Healthcare - Today Stories
A method for detecting traumatic brain injury at the point of care has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.
Using chemical biomarkers released by the brain immediately after a head injury occurs, researchers are able to pinpoint when patients need urgent medical attention. This saves time in delivering vital treatment and avoids patients undergoing unnecessary tests where no injury has occurred.
The technique was developed by multi-disciplinary team of researchers in the group of Advanced Nanomaterials, Structures and Applications (ANMSA) led by Dr Goldberg Oppenheimer at the University of Birmingham.
Following a proof-of-concept study, the group has now completed Innovate UK’s commercialisation programme, iCURE, to identify commercialisation routes for the techniq…
Gilead Sciences and the European Commission today signed a joint procurement agreement (JPA) that will enable rapid and equitable access to Veklury (remdesivir), the first antiviral licensed for the treatment of COVID-19 in the European Union (EU) and the UK. The JPA enables 37 participating countries in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK to purchase Veklury to address increasing demand and to start to address stockpiling needs, coordinated by the European Commission. The agreement covers purchases of Veklury over the next six months and has the option to be extended. The JPA replaces an Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) that enabled the European Commission to procure Veklury for EU Member States and the UK, from August through October 2020.
In the UK, Veklury is indic…
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma, underscores the importance of establishing a domestic manufacturing base from scratch
Tuesday 6th October 2020, Harwell, Oxfordshire: Announced today by the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC), the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now approved the second of two GMP manufacturing suites that house VMIC’s specialist vaccines manufacturing equipment - resulting in two fully equipped, approved manufacturing suites to make a leading COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
As part of the national response to develop vaccine for COVID-19, the two suites established with VMIC equipment will be operating at 1000L scale and will be dedicated to the manufacture of a leading COVID-19…
The Chief Executive of the UK’s pharmaceutical industry association has today warned MPs about the consequences of not agreeing a comprehensive post-Brexit trade deal or an urgent agreement on medicines while the trade talks continue.
Richard Torbett told the Commons EU Future Relationship Committee that negotiators must consider the impact of causing unnecessary disruption and delays for UK and EU medicines whilst in the midst of a global pandemic.
The Committee heard that companies were working in a constant state of emergency with supply chains under incredible pressure from COVID-19:
"We need the bare minimum in order to safeguard risk to the supply chain [for medicines]. If we don’t get this there will be increased complexity, duplication and cost – the last thing we need during COVI…
It’s been 6 months since PharmiWeb, Europe’s largest pharma job board, launched our job board in Australia. Despite the backdrop of COVID-19, a massive thanks go out to all of our clients and all of the talented individuals who have engaged with our site, and come on board!We’re looking forward to the next 6 months as we continue to raise PharmiWeb’s profile across the continent, and help more and more Australian Life Sciences organisations recruit the best talent from PharmiWeb's ever-growing talent pool.If you would like more information regarding Pharmiweb and what our unique services can do for you, contact Sue or Laurel:Sue van Vuurensue.vanvuuren@pharmiweb.comTel: +61 (0) 468 625 626Laurel Steynlaurel.steyn@pharmiweb.comTel: +61 (0) 423 665 441Find Out More Here #pharmiweb #pharmajob…
After months of waiting, the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales is now available.
Protect your loved ones with the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales.
It's the fastest way of knowing when you're at risk from coronavirus (COVID-19). The quicker you know, the quicker you can alert your loved ones, and your community.
The more of us that use it, the better we can control coronavirus.
Protect your loved ones. Please download the app.
World Alzheimer’s Day 2020 (21 September) serves as a timely reminder that drug development in this space is slow, as the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) drug market in its current form is marked by an overwhelming need for disease modifying therapies (DMTs) and a more diverse set of treatment options for patients who are experiencing cognitive symptoms or agitation related to dementia, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Alzheimer’s Disease: Global Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2028’, the AD market will grow from $2.2bn in 2018 across the eight major markets (*8MM) to $12.9bn in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3%. This growth will be driven by the increasing prevalence of the condition worldwide and the introduction…
Following new lockdown restrictions having come into force, Professor Martin Michaelis and Dr Mark Wass of University of Kent’s School of Biosciences explain why we need to adapt to live with the coronavirus to have a proper Christmas:
15 September 2020
‘Restricting private meetings to six members from multiple households is a significant change of tone, after Boris Johnson recently raised hopes of a “normal” Christmas. The change is a consequence of a rise of COVID-19 cases resulting in an R value greater than one, indicating that more than one new infection is caused by a single infected individual. Left unaddressed, this would result in a potentially massive increase in the number of cases to levels that cannot be controlled, overwhelming the NHS, and resulting in hundreds of thousands…
Responding to the news that the Covid-19 vaccine trial being run by Oxford University in conjunction with AstraZeneca has been halted for a second time, Kate Shaw, CEO of Innovative Trials, a clinical trials patient recruitment company, hoped it would not deter people from participating in clinical trials, either now or in the future.
Shaw said: “I wish the clinical trial participant in question a swift recovery, but it’s important to note that a temporary halt on research is not uncommon and does not automatically mean a medicine is unsafe. Many treatments and vaccines can experience a pause during their development, even ones that are ultimately successful and brought to market.
“This news highlights the need for greater public awareness of what clinical research involves in order to av…
David Spencer-Percival founded Spencer Ogden and Huntress - two globally successful recruitment firms
Life Science People launches with a commitment to boost employment opportunities post Covid-19
London, 01 September 2020: David Spencer-Percival, serial entrepreneur and founder of two globally successful recruitment businesses, Huntress and Spencer Ogden, is launching his latest venture, Life Science People.
With a personal investment of £2m and an initial team of 20, Spencer-Percival’s team have set their sights set on ambitious growth, with plans to have a London office of 100 by December, and nine international offices within five years.
In launching Life Science People he continues his commitment to hiring and training graduates, something he has maintained throughout all of his ven…
A new therapy that could treat people with diabetes suffering from COVID-19 is to undergo an advanced clinical trial in the UK. The first patient will be dosed this week.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has approved the trial following new preclinical research that suggests a glucose kinase activator (AZD1656) could help diabetes sufferers infected with coronavirus by dampening the overactive response of the immune system typically acute in those patients with raised blood glucose levels. The trial will involve hospitalised patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms and if successful the compound could ultimately be prescribed by a GP for people with diabetes presenting with early COVID symptoms.
People living with diabetes face a significantly higher risk of dyi…
[LONDON, 17 August 2020] An enhanced remote consultation service for GP surgeries has been launched by three of the UK’s leading providers of healthcare technology.
eConsult Health, Q doctor and Cognitant have collaborated on an online toolbar which enables GP practices to have quick and easy access to the three providers’ platforms. This prioritises patient needs and directs them to the best starting point in the healthcare system, first time.
It allows GPs and practice staff to manage the entire patient journey from one screen and provide fully integrated triage, remote consultation and patient information, minimising the number of steps traditionally taken after a patient completes an online consultation.
The toolbar provides greater dexterity for remote-working GPs and practices throu…
29 July 2020: Announced today, GAMA Healthcare, the number one supplier of Clinell disinfectant wipes to the NHS, has added four roles to its expanding Science and Innovation (S&I) team. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, GAMA Healthcare looks to address the increase of demand for essential disinfectants not only in hospital settings but also for businesses, retail and the home.
Since joining GAMA Healthcare in September 2019 as S&I Director, Dr Teresa Layer has been responsible for innovation and new product pipeline for brands including Clinell. Hired as a values-based research and development leader with over 20 years of experience and previously Vice-President of Oral Health and Skin Health R&D at GSK Consumer Healthcare, Teresa brought strong experience in strategic planni…
Test for cancer hallmark MCM5 more effective at ruling out disease than current gold standard
Sunderland, United Kingdom, Thursday 23 July 2020 – A HIGHLY accurate urine test which can rule out bladder cancer with a negative-predictive value (NPV) of 99%1,2 using a hospital laboratory’s standard ELISA testing equipment is today being offered free to the NHS to help urologists clear the backlog of people waiting for a diagnosis and monitoring as a result of COVID-19 hospital closures.
Clinical trials involving approximately 3,000 patients have shown that ADXBLADDER, made by UK-based Arquer Diagnostics, is a simple and painless test enabling urologists to confidently exclude the presence of high-risk bladder cancer. New data being presented at the European Association of Urology congress at…
Saint-Herblain (France), July 20th, 2020 – Valneva SE, a specialty vaccine company focused on prevention against diseases with major unmet needs, today confirmed its participation in the UK government COVID-19 vaccine response program.
Valneva has reached agreement in principle with the UK government to provide up to 100 million doses of its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, to be manufactured at its facilities in Livingston, Scotland. The UK government is expected to contribute to UK clinical studies costs and is negotiating funding to expand Valneva’s Scottish facility. As part of its broader COVID-19 response, Valneva plans to further invest in its manufacturing facility in Livingston, Scotland and also in Solna, Sweden.
Thomas Lingelbach, CEO of Valneva, commented, “We are delighted to hav…
OXFORD, 20 JULY 2020: Vaccitech Ltd, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing immunotherapies to treat and prevent infectious diseases and cancer, today announces that Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group have taken the next step towards the discovery of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine against coronavirus. The vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, now known as AZN1222, was co-invented by Vaccitech and Oxford University’s Jenner Institute.
The results of the Phase I/II trial published today in the scientific journal, The Lancet, indicate no early safety concerns and the induction of strong immune responses in both parts of the immune system.
The vaccine provoked a T cell response within 14 days of vaccination (a cellular immune response, it cou…
COVID-19 research and development (R&D) has started to see the first set of novel drug candidates enter clinical trials by way of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Experts interviewed by GlobalData see potential in these but are cautious that the cocktail strategy may not pan out better than treating with a single mAb, according to reporting from Manasi Vaidya, Pharma Writer for the Investigative News team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Vaidya adds: “Beyond their treatment potential, when it comes to preventing infection, mAbs will likely be most applicable to the post-exposure setting.
“While the clinical development landscape has, so far, largely focused on repurposing existing drugs and investigating vaccines, mAbs for COVID-19 provide a novel and attractive appr…
Responding to the latest monthly NHS England performance figures, Dr Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:"Against a backdrop that has been so heavily dominated by bad news, it is welcome to see a glimmer of positivity in the latest NHS England performance figures with a month-on-month rise in the percentage of people seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer. This is testament to the phenomenal efforts of our frontline staff. “However, these figures also demonstrate that we are seeing the fallout from coronavirus across the NHS, as the percentage of patients waiting more than 18 weeks to start treatment is rising again, and low A&E attendances and emergency admissions…
The spread of Covid-19 inside care homes has been fuelled by a lack of personal protection equipment (PPE) – according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
Researchers studying the spread of the virus in Norfolk care homes found that once the virus was present, its spread was most strongly linked to a lack of PPE, particularly facemasks and eye protection.
But the introduction of the virus into the homes wasn’t dependent on PPE but rather the total numbers of non-care staff working there.
Covid-19 was more likely to get into residential care homes when there were more non-care staff such as maintenance people, cooks and those in administrative roles.
The research is the first to observe how Covid-19 seems to enter and spread through care homes. Due to the rapid-response nat…
London & Reykjavik, 29 June, 2020 – Pfizer is partnering with Nordic digital therapeutics company SidekickHealth to advance patient wellbeing across Europe via a digital therapeutics platform. The solution combines scientific expertise and digital technologies, giving patients a new tool to help them maintain healthy lifestyles, improve their disease management and quality of life, while providing guidance and resources to facilitate easier and faster communication between them and their healthcare professional.
The collaboration is designed to empower patients to take control of their health and focuses on a number of therapeutic areas. First, for patients in Finland suffering from the two main inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) conditions, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (C…
