Gilead Sciences has released a statement regarding the efficacy of its antiviral treatment Veklury (remdesivir), maintaining confidence in the its continued benefit against new COVID-19 variants. The new COVID-19 variants were discovered in the UK and South Africa, respectively. The UK variant, known as B117, was identified in the UK in early December, and was discovered to be much more transmissible than the original strain. The South African variant, known as B1351 or 501.V2, carries a number of mutations and is also thought to be more contagious. “We have completed genetic analysis of publicly available sequences for the UK and South African variants of SARS-CoV-2 and we believe remdesivir will continue to be effective against these variants,” said Gilead. “The mutations identified in these new variants have not significantly altered the part of the virus that remdesivir targets or have any association with known mutations conferring reduced susceptibility of coronaviruses ...
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) researchers have developed a new treatment for early-stage rectal cancer which they say could provide patients with an improved quality of life. In a pilot study of the new treatment option, which combines local keyhole surgery and radiotherapy, researchers found that they could prevent debilitating side effects such as diarrhoea and the need for a permanent colostomy bag. This study, dubbed TREC, enrolled 123 patients with early-stage rectal cancer, with 61 patients receiving the newly-developed treatment approach. In addition, 55 patients were randomised to two treatment approaches – 28 received major surgery and 27 received the new organ preserving treatment. Within the patient population who received the new treatment, 70% were treated successfully, meaning their tumour was removed while preserving the rest of their rectum and the cancer did not return during the three to five-year follow-up period. Patients who received the new treatment also reported ...
4th December 2020 Roche’s Genentech division and its partner Blueprint Medicines have scored a new approval for Gavreto in the US for the treatment of RET-altered thyroid cancer. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Gavreto (pralsetinib) for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant and RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer. Gavreto is a once-daily, oral precision therapy designed to selectively target RET alterations, including fusions and mutations. This newest approval is based on results from the phase I/II ARROW study, in which treatment with Gavreto led to an overall response rate (ORR) of 60% in 55 people with previously-treated RET-mutant metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). In addition, Gavreto treatment led to an ORR of 66% in 29 people with RET-mutant advanced MTC who had not been previously treated with cabozantinib and vandetanib. Around 10-20% of people with papillary thyroid cancer have RET-fusion positive ...
Researchers in Canada have conducted a study suggesting that novel Cannabis sativaextracts may decrease levels of the host cell receptor that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) uses to gain viral entry to target tissues. SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe threatening public health and the worldwide economy. The team – from the University of Lethbridge and Pathway Rx Inc., Lethbridge – developed hundreds of new C. sativa cultivars and tested 23 extracts in artificial 3D human models of the oral, airway and intestinal tissues. As recently reported in the journal Aging, 13 of the extracts downregulated expression of the SARS-CoV-2 host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). “The observed down-regulation of ACE2 gene expression by several tested extracts of new C. sativa cultivars is a novel and crucial finding,” say the researchers. “While our most effective extracts require further large-scale validation, ...
The new EU Pharmaceutical Strategy, adopted today by the European Commission, is designed to improve and accelerate patients’ access to safe and affordable medicines and address unmet medical needs in the areas of antimicrobial resistance, cancer, and rare diseases. It is also aiming to bolster the competitiveness and the innovative capacity of the EU’s pharma industry. Enhancing crisis preparedness and response mechanisms, and addressing security of supply, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, are also namechecked as top policy priorities in the strategy, as well as a need to guarantee a strong EU voice on the global stage by promoting a high level of quality, efficacy and safety standards. “The COVID-19 pandemic has, and continues to have, a very serious impact on Europe. Though Europe’s response has demonstrated strengths, existing vulnerabilities have been thrown into sharp focus, including those related to data availability, the supply of medicines or the availability ...
BioNTech and InstaDeep are creating a joint AI innovation lab in Europe to develop novel immunotherapies. “We see a significant opportunity at the intersection of AI and immunology by computational design of new precision immunotherapies,” says BioNTech. One of the key research areas will be the development of next generation vaccines and biopharmaceuticals – including for COVID-19 – as well as for the treatment of cancer and prevention and therapy of infectious diseases. The partnership between Mainz-headquarted BioNTech (which is collaborating with Pfizer on one of the leading mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates) and London-based InstaDeep will create a joint AI innovation lab between the two cities. The lab will advance a portfolio of initiatives across drug discovery and design, protein engineering, manufacturing and supply chain optimization. Founded in 2014, InstaDeep has already developed collaborations in the global AI ecosystem: such as Google DeepMind, Nvidia and Intel. It was nominated by CB ...
Henan Provincial People’s Hospital Zheng Peiming, Gao Huijie, Li Junmeng, et al. select macrophages and their exosomes to co-culture with gastric cancer cells (not set as a control group) to detect the expression of miR-223 and observe its influence on the metastatic ability of gastric cancer cells. Fluorescence microscope was used to observe whether macrophages delivered miR-223 to gastric cancer cells through exosomes. Macrophages were transfected with miR-223 antagonist, exosomes were isolated and co-cultured with gastric cancer cells, transwell and scratch experiments were performed to observe their effects on gastric cancer cell metastasis, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot detection on expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTEN) and of transfer-related proteins. The results showed that after macrophages and their exosomes were co-cultured with gastric cancer cells, the metastasis and invasion ability of gastric cancer cells was enhanced [253.2±6.3 (control group), 451.8±12.8, 453.4±14.4, all P<0.01 compared with control group ...
The European Commission has granted a marketing authorization for Sanofi’s Supemtek, a quadrivalent (four-strain) recombinant influenza vaccine: representing the first and only recombinant influenza vaccine approved in the European Union. The European Commission has granted a marketing authorization for Sanofi’s Supemtek, a quadrivalent (four-strain) recombinant influenza vaccine: representing the first and only recombinant influenza vaccine approved in the European Union. The vaccine is already approved in the US under the tradename Flublok Quadrivalent (where it is also the only recombinant influenza vaccine). The first European launches could become available for the 2021-2022 influenza season in certain countries; with the main launch set for the 2022-2023 season. The flu vaccine’s new recombinant technology is also being used in Sanofi’s lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate with GSK: which is expecting to launch a pivotal Phase 3 study before the year is out. This could be followed by a request for regulatory approval in ...
By Elizabeth Cohen and Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Updated 0510 GMT (1310 HKT) November 12, 2020 Fauci says vaccine could be available to all by April 02:52 (CNN)Moderna has finished accumulating data for a first analysis of its Covid-19 vaccine and expects to have an announcement on the vaccine’s efficacy by the end of the month, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Pfizer announced Monday that its coronavirus vaccine is more than 90% effective. Moderna is conducting a clinical trial of 30,000 participants, with half receiving the vaccine and half receiving a placebo, which is a shot of saline that does nothing. In order for Moderna’s vaccine to be considered for authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration, at least 53 study participants needed to become ill with Covid-19. The trial hit that 53 mark Wednesday, but Moderna doesn’t know if the participants who became ill received the vaccine or the ...
Caused by the highly contagious pathogen, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the feared but expected the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has already hit the UK. This can be seen in the current high prevalence of infection across the country. Thus, the virus is poised to take a high toll on the country’s public health – and ultimately many of its citizen’s lives – unless prompt containment measures are put in place, says a recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv.* The first wave of the pandemic in the UK occurred from March and April 2020, characterized by a high infection peak and then a steep and continuing decline in new infections that lasted until the beginning of August. From this point on, there has been a steady rise in infections, with the reproduction number (R) staying above 1, indicating a propagating epidemic. Increasing Prevalence ...
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