A novel manufacturing process involving high-efficiency ceramic filters can precisely filter water contaminants even under low-pressure conditions, a study has found.

Researchers in Korea have developed next-generation water-treatment membranes capable of simultaneously controlling both micropores and process defects.

The technique is environmentally friendly, simplifies processes and has high energy efficiency compared to conventional water-treatment membranes.

Dr Hong-Ju Lee, the study’s principal investigator, said: “The significance of this work lies in securing both low-pressure-operable material technology and a manufacturing process capable of implementing it without defects.”

Specifically, Naseer et al.’s innovative technique, known as mutual doping, “enhances interparticle bonding by mixing particles from different layers, along with a Co-sintering process that fires all layers simultaneously”.

They added: “The sintering temperature – previously around 1,300°C – was reduced to approximately 1,000°C, while improving particle sinterability to achieve a dense and robust ceramic structure even at lower temperatures.”

The team achieved an ultra-flat ceramic surface that reduced surface roughness by over fifty percent, facilitating a manufacturing process that suppressed crack formation in the separation membrane.

Development of an ultra-flat, defect-free nanofiltration membrane fabrication technology that eliminates surface roughness and cracks. Credit: Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)

Moreover, the membrane removed over 99.8 percent of dyes from dye-containing wastewater “while selectively allowing salt ions to pass through, even at low pressures comparable to tap-water conditions”.

The innovative technology broadens the scope of water treatment “from simple contaminant removal to resource recovery”, the authors said.

Importantly, the study by Naseer et al. provides insight into guiding top-layer coating design and fabrication of ceramic membranes for water filtration. The co-sintering method is critical for preparing defect-free top-layer coatings.

The team are currently focused on scale-up studies and plan to conduct pilot-scale demonstrations of their novel technology and manufacturing process for water nanofiltration with ceramic membranes.

The research was published in Journal of Membrane Science.

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An antisense oligonucleotide treatment being co-developed by Biogen and Stoke Therapeutics has become the first drug to demonstrate disease modification potential in a hard-to-treat form of epilepsy.

New clinical data for zorevunersen showed it enabled a significant reduction in the number of seizures in paediatric patients with Dravet syndrome in two initial phase I/IIa trials and ongoing extension studies.

In the initial trial, 81 children were given up to 70mg of zorevunersen, either as a single dose or with multiple doses over a six-month period.

Patients experienced a reduction in the number of seizures by between 59 percent and 91 percent over the first 20 months of the extension studies, persisting over the three years in the extension studies.

These outcomes are notable considering current treatments are ineffective at controlling seizures in most Dravet patients and no therapy is currently available that addresses symptoms. Zorevunersen works by helping to restore correct nerve-cell function.

Dr Barry Ticho, Chief Medical Officer of Stoke Therapeutics, said: “By targeting the underlying genetic cause of the disease, zorevunersen has the potential to be the first disease-modifying medicine for the treatment of Dravet syndrome.”

Lead author of the NEJM publication, Professor Helen Cross, PhD, added: “These data mark a potential turning point in the treatment of Dravet syndrome.

“While reducing seizures is still critical, the improvements in cognition, behaviour and quality of life seen in these studies suggest we may be changing the course of the disease and therefore the lives of patients and their families.”

Zorevunersen is currently being investigated in the ongoing phase III EMPEROR study, results of which are expected to be shared in mid-2027.

The recently published findings are available in the NEMJ.

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An enhanced fluorescence-based bacterial detection method has shown promise as a highly sensitive alternative to conventional laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) approaches.

Researchers at Cairo University developed three enhanced approaches: reflection-enhanced LIF (RELIF), wavefront-enhanced LIF (WELIF), and a combined approach (WERELIF).

LIF enables fluorescence to be “collected at multiple angles relative to the collimated laser beam, enabling high-resolution 2D and 3D imaging”.

Traditional bacterial detection methods are time-consuming and expensive, so the industry has significant need for improved alternatives, prompting the study.

The team chose Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) as a model organism, due to its fluorescence properties and common association with infections and the formation of biofilms. They assessed the bacteria without isolating or labelling its individual chromophores. Arabi et al. excited fluorescence to 405nm, reporting a peak at approximately 500nm.

WERELIF was found to be the most effective detection method at low bacterial concentrations, as it “demonstrated the highest fluorescence intensity and the lowest limit of detection (LOD)”, the authors explained.

The method’s design involved a flattop beam that redistributed energy evenly across a wider area, “ensuring uniform illumination of fluorophores”, which enhanced signal consistency and improved the reliability of integrated fluorescence intensity measurements, Arabi et al. explained.

Critically, the technique “merges wavefront and reflection enhancement to achieve unparalleled performance”, enabling “superior fluorescence retention with minimal signal attenuation, the highest sensitivity for detecting traces of bacteria, even in highly diluted samples, and enhanced spectral consistency by mitigating distortions inherent to WELIF”.

The enhanced methods “improve sensitivity, lower the limit of detection (LOD), and strengthen quantification accuracy” for bacterial detection.

The authors proposed that future investigation could “further integrate machine learning-driven calibration” to enhance sensitivity and accuracy.

The paper was published in AMB Express.

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Sanofi has licensed Sino Biopharmaceutical’s first-in-class, oral JAK/ROCK inhibitor Anxu (rovadicitnib) in a development and commercialisation deal worth up to $1.53 billion.

The China-based firm will be eligible for $135 million upfront, alongside potential milestone payments of up to $1.4 million, as well as royalty payments.

The dual mechanism of action of Sino’s small molecule therapy offers both anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects.

Anxu was approved in China in February for first-line treatment in intermediate-2 or high-risk primary myelofibrosis (PMF), post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis (PPVMF), or post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis (PET-MF).

Additionally, the JAK/ROCK inhibitor has shown “breakthrough potential” in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) for post-transplant patients, according to Sino Biopharma.

Clinical data from a phase Ib/IIa clinical trial conducted in China found that rovadicitnib enabled superior 12-month failure-free survival and enhanced responses in fibrosis-dominated organs compared to other approved therapies, as well as the potential to overcome ruxolitinib resistance.

The news precedes the impending replacement of Sanofi’s CEO, with Dr Belén Garijo, taking the helm from 29 April. Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, General Medicines, is currently serving as the firm’s Interim CEO until then. Sanofi plans that Dr Garijo will narrow the company’s focus on its strategy, notably its productivity, governance and R&D efforts.

Sanofi recently shared promising findings for a candidate in its respiratory pipeline. Its biologic Beyfortus (nirsevimab) showed significantly lower respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related hospitalisations in infants during two consecutive seasons.

Beyfortus reduced LRTI hospitalisations by 85.9 percent in infants immunised during their first season. In trial participants given the treatment during infancy, in their second RSV season, the coverage rate was 94.4 percent there were 55.3 percent fewer hospitalisations, according to NIRSE-GAL study data.

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Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) could provide a rapid, alternative method to culture-based surface microbiological monitoring approaches, research suggests.

In their study, Marino et al. sampled 145 surfaces from six hospitals for three key nosocomial pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus spp.

After six and nine hours of incubation, the LAMP assay attained a sensitivity of 1.00 for all target pathogens.

Specificity values were slightly higher at six hours compared to nine hours: 0.93 versus 0.90 for P. aeruginosa, 0.91 versus 0.89 for Enterococcus spp., while remaining 0.92 for S. aureus, at both incubation times, the authors noted.

Compared to quantitative PCR (qPCR), a common bacterial detection method that take several days, LAMP enables a turnaround time of 30 to 60 mins, as it operates under constant isothermal conditions (typically between 60 and 65°C).

LAMP also represents an advancement in microbial detection over current ‘gold-standard’ culture methods. These fail to identify viable but non-culturable (VBNC) organisms and thus the true microbial burden, providing “a false sense of security”, the authors wrote.

Furthermore, they highlighted that “the reduced hands-on time and simplified workflow of LAMP therefore have the potential to offset its analytical cost, particularly in settings where rapid decision-making can prevent extended contamination or additional cleaning cycles”.

As a rapid and high sensitivity method, LAMP is “well-suited to support routine monitoring, optimise disinfection protocols [and] validate cleaning procedures”, Marino et al. shared.

It “could enable more frequent monitoring” reducing reliance on more aggressive disinfection protocols that involve chemical agents. These have a significant environmental impact, which could contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The research paper was published in the journal Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health.

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UCB is investing up to $1.1 billion in an autoimmune collaboration with Antengene that will allow it to advance ATG-201, a B cell-depleting bispecific antibody.

Under the agreement, UCB gains rights to develop and commercialise the treatment, paying Antengene $80 billion upfront, with the Chinese biotech also eligible for royalty payments.

Antengene’s T cell-engaging therapy is “designed to provide a targeted, durable, and scalable treatment option. As a class, T-cell engagers are emerging as an exciting and potentially disruptive therapeutic modality for immunological diseases”, according to Alistair Henry, Chief Scientific Officer, UCB.

He added: “Access to Antengene’s cutting-edge T cell-engager platform technology enhances our ambition to lead in immunology. It complements our expertise in monoclonal antibodies and novel biologics, demonstrates our inorganic innovation strategy in action, and brings transformational new capabilities that take UCB into the advancing field of bispecific T-cell engagers.”

Dr Jay Mei, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Antengene, said: “We are delighted to partner with UCB, combining our innovative discovery platform and clinical execution capabilities with UCB’s deep expertise and experience in immunology to accelerate ATG-201’s development efficiently and on a global scale.

“ATG-201, specifically designed for autoimmune diseases, incorporates bivalent CD19 binding, steric hindrance-based masking technology and proprietary CD3 sequence, a strategy designed to enable effective B cell depletion and reduce the risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS).”

Alongside UCB, Eli Lilly, Wuxi Biologics and Genentech are among the pharmaceutical companies that have made licensing and acquisition deals focused on autoimmune therapies since the start of the year.

UCB recently advanced its clinical development goals for another therapy in its pipeline, this time in rare disease. The CHMP last month granted a positive opinion for Kygevvi (doxecitine and doxribtimine) as the first thymidine kinase 2 deficiency treatment in Europe. If approved, the dual small molecule therapy would represent a new option for the ultra-rare mitochondrial disease.

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A novel, smart, nanoparticle-based drug capsule could provide effective, localised delivery into bacterial biofilms, research suggests.

A joint team from the University of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent University designed nanoparticles containing a minimal amount of rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis. 

Low frequency ultrasound enabled the nanoparticles to travel deeper into the biofilm and generate micro bubbles that agitated the drug so that it separated from the nanoparticles when required. 

Key findings showed that Staphylococcus aureus biofilms treated with nanoparticles alongside ultrasound eradicated 90 percent of the biofilm.

Conversely, this outcome reduced to 20 percent in biofilms not subjected to ultrasound. Treatment with standard rifampicin plus ultrasound resulted only in a 10 percent reduction. 

Without ultrasound, the nanoparticles only reached the top 1.6μm of the biofilm, but with ultrasound they reached about 5.6μm, nearly the entire thickness, according to Odyniec et al. 

Professor Zoe Pikramenou from the University of Birmingham said: “We found that these nanoparticles are only activated with ultrasound to release the drug and they kill bacteria in biofilms far better than rifampicin alone, as they travel through all the layers of the biofilm.

“The particles are biocompatible and showed low toxicity to human epithelial cells, suggesting strong potential for future medical use. We’ve found a new way to deliver difficult antibiotics more effectively, using an approach that could be adapted for other hard-to-deliver drugs, potentially including cancer therapies.” 

Dr Sarah Kuehne, Associate Professor of Microbiology in Nottingham Trent University, explained that this approach could lead to lower drug doses, lowering the risk of antibiotic resistance (AMR) and unwanted side effects.  

The research was published in JACS Au.

Similar research published last year demonstrated an alternative method of delivering antibiotics using nanoparticle technology. The approach focused on physically disrupting the surface of Escherichia coli and clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii.

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New four-year clinical data from Blueprint Medicines, a Sanofi company, show that Ayvakit (avapritinib) enabled sustained symptom control in patients with the rare disease indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM).

Real-world findings from the PIONEER clinical study found patients treated with the therapy in a community practice setting attained rapid, meaningful symptom improvement, within a median time of 36.5 days.

Patients showed continued improvement through four years in overall symptoms, including increased bone mineral density after three years.

Dr Mik Rinne, Head of Development at Blueprint Medicines, said: “Patients with indolent systemic mastocytosis and healthcare providers have expressed the need for a therapy that meaningfully improves quality of life through durable symptom benefit and a safety profile enabling long-term treatment, and Ayvakit is delivering this significant impact to a wide range of people living with the disease.

“Across clinical and real-world settings, Ayvakit has shown robust efficacy and a well-tolerated safety profile, helping patients realize the sustained benefit of KIT D816V-targeted therapy. In addition, emerging evidence continues to underscore the substantial burden of [systemic mastocytosis], highlighting the urgency to treat the underlying cause of the disease.”

These data from the long-term study were presented at the 2026 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting.

Ayvakit was the first FDA-approved medicine for advanced systemic mastocytosis in June 2021 and ISM in May 2023.

Then it was authorised for EU patients with ISM in December 2023. At the time, Jens Panse, Deputy Director of the Department of Haematology/Oncology of the University Hospital RWTH Aachen in Germany, said: “Ayvakyt represents an important treatment breakthrough as the first medicine approved for patients living with ISM, and the only therapy designed to selectively target the primary genetic driver of the disease.”

Blueprint Medicines was acquired by Sanofi in July 2025 in a $9.5 billion deal that brought the company, in addition to Ayvakyt, CNS and inflammatory candidates and an established presence among allergists, dermatologists, and immunologists.

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The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of Moderna’s combination mRNA vaccine mCombriax (mRNA-1083) against COVID-19 and seasonal influenza (flu) in those 50 years old and over.

Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said: “The CHMP’s positive opinion represents an important milestone for respiratory virus vaccination and for Moderna, with the introduction of the world’s first flu plus COVID combination vaccine. If approved, this would be Moderna’s fourth marketed product in Europe.

“Combination vaccines have the potential to simplify vaccination and support improved health outcomes.”

The positive opinion represents confidence from the EMA’s committee that the single dose is beneficial as a protective protocol in this age group.

The CHMP opinion is supported by results from a phase III clinical trial. A single dose of mRNA-1083 facilitated statistically significantly higher immune responses against three influenza virus strains (A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and B/Victoria) and against SARS-CoV-2.

Clinical data shows mCombriax enabled antibodies against influenza and SARS-CoV-2 that were statistically non‑inferior to those given both Spikevax and either Fluzone HD or Fluarix.

Further findings of a similar mRNA vaccine containing just the influenza component in mCombriax showed it can prevent influenza.

This news comes as David Berman joins Moderna as the company’s new Chief Development Officer. He replaces Dr Jacqueline Miller who served in the role for five and a half years.

Moderna shared last November that it plans to strengthen its US mRNA capabilities by investing over $140 million to expand its manufacturing, supporting onshoring efforts in the country. Speaking then, Moderna’s Bancel said: “By onshoring drug product manufacturing to our campus in Norwood, Massachusetts, we have completed the full manufacturing loop under one roof in the US.”

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Novo Nordisk is committing €432 million to expand its tabletting manufacturing facility in Monksland, Athlone, Ireland.

The investment is intended to upgrade, retrofit and boost capacity at the site for the firm’s oral GLP-1 products, which are widely used for obesity and diabetes.

Kasper Bødker Mejlvang, EVP CMC & Product Supply at Novo Nordisk, said: “With the investment in the Athlone facility, Novo Nordisk is expanding its production capacities for oral products, which will strengthen our ability to meet both current and future demand, outside the US.”

The facility already employs 260 people and construction of its expanded site is expected to be finalised from the end of 2027 through to 2028.

Fujifilm Biotechnologies also shared plans last month on a European expansion of its manufacturing capabilities, through a £400 million investment in its UK biomanufacturing facility in Teeside.

As Novo Nordisk seeks to expand its manufacturing capability for its GLP-1 products, the past year has seen the wider pharmaceutical industry witness a multitude developments in the therapeutic landscape.

Novo Nordisk last month announced it plans to expand its oral biologic pipeline, investing $2.1 billion with Vivtex Corporation, which includes obesity therapy Wegovy (semaglutide).

While Roche recently saw progress with its GLP-1 portfolio, namely its own injectable GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist obesity candidate. Clinical data released in January found that CT-388 enabled over half of trial participants to achieve a resolution of obesity. Its promise, according to Dr Levi Garraway, PhD, Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development, results from “the robust weight loss combined with a well-tolerated safety profile.” 

Furthermore, at the end of last year, Pfizer paid a $2 billion for China-based manufacturer YaoPharma’s GLP-1 drug, increasing competition in the expanding market, while in August Teva secured US approval for a generic GLP-1 of its version of Novo Nordisk’s injectable Saxenda (liraglutide).

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