A study has found that some people are able to clear the Covid-19 virus quickly due to strong immune response from existing T-cells, which could lead to a new generation of vaccine development. In a study published in Nature, researchers found that individuals with potential exposure to… Read More
Megan Thomas, DDW, comments on her experience of ELRIG UK's Drug Discovery 2021 Having started my role as Editorial Assistant at DDW during the pandemic – my first within the drug discovery industry – my instinct was, “what a time to be in the thick of it”. As 2021 unfolded,… Read More
Acknowledging a successful career, a significant contribution to drug discovery and the ELRIG community, as well as a recent OBE, Steve Rees, VP Discovery Biology, R&D, AstraZeneca, discusses pivotal moments in his career, the work he coordinated around the Cambridge Covid-19 Test Centre, and his eagerness to re-connect with friends and colleagues… Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the drug discovery industry to re-imagine how it operates, as well as the roles within it. Rob Howes, Director of AstraZeneca's Cambridge Covid-19 Testing Centre, believes ELRIG’s Drug Discovery 2021 will be an opportunity for the industry to re-connect as we return to in-person events and scientists return… Read More
In 18 months, vaccine research advanced AI in medicine by five to seven years. That’s cause for optimism — and investment — in the digital transformation of clinical development. Jeff Elton, CEO of ConcertAI, who has extensive experience in this sector, shares his insight with DDW. There has been a… Read More
A recent sponsored DDW Sitting Down With podcast covered the bamlanivimab story and how this therapeutic went from lab to clinic in eight months during the pandemic. It is available to listen to here. Lu Rahman selects some of the highlights of this chat with Bryan Jones, Senior Research Fellow, BioTechnology Discovery Research, Eli Lilly and Company and Dan Bedinger, Application… Read More
If authorised, molnupiravir could be the first oral antiviral medicine for Covid-19. Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics have announced that molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral medicine, significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death at a planned interim analysis of the Phase… Read More
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published a detailed map of where human antibodies bind to SARS-CoV-2, which was generated by a global collaboration comparing nearly all leading clinical candidates. The new research, published in Science, will guide the development of more effective Covid-19 antibody… Read More
India has a rapidly growing pharmaceutical market that, being the third largest pharmaceutical industry in the world by volume, holds a prominent place in global health. Over the last decade, the Indian pharmaceutical market has seen increasing domestic and foreign investment. While the overall number of deals fluctuated only slightly… Read More
Following the news that Pfizer/BioNTech will apply for authorisation of their Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty for children ages 5–11 after showing positive initial data from a trial at a lower dose in this age group; Philipp Rosenbaum, Senior Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view. He said: “It will be… Read More
Results from a Phase III trial show promise for patients with advanced breast cancer. Enhertu has been shown to reduce the risk of disease progression or death by 72% vs. trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Phase III head-to-head DESTINY-Breast03 results featured at ESMO… Read More
Health Canada has approved Moderna’s New Drug Submission (NDS-CV) for Spikevax (elasomeran mRNA vaccine), it has granted full approval (Notice of Compliance or NOC) for Pfizer’s Comirnaty, and it has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be named Vaxzevria. “Health Canada’s approval of our Covid-19 vaccine is an important milestone as it is our… Read More
Scientists from the University of Oxford and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research are building on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 to develop a vaccine to treat cancer. Researchers have designed a two-dose therapeutic cancer vaccine using Oxford’s viral vector vaccine technology. When tested in mouse tumour models, the… Read More
New analysis suggests that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is highly effective against circulating variants of concern, including in a vaccine effectiveness study conducted in partnership with Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) and in a separate recent publication by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, the company shared… Read More
Valneva has received a termination notice from the UK Government (HMG) in relation to the Supply Agreement for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001. The contract provides HMG with the right to terminate. HMG has alleged that the company is in breach of its obligations under the Supply Agreement, which… Read More
Australian clinical-stage drug development company Noxopharm has released preliminary top-line data from its NOXCOVID Phase I clinical trial testing the suitability of idronoxil (Veyonda), a TBK1 (TANK-binding kinase 1) inhibitor, as an anti-inflammatory in patients with moderate Covid-19 disease. Veyonda currently has two main drug actions – a moderating… Read More
