Healthcare - Today Stories

Johnson & Johnson Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Charmaine England as Area Managing Director for Consumer Health Northern Europe, effective 17 May 2021.  England will oversee the Northern Europe business, which includes the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. She will manage a portfolio of iconic Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health brands, including AVEENO®, JOHNSON’S®, LISTERINE®, NEUTROGENA®, OGX®, CALPOL® and NICORETTE®. In her new role, England joins the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Consumer Health Leadership team, where she will focus on meeting fast-evolving consumer needs, deepening partnerships with customers, and building an empowered team. England previously served as Managing Director for Johnson & Johnson’s Consumer…

New agreement to supply 900 million doses to the European Commission (EC), with option to request up to an additional 900 million doses Additional dose deliveries beginning December 2021 through 2023 Pfizer and BioNTech have now committed a total of up to 2.4 billion doses of COMIRNATY® to the EC since the beginning of the pandemic Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced a new agreement with the European Commission (EC) to supply 900 million doses of COMIRNATY®, the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine, to the European Union (EU), with an option for the EC to request up to an additional 900 million doses. This new agreement is in addition to the 600 million doses that have already been committed to the EU through 2021. The additional 900 million agreed doses are exp…

- American Heart Association and Abbott announce new initiative to advance health equity, fight high blood pressure and chronic conditions in greater Austin area The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, and the global healthcare company Abbott, today announced a new multi-year initiative to reduce high blood pressure and chronic diseases affecting historically underserved local communities in Austin, Texas. The initiative is made possible through a generous financial contribution from Abbott, and will support three Federally Qualified Healthcare Clinical Systems (FQHCs) in Central Texas in providing educational resources, support and self-monitoring devices necessary for high-risk hypertensive and diabetic patient…

CHICAGO and ABBOTT PARK, Ill., May 12, 2021 – United and Abbott today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration to use Abbott’s BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Home Test and Abbott’s NAVICA app to help make the international travel experience more seamless. Recently updated CDC guidelines permit travelers to self-administer a rapid antigen test under the real-time supervision of a telehealth service and use the verified negative test result to board an international flight to the U.S. if they test negative. “We appreciate the private sector proactively helping travelers have access to easy, reliable COVID-19 test options,” said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH. “Comprehensive testing that is easy, rapid, accurate and trusted is a fundamental strategy for preventing the spread of COVID-19.” …

Lupus is a global health problem that affects people of all nationalities, races, ethnicities, genders, and ages. Lupus can affect any part of the body in any way at any time, often with unpredictable and life-changing results. Important Facts to Know about Lupus: It is a serious and potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease. It can damage any organ or tissue from the skin or joints to the heart or kidneys. It develops in response to factors both inside and outside of the body; however, the exact cause of Lupus is unknown. Symptoms of Lupus come and go and change over time which makes it difficult to diagnose. Common symptoms include joint pain, skin rashes, overwhelming fatigue, and fevers that last for days or weeks. Lupus is not contagious. Whilst there isn’t a cure for Lupus, it…

Every year, on the 24th April, Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMo) joins people worldwide to raise awareness of meningitis, a disease that can tragically take a life in under 24 hours. This year, we’re asking you to join us in our biggest campaign yet. The WHO has approved a Global Roadmap to Defeat Meningitis by 2030, a landmark achievement that recognises the struggles of millions of people affected by meningitis. Despite this landmark achievement, serious challenges remain. When someone has meningitis, it is important to act fast. Unfortunately, not many people know about the disease and the symptoms can be easily confused with other diseases like the flu, malaria and even COVID-19. A delay in diagnosis and treatments claims lives and leaves many others with serious, life-l…

The first Moderna jabs will be delivered in England today (Tuesday) as the NHS vaccination programme reaches another milestone. More than 20 sites, including Reading’s Madejski Stadium and the Sheffield Arena, will initially use the newest vaccine, as the NHS continues to expand the vaccination programme. For those aged 18-29 who are eligible for a jab, the Moderna vaccine provides another alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, in line with updated MHRA guidance last week. More than 27 million people in England have now received their first jab, with more than 6.1 million second jabs also being given. NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “The Moderna rollout marks another milestone in the vaccination programme. “We now have a third jab in our armoury and NHS staff will be us…

In recent years, countries in the Western Pacific have experienced rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization. This created opportunities for better lives for many, but left others behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has undercut recent health gains, pushed more people into poverty and food insecurity, and amplified gender, social and health inequities.  This World Health Day, we’re calling for action to eliminate health inequities, as part of a year-long global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign highlights WHO’s constitutional principle that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.” …

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) today announced the outcome of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Joint Arthritis Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee on tanezumab. There was a single voting question focused on whether the proposed risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for tanezumab will ensure its benefits outweigh its risks, and the Committee voted 1 in favor and 19 against. Tanezumab 2.5 mg administered subcutaneously (SC) every eight weeks is being evaluated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis (OA) pain in adult patients for whom use of other analgesics is ineffective or not appropriate. Tanezumab is an investigational monoclonal antibody in a new class of medicines called nerve growth…

Miniature cameras which patients can swallow to get checked for cancer are being trialled across the NHS. The imaging technology, in a capsule no bigger than a pill, can provide a diagnosis within hours. Known as a colon capsule endoscopy, the cameras are the latest NHS innovation to help patients access cancer checks at home. Traditional endoscopies mean patients need to attend hospital and have a tube inserted whereas the new technology means that people can go about their normal day. An initial group of 11,000 NHS patients in England will receive the capsule cameras in more than 40 parts of the country. The NHS has prioritised cancer care during the coronavirus pandemic and the latest figures show that hospitals carried out more than two cancer treatments for every patient they treated…

Sensyne Health plc (LSE: SENS) (“Sensyne” or the “Company” or the “Group”), the UK Clinical AI company, today announces that its SYNE-COVTM machine learning algorithm for COVID risk prediction has achieved regulatory approval for use in the UK. About SYNE-COV SYNE-COV analyses over 60 variables in the patient electronic health record to generate a prediction of the likelihood of a COVID positive patient developing severe disease, requiring ventilation or admission to intensive care. It provides the risk prediction, together with an explanation of the result, to help clinicians manage patients admitted to hospital with COVID infection.  The SYNE-COV product was developed in collaboration between Sensyne and the Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust This is the first algor…

What? Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives. The campaign targets primarily the general public and also seeks to raise awareness amongst policy makers, public authorities, industry representatives, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has a genuine interest in rare diseases. Why? Building awareness of rare diseases is so important because 1 in 20 people will live with a rare disease at some point in their life. Despite this, there is no cure for the majority of rare diseases and many go undiagnosed. Rare Disease Day improves knowledge amongst the general public of rare diseases while enc…

Transformative partnership reunites University of Toronto and Novo Nordisk to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin and jumpstart a new era in precision public health. Novo Nordisk A/S and the University of Toronto (U of T) today announced a DKK 200 million (CAD 40 million) investment to establish the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations. The network will focus on new ways to support healthier urban populations and will draw on U of T’s leading expertise in public health research and education programmes to impact the global fight against diabetes and other serious chronic diseases. Based at U of T Mississauga, the new network will be a partnership between the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and University of Toronto Missi…

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced a global exclusive license agreement and strategic collaboration to co-develop and commercialize Rigel's R552, a receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) inhibitor, for all indications including autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Pursuant to the collaboration, Lilly will also lead all clinical development of brain penetrating RIPK1 inhibitors in central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Rigel's lead RIPK1 inhibitor, R552, has completed Phase 1 clinical trials and will begin Phase 2 clinical trials in 2021 as part of the collaboration.  Rigel also has ongoing pre-clinical activities with its lead CNS penetrant RIPK1 inhibitor candidates. Under the terms of the agreement, Li…

GSK has announced aspirational targets to make further progress on its gender and ethnic diversity representation in senior leadership. As a result of work to increase female representation in senior roles, GSK has already exceeded its target of 37% of VP-level and above roles being filled by women. The company will now extend this to increase female representation in VP level and above roles to at least 45% by 2025. To drive greater racial and ethnic diversity in senior roles in its two biggest employee populations in the US and UK, new targets have been introduced in these countries, reflecting demographics in these countries. In the US, a new target of at least 30% ethnically diverse leaders by the end of 2025 is now in place to increase representation from the current level of 23%. In…

£0.5M investment in mass spectrometry support accelerates biologics development and approval   Craigavon, Northern Ireland – 26 January 2021 – Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, has announced additional  expansion of its biologics testing laboratory with significant investment in mass spectrometry equipment. The new high-resolution mass spectrometer has been installed at Almac’s global headquarters, located in Northern Ireland, and will support its biologics offering for the analysis of peptides, proteins, glycoproteins and antibody products. This adds to the existing industry support at its new biologic testing laboratory based in Athlone, Ireland, announced just three months ago, which supports QC release and characterisation of biologics. The £500,000 investment in a Thermo Or…

London, U.K. 21 January 2021: Digital therapy assistant Limbic has today partnered with mental health charity Black Minds Matter.  The partnership will see Black Minds Matter U.K.  roll out Limbic’s Self-Care platform to its community of 2600 people, ensuring they receive access to instant support while waiting for treatment or whilst currently accessing treatment.  Black Minds Matter U.K. provides free therapy sessions to Black individuals and families across the UK. Founded in June 2020 during the height of the pandemic and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter protests, the charity saw a surge in demand for their services and had to subsequently close their waitlist.  To date, the charity has already been able to help over half of their waiting list access therapy and 1000 additional…

A new COVID-19 drug screening and resistance hub will be established in Scotland, based at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR). The ground-breaking project, CRUSH (COVID-19 Drug-Screening and Resistance Hub), has received £2.5million to establish a national resource which will initially be dedicated to supporting and accelerating vital COVID-19 antiviral innovation drug  translation. The facility is funded by £2m from medical research charity LifeArc, with additional funding from the Medical Research Council. CVR CRUSH will be delivered by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with partners LifeArc and the University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit. Global control of the COVID-19 pandemic is dependent on the availability of effective medical treatments and vacc…

January 5th, 2021:  University of Birmingham researchers have invented a COVID-19 test that reduces testing time from 30 minutes to under five, and delivers accurate results.  The method is described in a preprint paper (yet to be peer-reviewed) published on MedRxiv, where the researchers also demonstrate the rapidity and sensitivity of their method using patient sample RNA provided by Public Health England.  Professor Tim Dafforn from the University’s School of Biosciences commented: “We have designed a new method for testing that combines the ease of use and speed of lateral flow testing with the inherent sensitivity of an RNA test.  It features reagents that can be used in existing point of care devices and meets the need for testing in high throughput, near-patient, settings where peop…

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the UK, with the first doses being released today so that vaccinations may begin early in the New Year. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has provided authorisation for emergency supply of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, formerly AZD1222, for the active immunisation of individuals 18 years or older. The authorisation recommends  two doses administered with an interval of between four and 12 weeks. This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose. AstraZeneca is working with Public Health England and National Health Service England to support the deploy…