Clinical research - Today Stories

Frankfurt, Germany – 7th January 2020: PharmaLex Group, one of the most experienced and most successful specialist providers of Development Consulting, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Epidemiology & Risk Management, and Quality Management & Compliance worldwide, have completed the merger with CompliMed in the United Kingdom. CompliMed is the UK’s leading Healthcare Compliance Consultancy specialising in the ABPI Code of Practice. Their services include training, e-learning, outsourcing, audits, SOPs, medical review and final signatory support. By joining forces with CompliMed, PharmaLex will extend its services in healthcare compliance, further enabling its customers to maximise promotional effectiveness whilst complying with legislation and codes of practice during their en…

Happy New Year! Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020 from everyone at PharmiWeb!

Freeline, a biotechnology company focused on developing curative gene therapies for chronic systemic diseases, today announces Syncona Ltd (“Syncona) has made an $80.0 million (£61.1 million)[1] commitment in a Series C financing and has funded the first tranche of this commitment, amounting to $40.0 million (£30.6 million)[2]. This financing augments the previous £88.4 million Series B investment and the £34.8 million Series A investment previously made into Freeline by the founding investors, led by Syncona. The first $40 million tranche will enable Freeline to expand its team, continue to develop its robust manufacturing platform, including commercial supply capability, generate further data in its clinical programmes for Haemophilia B and Fabry Disease, and continue to progress its pip…

Craigavon, N.I., 04 December 2019 - Almac Group, the global contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organisation, has been awarded $200K by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to develop novel biosynthetic routes with the aim of substantially lowering the cost of selected steroidal Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and enable their use in developing world aid programs. The programme of work will see the development of novel biocatalytic routes to Etonorgestrel and Levonorgestrel APIs by Almac Sciences’ established team of biocatalysis experts based in Ireland.  Etonorgestrel is a highly potent material currently made with mid-twentieth century chemistry which makes it very expensive at almost $200k/kg and therefore unaffordable to women in the developing wor…

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has launched its General Election 2020 Manifesto for Medicine. The industry body is calling on all parties to ensure that their policies support UK science and research and help maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in medicines and vaccines development into the future. Pharmaceutical companies in the UK collectively employ 63,000 people and invest £4.3 billion in UK R&D – more than any other sector. The ABPI says the next Government should capitalise on the UK’s world-leading life science industry and improve the health of NHS patients by: 1. Prioritising patients and health security in the future UK – EU relationship​ The UK’s membership of the EU has shaped and enforced much of the scientific, regulatory and trade infras…

Erada Technology Alliance receives 3,000 EUR for its world’s first saliva-based malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Erada Technology Alliance’s ambition to eradicate malaria moved a step closer this week after scooping 3,000 EUR on winning the 2019 Africa Challenge. In doing so, it has booked its ticket to the Paris Global Summit in March 2020, where it will pitch again against 1,000 fellow start-ups from across the world in front of 300 investors and international media for the opportunity to receive 100,000 EUR. The South African start-up saw off 5,000 applicants from across Africa to win the Hello Tomorrow Africa Challenge award. This announcement came at the AfricArena conference in Cape Town, which brought together tech start-ups from all over Africa. Erada’s RDT, known as SALVA!, de…

LONDON – 12 November, 2019 – Charity Parkinson’s UK today announced an international partnership with US-based organisation, The Parkinson’s Foundation who have granted £200,000 towards a potential new therapy for people with Parkinson’s as part of the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, led by the charity. Each year, Parkinson’s UK, their supporters and partners invest more than £4 million into the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech to rapidly develop and test the most promising research findings with the aim of turning them into treatments that will transform the lives of people with Parkinson's. The Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech focuses on the projects that matter the most to the Parkinson’s community and is powered by collaborations with world-leading research organisations that are best placed to del…

Abingdon, UK, 8 November 2019: – OBN (UK) Ltd., the membership organisation that supports the life sciences industry, is delighted to announce the winners of the 2019 OBN Awards. The Awards, which are in their 11th year, celebrate the best of UK life sciences – from outstanding scientific innovation within Biotech, Medtech and Digital Health, to the companies that support the industry and the fundraisers that make it happen.  This year’s event hosted an audience of over 250 life sciences industry leaders at the Oxford Examination Schools. John Harris, CEO of OBN, said: “We received an incredible number of entries yet again this year, so competition has been really tough for all nominees.  All our winners and finalists are truly innovative, at the very top of their respective sectors, and s…

Combining two major forces in HEOR, market access, medical affairs and healthcare communications 4th November, 2019, London, UK and Bethesda, USA – OPEN Health has today announced the integration of Pharmerit International, a global leader in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), into its group of companies. Joining the Pharmerit business with the OPEN Health Group establishes a new unique entity equipped to be a global leader in HEOR, market access, medical affairs and healthcare communications. The merger enhances and supports OPEN Health’s positioning – deep, broad and connected: Deep in that integration will expand the company’s global footprint and capabilities in the HEOR and market access space – across four integrated centres of excellence: Strategic market access Modell…

London, UK - Some of the UK’s leading Harley Street outpatient clinics specialising in delivering expert mental health support have partnered with medical device company Flow Neuroscience to offer patients a new medically approved brain stimulation headset to treat depression. The type of brain stimulation used in the headset has been shown in independent clinical studies to have a similar impact to antidepressants but with fewer and less-severe side effects. Clinics within London’s esteemed medical district, including the NHS-connected private therapy clinic The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, will now offer patients the new brain stimulation headset as an add-on treatment in combination with their traditional therapy and psychiatrist services. An additional 10 clinics are trialling the headse…

Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered an easy, cost-effective and safe method of sending cells and small living samples worldwide, which could revolutionise conventional practice. Cultured cells are currently transported using dry ice - the solid form of carbon dioxide - which keeps them frozen at -80oC. However, dry ice shipping is expensive, voluminous and hazardous, so much so that many couriers refuse to handle it. Also, if it evaporates before a shipment reaches its destination, cellular recovery is jeopardised, as the cells get crushed and the cryoprotectant needed for their storage at low temperatures, is toxic to cells at ambient temperatures.   Dry ice is also damaging to the environment, with 5kg, (the quantity typically used in a consignment of frozen ce…

Grant will support researchers from King’s College London and King’s College Hospital to test a personalised treatment approach for Aplastic Anaemia patients who have not responded to available therapies 21 October 2019 - LifeArc, a UK-based medical research charity, and the Aplastic Anaemia Trust (AAT) have jointly awarded a £1.15m research grant to King’s College London and King’s College Hospital to investigate the potential of a novel type of “personalised cellular therapy” to reverse the ultra-rare condition aplastic anaemia (AA). The results of this research could give new hope to people living with a severe, life-limiting form of this condition. The grant will fund a clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of using a patient’s own T-reg cells to restore the blood-makin…

Manchester’s leading health innovation campus, Citylabs, is set to expand again following high levels of demand as it continues to grow its presence as an international hub for genomics and precision medicine.  Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) have unveiled plans to develop Citylabs 4.0, a new £35 million development which will grow the existing Citylabs campus by 125,000 sq ft. The Joint Venture partnership between MSP and MFT, the UK's largest NHS provider Trust, is the first of its kind, with the first phase - Citylabs 1.0 - already home to a thriving cluster of diagnostics, medtech, digital health and genomics businesses who are driving the future of medicine and healthcare. The new development represents another step forward fo…

The Primary Care Women’s Health Forum (PCWHF), the leading membership forum for primary care clinicians with an interest in women’s health, is pleased to announce the publication of ‘Her Life Her Health’, its new women’s health publication. It is a new quarterly publication for PCWHF members. Written by primary care clinicians for primary care, the publication follows the journey a woman typically takes throughout her lifetime when accessing healthcare, from contraceptive needs to conception, from menstruation to menopause. Spearheaded by Editor-in-Chief, renowned women’s health expert and Chair of the PCWHF, Dr Anne Connolly, Her Life Her Health combines the latest research and guidelines with news, policy, best practice, features, resources and quick reference guidelines. It is packed wi…

The publication in the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance concluded that application of a nasal gel formulation of XF-73 in healthy volunteers was safe, well tolerated and generated minimal side effects Treatment with XF-73 was also associated with a rapid reduction in nasal Staphylococcus aureus in all subjects; nasal carriage of the bacteria is the source of the majority of post-surgical bacterial infections The same nasal formulation is being used in the Company’s phase 2b trial assessing the microbiological effect of XF-73 on nasal S. aureus in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery and at high risk of postoperative S.aureus/MRSA infection; headline results continue to be expected in mid-2020 Brighton, United Kingdom – 16 October 2019 Destiny Pharma (AIM: DEST), a clinical sta…

Mutational signatures could help improve myeloma patient prognosis Myeloma UK funded research from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, has identified the main biological processes which cause the genetic mutations associated with the development of myeloma. The research, published in Blood Cancer Journal, increases our knowledge of how myeloma develops and evolves and also suggests that analysis of mutational signatures could play a role in helping identify high risk myeloma patients and predicting patient outcomes.  This will aid the development of more personalised treatments for myeloma patients and help to drive improved diagnosis and assessment of prognosis. The team at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) analysed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES)…

Imcyse, a clinical-stage company developing active and specific immunotherapeutics for the treatment and prevention of severe chronic diseases, today announces the successful completion of its first-in-human Phase 1b study in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes (‘T1D’).Results of the clinical trial have shown an excellent safety profile, reaching the primary study objective. In addition, promising early clinical trends and relevant immunological responses were observed, including the detection of cytolytic CD4 T cells. Imcyse’s unique technology platform is based on specifically modified peptides (Imotopes™) which drive the generation of cytolytic CD4 T cells. These cytolytic CD4 T cells are able to actively and specifically target the immune cells involved in the pathogenesis of th…

MAIN5 and Iperion Life Sciences Consultancy entered into a strategic alliance to better serve customers within the field of implementation of Regulatory Information Systems, data management, project management and change management.  “As the pharmaceutical industry faces organizational, technical and coordination challenges in an ever faster changing regulatory environment, the combined expertise of our companies will allow our customers access to top expertise with optimal communication possibilities,” Gero Neidlinger, partner of MAIN5 and Frits Stulp, managing director of Iperion Life Sciences Consultancy explain.  „Implementation of new regulatory guidance and new systems requires effective change and project management involving all stakeholders. The real change in our industry can onl…

Timothy Kulbago named one of the most inspiring people in life sciences industry PHILADELPHIA – Aug. 5, 2019 – ERT, a global data and technology company that minimizes uncertainty and risk in clinical trials, today announced that Timothy Kulbago, Vice President, Imaging has been named one of the 100 most inspiring individuals in the life-sciences industry by PharmaVoice. Representing a broad cross-section of industry sectors, the PharmaVoice 100 honorees are selected based on how they have inspired their colleagues and affected positive changes in their organizations, as well as their involvement in community and philanthropic activities. “We’re pleased to honor Tim as he truly represents the spirit of the PharmaVoice 100,” said Taren Grom, Editor and Cofounder of PharmaVOICE. “His contr…