PharmaNews.eu

Stem cell therapy rescues symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0200

In the ongoing search for a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a burgeoning branch of medicine is bringing new hope. Stem cell therapies are already being used to treat various cancers and disorders of the blood and immune system. In a new proof-of-concept study, scientists at University of California San Diego show stem cell transplants may also be a promising therapeutic against Alzheimer's.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Pfizer and Becton, Dickinson & Company expand partnership for greater access to injectable contraceptive for women in low- and lower-middle-income countries

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0200

To help enable greater access to injectable contraceptives for millions of women in low- and lower-middle income countries, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Pfizer and Becton, Dickinson & Company (BD) announced the expansion of their nearly decade-long collaboration. The expanded collaboration is expected to deliver more than 320 million doses of Pfizer's injectable contraceptive, Sayana® Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate)(1) administered by BD Uniject™ Auto-Disable Prefillable Injection System, through 2030.

AI drives new era of target identification and drug design

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Disease modeling and target identification are critical and time-consuming portions of the drug discovery process and areas where artificial intelligence (AI) is already making a substantial impact. A new opinion paper in the Cell Press journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences traces the history of target discovery methods - from experimental approaches, to

New RNA-based therapy combats melanoma in mouse models

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have designed an innovative RNA-based strategy to activate dendritic cells - which play a key role in immune response - that eradicated tumors and prevented their recurrence in mouse models of melanoma.

The findings, which suggest that the approach has the potential to be effective against tumors that have already spread to other parts of the body and against different cancer types,

Potent anti-cancer therapy created using 'click chemistry'

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

A potent anti-cancer therapy has been created using Nobel prize-winning "click chemistry", where molecules click together like LEGO bricks, in a new study by UCL and Stanford University researchers.

The study, published in Nature Chemistry, opens up new possibilities for how cutting-edge cancer immunotherapies might be built in future.

Pfizer announces New England Journal of Medicine publication on Group B Streptococcus (GBS) maternal vaccine candidate

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced data from a Phase 2 study investigating its hexavalent capsular polysaccharide (CPS) conjugate Group B Streptococcus (GBS) vaccine candidate, GBS6, being developed for maternal administration to protect infants against invasive GBS disease. In stage two of the three-part study, which enrolled 360 healthy pregnant individuals, GBS6 generated robust maternal antibody responses against the six GBS CPS serotypes included in the vaccine, and these antibodies were efficiently transferred to infants at ratios of ~0.4-1.3 depending on GBS6 group.

AstraZeneca announces $400 million investment in reforestation and biodiversity in support of climate action and human health

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

AstraZeneca has announced a $400 million investment in its global AZ Forest programme, raising its commitment to plant 200 million trees by 2030 and ensure their long-term survival. This includes new or expanded projects in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Ghana and Rwanda that will contribute to the Company's climate action, restore nature, promote biodiversity and build ecological and community resilience, spanning over 100,000 hectares worldwide.

Approved drug could help overcome resistance to primary treatment against metastatic breast cancer

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Brest cancer is the most common cancer in women. Among breast tumors that spread to other organs (develop metastasis), 70% belong to a variant, called luminal, whose cells are sensitive to the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. In fact, the tumor forms when these hormones order the cells to divide. The usual treatment for advanced cases is surgery, followed by hormone therapy, alone or in combination with chemotherapy or targeted therapy.

Fecal transplants show promise in improving melanoma treatment

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

In a world-first clinical trial published in the journal Nature Medicine, a multi-centre study from Lawson Health Research Institute, the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) has found fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) from healthy donors are safe and show promise in improving response to immunotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma.

Global regulators confirm good safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0200

EMA has just endorsed a joint statement on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines issued by the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA).

Evidence from more than 13 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered worldwide shows that these vaccines aimed at protecting people from severe outcomes of COVID-19 have a very good safety profile in all age groups, including children and people with underlying medical conditions, immunocompromised patients and pregnant women.

New approach in cancer therapy with innovative mechanism-of-action for ferroptosis induction

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0200

A team of researchers led by Dr. Marcus Conrad from Helmholtz Munich discovered a novel anti-cancer drug, called icFSP1, which sensitizes cancer cells to ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is characterized by the iron-dependent oxidative destruction of cellular membranes, which is counteracted by ferroptosis suppressor protein-1 (FSP1), one of the guardians of ferroptosis. Although FSP1 has been considered as an attractive drug target for cancer therapy, in vivo efficacious FSP1 inhibitors have been lacking.

Bayer's new pharmaceutical R&D strategy to accelerate breakthrough innovations

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0200

This afternoon at 2 pm CET (8 am EDT), Bayer AG will host its Pharmaceuticals R&D Event 2023 for Investors. The company will present a deep dive on the innovation strategy in its four therapeutic core areas Oncology, Cardiovascular Diseases, Neurology & Rare Diseases and Immunology. The presentations will also include status updates on Bayer Pharmaceuticals' key assets in clinical and preclinical development as well as on its platform companies Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio), BlueRock Therapeutics (BlueRock) and Vividion Therapeutics (Vividion).

Higher doses of oral semaglutide improves blood sugar control and weight loss

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Diabetes is a progressive disease that affects one's ability to control blood sugar levels. For many patients, the condition becomes more severe over time and blood sugar levels grow more difficult to manage. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, have granted patients more control in lowering of blood sugar.

Magdeburg researchers discover a new mechanism of cancer immune defense

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Modern immunotherapies boost the body's own defenses against cancer. They activate killer T cells of the immune system that can specifically recognize and destroy cancer cells. In many patients, however, cancer cells adapt and become invisible to killer T cells so that the treatment is no longer effective. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Magdeburg has now discovered a new mechanism that enables the immune system to also eliminate such invisible cancer cells.