Feature Channels: Pharmaceuticals

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Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network which has treated more COVID-19 patients than any other health system in the state, is now enrolling individuals in the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson’s Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial.

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Around a third of the world's population carries Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that puts people with a weakened immune system at risk and can trigger malformations in the womb.

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New epidemiological and neuroscientific evidence suggests emotional pain activates many of the same limbic brain centers as physical pain. Pain experts Mark Sullivan and Jane Ballantyne at the University of Washington School of Medicine explain the relation in a reflections column published ahead of print in the Annals of Family Medicine. The researchers say opioids may make patients feel better early on, but over the long term these drugs cause all kinds of havoc on their well-being.

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Three clinical trial platforms working together to test the effects of full doses of anticoagulants (blood thinners) in COVID-19 patients have paused enrollment for one group of patients. Among critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) support, full dose anticoagulation drugs did not improve outcomes. Enrollment continues for moderately ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the trials.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.

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Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation is celebrating another milestone.

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• An estimated 375 adult kidney transplant recipients lose their transplant every year due to a lack of coverage of immunosuppressive medications after the prior 36-month Medicare coverage period. • Congress passes ASN priority legislation to extend immunosuppressive drug coverage for kidney transplant patients. • The bipartisan bill is expected to save Medicare $400,000,000 over 10 years by averting the return of transplant patients to dialysis.

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Antibiotics for cesarean section births are just as effective when they’re given after the umbilical cord is clamped as before clamping – the current practice – and could benefit newborns’ developing microbiomes, according to Rutgers co-authored research. The study, by far the largest of its kind and published in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, challenges current recommendations for antibiotic use. Administering antibiotics after clamping does not increase the risk of infection at the site of C-section incisions, the study concludes.

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The January edition of SLAS Discovery features the cover article, “Cryo-EM: The Resolution Revolution and Drug Discovery” by Taiana Maia de Oliveira, Ph.D., Lotte van Beek, Ph.D., Fiona Shilliday, Ph.D., Judit E. Debreczeni, Ph.D., and Chris Phillips, Ph.D., from AstraZeneca.

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In order to improve their understanding of how CTCL develops in hopes of developing new therapies, a team of Moffitt immunologists and hematologists conducted a series of studies. In an article published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, they demonstrate that decreased expression of the protein SATB1 contributes to CTCL development and that drugs that cause SATB1 to become re-expressed may be potential treatment options for this disease.

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Based on results of a clinical trial led by Yale Cancer Center researchers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved osimertinib for the treatment of adults with early-stage, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR gene mutations, which occurs in about 10 percent of patients.

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The Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD) at Case Western Reserve University and Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies will leverage the power of CCIPD’s image computing AI solutions to identify patterns and links between cellular response and underlying molecular drivers, with the goal of advancing therapeutics for diseases with no satisfactory treatment option.

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The Society of Toxicology is pleased to announce and recognize the 2021 SOT Award recipients whose work has improved human, animal, and environmental health and addressed diverse areas, such as environmental health disparities of underserved populations, toxicokinetics of xenobiotics, and reducing animal use in toxicity testing.

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The PhRMA Foundation has announced the winners of the 2020 Value Assessment Challenge Awards. Designed to encourage innovative approaches to defining and measuring value in health care, this year’s awards focused on how patient-centered outcomes can be better incorporated into health care decision making.

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Osteopontin is discovered as the culprit behind these patients’ main cause of death. However, a repurposed immunosuppressive drug may combat the pro-inflammatory protein.

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As the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history gets underway, several states may not have enough facilities in some areas to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to all residents who want it, according to a new analysis from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and the nonprofit West Health.

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Amphivena Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing a platform of bivalent T-cell engagers that restore anti-cancer immunity in patients, today announced the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 dose expansion study evaluating AMV564, an investigational, first-in-class agent that depletes myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and activates T cells, in adult patients with selected solid tumor indications.

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Dr. Arum Han is leading a clinical trial-on-a-chip program to develop new drugs to help prevent preterm births with a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

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The PhRMA Foundation announced the first recipients of its new funding awards in Drug Discovery and Drug Delivery, designed to support the innovative biopharmaceutical research projects of talented young scientists in the United States. A total of 16 recipients were selected and more than $1 million was awarded.

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National Comprehensive Cancer Network Oncology Research Program announces selected studies on adding axitinib, an oral VEGF inhibitor, to treatment for melanoma, colorectal cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in collaboration with Pfizer.

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A team of scientists from The Wistar Institute, INOVIO, AstraZeneca, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Indiana University has received a $37.6 million award over two years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) for rapid preclinical development and translational studies of DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) as countermeasures for COVID-19.

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GenScript USA Inc., the world’s leading research reagent provider, announced today that Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) has authorized the use of the cPass™ SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit for detecting neutralizing antibodies. The cPass test is the first and only ANVISA authorized test for detecting neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Neutralizing antibodies specifically block the ability of a virus to infect a cell and are well-recognized to confer immunity.

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Researchers from Berkeley Lab and Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed new methods for the large-scale production, purification, and use of the radioisotope cerium-134, which could serve as a PET imaging radiotracer for a highly targeted cancer treatment known as alpha-particle therapy.

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Area9 Lyceum will participate in the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held December 13-17, 2020, joining an online community to share the latest developments in scientific education. Participants will have the opportunity to experience the world’s leading adaptive learning program for laboratory medicine, based on Area9’s adaptive platform.

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FAST (the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics) today announced that Virtually Unstoppable, their annual Summit & Gala benefitting Angelman syndrome (AS) raised over $2.2 million during their virtual two-day conference.

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The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences researchers have successfully developed “PhytFoon”, a spray compound to deal with the PM 2.5 dust particles, which have become an annual plague that hinders the air quality and health of Thai people. The Dust Fighting Spray works by trapping the PM 2.5 dust particles suspended in the air and then weighing them down to the ground. The compound will be launched to the market by S.T. Protex Co. Ltd. at a conference on December 16, 2020, at the Renaissance Ratchaprasong Hotel. The company has received production rights from Chulalongkorn University to produce the PM 2.5 dust–fighting spray, “PhytFoon“.

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Newly published study reports InvisiMask™, a self-administered single-dose nasal spray, protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection for up to 10 hours in mice

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AACC is pleased to announce the recipients of the AACC 2020 Top Corporate Supporter Awards. This year, AACC recognizes 45 different companies and organizations that generously support the association through sponsorships, advertising, and exhibiting. These significant contributions make it possible for AACC to improve patient care by fostering research, innovation, and professional excellence in the field of laboratory medicine.

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In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have been able to show differences in how Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody drug, interacts with the blood of healthy individuals compared to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

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A new drug discovered through a research collaboration between the University at Buffalo and Tetra Therapeutics took a major step toward becoming a first-in-class treatment for Fragile X Syndrome, a leading genetic cause of autism.

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The study will explore pacritinib as a treatment for cytokine storm in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. Pacritinib is a new type of oral kinase inhibitor—a drug that blocks enzymes that may cause cancer cells to grow. As a multi-kinase inhibitor, pacritinib has the potential to prevent an inflammatory response that frequently leads to respiratory failure in severe COVID-19. The study will evaluate pacritinib in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 with or without cancer. Patients discharged from the hospital will complete their study treatment on an outpatient basis. The PRE-VENT study is sponsored by CTI BioPharma.

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Results from phase two study show improved language and daily functioning among participants

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The APS has been a powerful tool in the battle against the novel coronavirus, contributing more information about the structure of the virus to the International Protein Databank than any other light source in the United States.

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Irvine, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 — Ever see long lines at the pharmacy counter and give up on a medication, or find that the drive is just a little too long? A study by the University of California, Irvine and UC San Diego found that patients using an automated kiosk in their workplace had better prescription pickup rates without sacrificing instruction from pharmacists.

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Adding an immune checkpoint inhibitor to the standard chemotherapy regimen for patients with early-stage breast cancer places no greater burden on patients’ ability to perform day-to-day activities than chemotherapy alone, new research by Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center investigators shows.

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Researchers from the National University of Singapore have utilised a ground-breaking AI platform to find an optimal combination of available therapies against COVID-19. The research team identified the drug combination from over 530,000 possibilities within two weeks, cutting down the number of tests typically needed by hundreds of thousands.

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Instrumentation Laboratory Receives US FDA Marketing Authorization for the First Apixaban Diagnostic Test

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The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today warned that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule establishing a “most favored nation” (MFN) payment model for Medicare Part B drugs will dramatically disrupt patient access to critical therapies needed to manage rheumatic diseases and conditions.

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UC Davis Health will launch a COVID-19 clinical trial with Novavax to test a new coronavirus vaccine. This vaccine has an important advantage: liquid state storage that allows for distribution using standard vaccine channels, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that must be stored at subzero temperature.

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“It will all be needless death from here on out, given that there is a readily available scientific solution to the pandemic," Kory says.

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Camille Stewart's article about medical cannabis explains issues around the drug’s legality, makes recommendations for its use before and after surgery and pushes for research on its effects on postoperative patients.

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Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Francisco J. Hernandez-Ilizaliturri, MD, along with a team of researchers from other institutions, has been investigating a novel therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Dr. Hernandez-Ilizaliturri will present the team’s findings today at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, which is being held virtually.

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A drug currently prescribed to treat a rare enzyme deficiency can help cells clear the herpes simplex 1 and herpes simplex 2 viruses, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances.The new data shows that the antiviral activity of the drug — called phenylbutyrate, or PBA — was even better when used along with acyclovir, a common HSV-1 treatment.

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In a new study by Yale Cancer Center researchers, the drug caplacizumab is shown not to be cost-effective in treating thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) when added to the standard-of-care.

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A phase I/II study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found IMGN632, a novel CD123-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, was tolerable and resulted in a 29% overall response rate in patients with relapsed/refractory blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm.

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Members of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey examined the utilization of a low dose of oral vancomycin, a drug used at higher doses to treat established Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), as a way to prevent CDI in blood and bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients.

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A study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that first-line treatment with a regimen of chemotherapy combined with the monoclonal antibody blinatumomab resulted in increased survival and achieved a high rate of measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity for patients who were newly diagnosed with a high-risk form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) known as Philadelphia chromosome-negative B-cell ALL (Ph-negative B-ALL).

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A new biomarker discovered by a team that includes researchers from Penn Medicine identifies patients with an aggressive form of lymphoma unlikely to respond to the targeted treatment ibrutinib.