recovery, while primary progressive MS affects about 15% of patients and is marked by steadily worsening symptoms. Roche’s Ocrevus is a humanised monoclonal antibody designed to target a type of immune cell thought to be a key contributor to myelin and axonal damage, which can lead to disability in people with ...
CureVac is adding fuel to its COVID-19 vaccine patent fire by asserting more claims against Pfizer and BioNTech in both its U.S. and German cases. The German mRNA specialist put a tenth patent on the table in its U.S. litigation and three more to its five in Germany, expanding the scope of the disputes. CureVac went after BioNTech in Germany last summer, starting off with four claims and adding a fifth in May. The original patents it claimed its fellow German mRNA maker stepped on related to inventions considered “essential to the design and development” of BioNTech and Pfizer’s Comirnaty, including sequence modifications and mRNA vaccine formulations, the company noted in a statement at the time. Its lawsuit doesn’t aim to stop the production and distribution of the shot but wants recognition and royalties from past and future sales. That likely puts $500 million on the line, Berenberg Capital Markets analyst Zhiqiang ...
Almost exactly one year after GSK’s consumer healthcare business spun out on its own as Haleon, the company is reportedly looking to save costs with sweeping layoffs across the board.Hundreds of jobs in the U.K. and potentially thousands worldwide are on the chopping block, The Guardian reports. Currently, Haleon’s U.K. headcount totals approximately 1,700 and its global workforce is made up of around 24,000 employees across 170 countries.Staffers were informed of the cuts through a series of meetings this week, according to the British newspaper. A consultation process began Wednesday and will run through August 25, after which some employees will be offered other roles at the company and others will split in September, according to The Guardian. The move is chalked up to Haleon’s larger cost-cutting program as the company looks to become a “more agile, productive and efficient organization” and to save 300 million pounds ($393 million) over the next ...
Dive Brief The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shared a pair of proposed rules on Thursday afternoon that set rates for physician payments and outpatient procedures. The agency issued the 2024 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and 2024 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rules, both of which are expected to be finalized this fall. Glaukos could be the biggest beneficiary of the proposals among device makers, with an increase in outpatient facility fee rates likely to provide a “meaningful boost” for its iStent device to treat patients with glaucoma, BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman wrote in a research note on Thursday. Dive Insight The two payment proposals include reimbursement increases for some medical device companies, and cuts for others. San Clemente, Calif.-based ophthalmic device company Glaukos is among those who stand to benefit. Its ambulatory surgical center facility fee for the iStent infinite device was nearly doubled ...
A new research perspective was published in Oncoscience (Volume 10) on May 27, 2023, entitled, “Think outside the box – atypical infections in chronic sinusitis.” Inflammations of the paranasal sinuses represent a common clinical picture. The annual prevalence of chronic sinusitis in Europe is up to 10%. Sinusitis can be divided into acute and chronic forms. In particular, the chronic forms (>12 weeks duration) are often challenging in the context of therapy. Generally, all ventilation disorders of the paranasal sinuses (concha bullosa, nasal septal deviations, etc.,) represent risk factors for the development of any form of sinusitis. In addition, an immune deficiency or systemic diseases relevant to the immune system predispose to infections with atypical pathogens. Most sinusitis are caused by viruses, sometimes bacteria and, in rare cases, fungal infections. Furthermore, sinusitis can be differentiated with regard to the affected paranasal sinuses. In addition to conservative ...
The NHS has announced that almost a million more people (900,000) will become eligible for a shingles vaccination with the newly available vaccine, Shingrix, starting in September. The decision was made after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the Shingrix vaccine be given to a wider cohort of people after trials showed that the vaccine was highly effective and safe for people in those groups. Shingles is an infection that can occur at any age. It causes a rash that can be extremely painful and the pain can remain for many years after the rash has disappeared. Although it cannot be transmitted from other people, it develops in people who have previously been infected with chickenpox over their lifetime. Studies have shown that nine out of ten adults are already infected with the virus that causes shingles, and around one in four ...
Women of all ages in America will soon have access to a birth control pill that does not require a prescription, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Perrigo’s Opill (norgestrel). The progestin-only pill will be the first contraceptive medication in the US that can be bought from the same aisle as paracetamol or toothpaste. Marketed as Opill, Perrigo gained control of the drug after an acquisition of HRA Pharma in 2022. In a statement, the FDA said that the non-prescription availability of the medicine will help reduce barriers to accessing contraceptives. The once-a-day pill should be available early next year, but its pricing remains to be announced. The approval comes amidst a widening cultural divide regarding women’s health rights. Many US states have introduced laws that ban abortion after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Opill’s availability opens accessibility avenues to women’s ...
The prevalence of atopic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, is increased in sexually diverse people, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, according to a research letter published online July 12 in JAMA Dermatology. Katelyn J. Rypka, from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, and colleagues calculated crude and multivariable-adjusted odd ratios for prevalence of atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis comparing heterosexual and sexually diverse individuals. Data were included for 27,012 respondents to the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, of whom 25,701 were heterosexual and 1,311 were sexually diverse. The researchers found that sexually diverse individuals were more likely to report atopic dermatitis (11.1 versus 7.2 percent), asthma (12.0 versus 7.8 percent), and allergic rhinitis (33.7 versus 25.6 percent) compared with heterosexual individuals (adjusted odds ratios, 1.49, 1.39, and 1.30, respectively). In sex-stratified analyses, results were similar. “This study found higher rates of atopic disease among sexually diverse ...
Food insecurity is associated with slightly faster memory decline in middle- to older-aged U.S. adults, according to a study published online July 3 in JAMA Network Open. Peiyi Lu, Ph.D., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues examined whether exposure to food insecurity is associated with changes in memory function among 12,609 middle- to older-aged U.S. adults (11,951 food-secure and 658 food-insecure) followed for 18 years (1998 to 2016). The researchers found that over time, the memory function of the food-secure respondents decreased by 0.045 standard deviation units annually (β for time, −0.045), with a faster memory decline rate among food-insecure respondents than food-secure respondents. However, the magnitude of the coefficient was small (β for food insecurity × time, −0.0030), yielding an estimated 0.67 additional (i.e., excess) years of memory aging over a 10-year period for food-insecure respondents compared with food-secure respondents. “The study noted a longitudinal association between food insecurity and memory ...
Go to Page Go
your submission has already been received.
OK
Please enter a valid Email address!
Submit
The most relevant industry news & insight will be sent to you every two weeks.