A new social media campaign, launched by the UK government and the NHS, will allow people to show their support for the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out from today. The initiative will enable users to update their social media profiles with specially designed profile frames and graphics. This allows people to show either that ‘I’ve had my vaccine’ or make a pledge that ‘I will get my vaccine’ in an effort to bolster the nationwide vaccination programme. The range of Facebook frames and Instagram GIFs will be ready for use on social media from 19 February, and will be available in 13 languages from 22 February. “We know people are turning to social media more than ever to stay in touch with family and friends,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock. “These new graphics will make it easy for people to share their support for the jab and thank the ...
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology have expanded their existing COVID-19 collaboration to include a new research and development agreement, focused on therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses. The expanded collaboration will give GSK exclusive rights to collaborate with Vir on the development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the prevention or treatment of influenza. That includes an investigational mAb – VIR-2482 – designed as a universal prophylactic for influenza A, which has completed a Phase I trial. The agreement will also includes next-generation antibodies for the prevention or treatment of influenza during a three-year research period. While GSK will have the exclusive option to co-develop VIR-2482, following Vir’s completion and report of the Phase II trial outcomes, the company will share development costs for all other influenza mAbs. The companies will also conduct two additional research programmes as part of the expanded agreement. The first of these is an expansion ...
Novo Nordisk’s Sogroya (somapacitan) has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use – moving closer towards approval in the EU. The CHMP has recommended marketing authorisation for Sogroya for the treatment of adults with growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). The recommendation is based on results from the Phase III REAL 1 clinical trial programme, which investigated the efficacy and safety of Sogroya in AGHD. “We are very pleased with the positive opinion for once-weekly Sogroya as we are committed to continuously developing innovative and efficient medicines for people living with growth hormone deficiency,” said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief scientific officer of Novo Nordisk. “We are confident that Sogroya will make management of this serious chronic disease easier and help improve the quality of life for more people living with growth hormone deficiency,” he added. Sogroya is a ...
The European Commission (EC) has approved a marketing authorisation for Chiesi Group’s triple combination asthma therapy Trimbow (beclometasone/formoterol/glycopyrronium). The marketing authorisation indicates Trimbow for use as a maintenance treatment for adult asthma patients, whose condition is not adequately controlled with a combination of long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) and medium dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). Patients must have also experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year. Chiesi’s triple asthma therapy has been shown to reduce exacerbations and improve lung function in patients with uncontrolled asthma, compared to ICS/LABA. Both the CHMP’s recommendation and the EC’s approval are based on efficacy and safety data from four clinical studies, involving almost 3,000 patients. “This is the first step towards taking our triple therapy for moderate to severe COPD patients and providing the same treatment option for appropriate asthma patients,” said Alessandro Chiesi, chief commercial officer of Chiesi Group. “The European Commission’ ...
The NHS has now offered COVID-19 vaccinations to residents at all eligible care homes in England, according to official figures. In a statement, the health service said this marked a ‘major milestone for the NHS vaccination programme’, with vaccines having been offered to people living in over 10,000 care homes with older residents. The NHS added that a small number of care homes have had visits by vaccination staff deferred for safety reasons, although these homes will be visited as soon as possible. “Today marks a crucial milestone in our ongoing race to vaccinate the most vulnerable against this deadly disease,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “We said we would prioritise and protect care home residents, and that is exactly what we have done,” he added. Johnson also added that 8.9 million people have now received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Older care home residents and staff were ...
Roche’s investigational bispecific antibody faricimab has hit the primary endpoint in two Phase III studies in people living with neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). In the identically designed studies – TENAYA and LUCERNE – faricimab, administered via injections at fixed intervals, met the primary endpoint, showing that people receiving the treatment achieved visual acuity outcomes that were non-inferior to those receiving Regeneron’s Eylea (aflibercept) injections every eight weeks. Within both studies, nearly half (45%) of participants were treated with faricimab every 16 weeks during the first year. “These results show the potential of faricimab as a new class of medicine that could extend time between treatments for people living with neovascular age-related macular degeneration,” said Levi Garraway, chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development, Roche. “We have now seen positive and consistent results in four Phase III studies for faricimab across both neovascular age-related macular degeneration ...
The UK trade association for in vitro diagnostics (IVD) companies BIVDA has welcomed the NHS Medtech Funding Mandate, a new policy aimed at accelerating the uptake of medical devices, diagnostics and digital products in the NHS. The new Mandate, which will come into effect from 1 April 2020, will aim to enable patients to access ‘pioneering’ IVD devices faster and with greater ease. For products to qualify under the Mandate, they must demonstrate that they are effective, deliver material savings to the NHS, are cost-saving in-year and are affordable to the NHS. The Mandate policy is set to be published annually in December, following a review and feedback improvement cycle. A list of technologies that meet the MedTech Funding Mandate criteria is expected to be published before the end of July. “The publication of the Mandate is an opportunity to celebrate the UK as a leader in technologies for health ...
MSD’s immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) has been approved in the EU for the first-line treatment of metastatic Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) or Mismatch Repair Deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer. According to MSD, Keytruda is the first checkpoint inhibitor to be approved in the EU to treat MSI-H or dMMR colorectal cancer. The European Commission (EC) approval is based on results from the Phase III KEYNOTE-177 trail. In this study, Keytruda monotherapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 40% compared to chemotherapy in this patient population. Treatment with Keytruda also more than doubled median progression-free survival (PFS) compared to chemotherapy – 16.5 months versus 8.2 months. For patients treated with Keytruda, the overall response rate (ORR) was 44%, with a complete response rate of 11% and a partial response rate of 33%. Meanwhile, in the chemotherapy arm, patients demonstrated an ORR of 33%, a complete response rate of 4% and ...
New research has revealed ‘dramatic changes’ in the delivery of radiotherapy treatments for cancer during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. The study – led by the University of Leeds with Public Health England and the Royal College of Radiologists – is the first to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on radiotherapy services in England. Researchers discovered that the use of much shorter radiotherapy courses increased – in particular for breast cancer patients. The use of a shorter treatment course went from 0.2% of all breast cancer radiotherapy courses in April 2019, up to 60.0% of all courses in April 2020. The change to shorter courses of treatment was also observed in other types of cancer, with clinicians likely making the switch to keep patients safe and services running during the pandemic. According to the researchers, this change was made possible in part by results of ...
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 ...
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