Novavax has been granted conditional marketing authorisation by the European Commission (EC) for Nuvaxovid Covid-19 vaccine. Context The vaccine is for active immunisation to prevent Covid-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 18 years of age and older and the authorisation follows the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal… Read More
Research by the Riken Institute in Tokyo, published in the British journal Communications Biology, offers an explanation for Japan’s success in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic when compared with other countries. The research is a piece of the puzzle of why there remains relatively low rates of death and serious… Read More
Microba technology has been used for microbiome analysis to unlock diagnostic applications. This has led to the company receiving ISO15189 accreditation for a new untargeted NGS based assay of stool samples. This makes the company the first Australian microbiome company granted ISO15189 accreditation by NATA (The National Association of Testing… Read More
A major international research centre focused on stem cell medicine will be built by the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Australia) and Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands), with €300 million a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Context on stem cells Stem cell… Read More
A RIKEN-led team has developed a new way to treat cancer that has fewer side effects than conventional drugs, which results from a targeted method for killing tumour cells in mice1. Reportedly, the novel therapeutic triggers the self-destruct programme of cancer cells by delivering a masked peptide and a catalyst… Read More
New research from Qatar, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found that the natural immunity from prior infection of Covid-19 has a 92% efficacy against reinfection of the Beta variant, and a 98% efficacy against reinfection of the Alpha variant. The study … Read More
Oxford University has announced a £50 million funding commitment from Serum Life Sciences to establish The Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building at the University of Oxford. What will it do? The Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building will share infrastructure and support facilities with Oxford University Pandemic Sciences… Read More
News round-up by DDW’s Megan Thomas for 13-17 December One of the key pillars of drug discovery and development is research, from studies to trials. This week, DDW’s Megan Thomas has selected five stories which spotlight this important, early work. 1. 4D Pharma presents… Read More
The latest free-to-listen DDW podcast episode is titled “Using biotechnology to maximise drug discovery output”. It covers two articles written for Volume 22, Issue 2 – Spring 2021 of the Drug Discovery World Magazine and has been narrated by DDW’s Megan Thomas. These articles are titled: “The important integration of medicinal chemistry in Hit-to-Lead… Read More
The latest free-to-listen DDW podcast episode is titled “Using biotechnology to maximise drug discovery output”. It covers two articles written for Volume 22, Issue 2 – Spring 2021 of the Drug Discovery World Magazine and has been narrated by DDW’s Megan Thomas. These articles are titled: “The important integration of medicinal… Read More
Physician-scientists of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have published a paper in The New England Journal of Medicine which suggests that in order to counter future coronavirus outbreaks, the global scientific and medical research community should focus… Read More
Global biotechnology company CSL Limited has launched a public tender offer to acquire all publicly held Vifor Pharma shares. “Vifor Pharma enhances CSL’s patient focus and ability to protect the health of those facing a range of rare and serious medical conditions. It brings an outstanding team and a leading portfolio… Read More
4D Pharma has announced positive topline results from Part A of its Phase I/II clinical trial of MRx-4DP0004, an orally-delivered single strain Live Biotherapeutic being developed for the treatment of asthma. Part A The Phase I/II trial is a multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients… Read More
Lo.Li. Pharma International has announced a new strategic partnering plan for its new product, Deplesin, which meets an unmet need for bipolar disorder (BD) patients. The discussions are underway with the aim of increasing accessibility to this novel adjunctive agent in the treatment of BD patients, who often experience a number… Read More
AstraZeneca has added a novel target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to its drug development portfolio, discovered using BenevolentAI’s platform. This is reportedly the second novel target from the collaboration that has been identified, validated, and selected for AstraZeneca’s portfolio. The collaboration BenevolentAI’s collaboration with AstraZeneca currently focuses… Read More
Noorik Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company repurposing micro-dose ambrisentan for the treatment of kidney, liver, and respiratory diseases, signed a contract with the Federal Government of Switzerland to develop ambrisentan as a treatment for patients with severe Covid-19. Why? The investment, under the Federal Funding Programme for Covid-19 Medicines initiative, will enable… Read More
