In a Phase 3 study, Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide led to a 94% reduction in the risk that obese or overweight prediabetes patients progress to type 2 diabetes. Lilly was already planning to expand use of the blockbuster metabolic disorders drug to sleep apnea and heart failure. By Frank Vinluan The longest clinical trial to date for a blockbuster Eli Lilly metabolic disorder drug now has data showing the treatment delayed progression to type 2 diabetes in patients who are obese or overweight, results that continue to build the case of broader health benefits for the therapy. The preliminary results announced Tuesday come from a clinical trial designed to test once-weekly injections of tirzepatide in prediabetes participants. In addition to being overweight or obese, participants also had at least one weight-related complication, excluding diabetes. The main goal of the placebo-controlled study is assessing tirzepatide’s effect on weight. At the highest of three ...
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and exosomes, tiny nanoparticles about 1,000 times smaller than a human hair, are secreted by all cells into biofluids like blood and urine. These particles are known to transport genetic material safely through the body. Researchers have now discovered a new class of RNAs within EVs that could transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases. This team found that these RNAs change in the presence of cancer, indicating their potential as biomarkers for diseases like prostate cancer or as therapeutic targets. The research group at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY, USA) has dubbed these RNAs “EV-UGRs” (Extracellular Vesicles-Associated Unannotated Genomic Regions), following their identification in the blood and urine of patients with prostate cancer. UGRs, often described as the genome’s “dark matter,” play a key role in gene regulation and protein synthesis. The team previously discovered that EVs ...
Medicare’s physician fee schedule includes billing codes for digital therapeutics for the first time. Stakeholders say these codes could help turn around reimbursement challenges weighing on the entire digital medicines sector. By Frank VinluanWhen the FDA approves a drug, passing that regulatory bar of safety and efficacy puts it on the path toward likely reimbursement by government and commercial payers. The same has not been true for digital therapeutics. A proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services signals a change in federal thinking about such technologies, which could pave the way for broader coverage of novel digital medicines. For the first time, CMS’s proposed physician fee schedule, a comprehensive annual listing of the fees that Medicare uses to pay doctors, now includes digital therapeutics. The proposal does not cover all digital therapeutics under multiple benefit categories, as the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) had asked nearly a year ago. ...
A study led by researchers at the University of Leeds has revealed that a new artificial intelligence (AI) test to determine the risk of recurring bowel cancers could help patients avoid chemotherapy. The findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology Production could help doctors when deciding whether a patient needs chemotherapy following bowel cancer surgery. Found anywhere in the large bowel, bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, with 1.9 million cases diagnosed in 2020. In the UK alone, bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer, affecting over 250,000 people. Researchers aimed to establish whether the number of CD3 cells within tumours could be used to predict the risk of a tumour coming back after surgery. In previous studies, bowel and rectal tumours with higher numbers of CD3 immune cells, which attack the cancer and help the body tackle the disease, have been ...
Head and neck cancers comprise close to 4% of all cancer cases in the U.S., predominantly affecting individuals over the age of 50. Men are over twice as likely to develop this type of cancer compared to women. The primary treatments, surgery and radiation, can severely impact functions such as speech, swallowing, and physical appearance, significantly diminishing the quality of life. These impacts can intensify with cancer recurrence, which is challenging to detect as it is hard to distinguish between normal post-treatment changes and a recurrence of the cancer. Early detection of recurrence could greatly reduce the severity of outcomes for patients. Now, a new test using a simple mouthwash to detect biomarkers shows promise in predicting disease recurrence in patients with head and neck cancer. A previous study by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (Miami, FL, USA) explored how ...
SHANGHAI, Aug. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Mabwell (688062.SH), an innovative biopharmaceutical company with entire industry chain, announced its novel Nectin-4 targeting ADC (R&D code: 9MW2821) has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that has failed previous platinum-based chemotherapy and PD-(L)1 inhibitor therapy. The designation as a breakthrough therapy is aimed at expediting the development process of drug candidates for serious diseases, with the drug candidates included having demonstrated significant efficacy or safety advantages compared to existing therapies in early clinical trials. For drug candidates included in the breakthrough therapy list, CDE will prioritize the allocation of resources to facilitate communication and provide guidance to promote drug development, which will benefit the further advancement of the clinical development progress and the speed of market review and approval. ...
Livdelzi is now FDA-approved for treating the rare liver disease primary biliary cholangitis. Gilead Sciences added the drug to its pipeline via the $4.3 billion acquisition of CymaBay Therapeutics earlier this year. By Frank Vinluan A Gilead Sciences drug acquired earlier this year in a multi-billion dollar deal is now FDA approved as new treatment for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare liver disease that can lead to liver failure. The approval announced Wednesday for the drug covers the treatment of adults whose disease is inadequately managed by the standard of care PBC drug as well as those who cannot tolerate that drug. The Gilead therapy, seladelpaar, will be marketed under the brand name Livdelzi. PBC is a rare, progressive autoimmune condition that leads to inflammation and scarring of the liver’s bile ducts. The chronic disorder, which impairs liver function, mainly strikes women over 40 years of age. Gilead estimates that ...
By Don Tracy, Associate Editor Approval of neffy marks a significant advancement in epinephrine delivery, offering a less painful alternative to traditional needle injections.The FDA has approved ARS Pharmaceuticals’ neffy (epinephrine nasal spray), a first-in-class needle-free, nasal spray treatment for type I allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, for adults and children weighing 66 lbs. or more. According to the company, this approval offers a less painful alternative to traditional needle injections, which are often delayed due to anxiety, potentially worsening allergic reactions.1 “Until today, patients with severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, only had one treatment option—an often painful and anxiety-inducing needle injection of epinephrine. In some cases, patients would delay or not administer the life-saving treatment at the onset of symptoms, increasing the risk for a severe reaction or negative outcomes requiring additional emergency medical treatment,” said Thomas B. Casale, MD, professor of medicine, pediatrics, and chief of clinical and ...
A US study supported by the Parkinson’s Foundation has revealed that genetic variants associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are more common than researchers previously thought. The PD GENEration study published in the journal Brain has been testing for clinically relevant PD-related genes while providing genetic counselling at no cost for people living with the condition since 2019, and recently reached a recruitment milestone of more than 15,000 patients. PD is a neurodegenerative condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged, causing problems such as shaking and stiffness. Results from the first 3.5 years of the study showed that 13% of patients have a genetic form of PD and revealed that positivity rates for a genetic variant were significantly higher for individuals at high risk of developing PD. Those with early-onset PD, high risk-ancestry such as Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish Basque, or North African Berber, or with first-degree relatives affected ...
Akeso has announced the completion of the first patient enrollment in the US for the phase II clinical trial of its innovative CD47 monoclonal antibody, ligufalimab (AK117), in combination with azacitidine for patients with newly diagnosed higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS). Preliminary studies show that combining AK117 with azacitidine for treating MDS is safe and significantly effective. In response to the urgent need for new therapies among global MDS patients and the evolving market landscape, Akeso has launched an international multicenter Phase II clinical trial. This initiative aims to expedite AK117’s global approval and commercialization process. CD47-targeted drug development for treating MDS shows promising potential. AK117, a next-generation humanized IgG4 anti-CD47 antibody, effectively blocks the CD47-SIRPα interaction to enhance phagocytic activity against tumor cells by phagocytes. Recent data presented at the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting demonstrated that AK117 combined with azacitidine significantly reduces anemia and transfusion requirements ...
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