Research and development - Today Stories

Oslo, Norway, 6 August 2020. Nordic Nanovector ASA (OSE: NANO) today announces that, following a planned interim analysis of the PARADIGME Phase 2b pivotal trial of Betalutin® in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL), the Independent Review Committee (IRC) has recommended Nordic Nanovector to focus on one dosage arm (15 MBq/kg Betalutin® after a pre-dose of 40 mg lilotomab; “40/15”) to completion. In this very difficult to treat patient population (bulky disease, patients refractory to standard therapies) the interim analysis confirmed activity. Betalutin®, as a single administration, was active (CR, PR and disease control rate) and had a well-tolerated safety and manageable safety profile in both arms. Based on a comprehensive assessment, the interim data set supporte…

Improvements also demonstrated in quality of life, lung function and nasal polyposis symptoms 05 August 2020  Results from the positive Phase IIIb ANDHI trial showed AstraZeneca’s Fasenra (benralizumab), when given on top of standard of care, demonstrated a statistically significant 49% reduction in the annual rate of asthma exacerbations at week 24 compared to placebo (0.94 vs. 1.86; p≤0.0001) in patients with baseline blood eosinophil counts greater than or equal to 150 cells per microlitre.1 These data were presented today at the American Thoracic Society 2020 Virtual International Conference.1 In key secondary endpoints, Fasenra demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in health-related quality of life at week 24 compared to placebo (p≤0.0001), wi…

Heidelberg (Germany), 3 August 2020: Pharma business development requires meeting other people but this has become very difficult in times of distancing, travel restrictions and quarantine. The traditional model of "partnering events" has suffered a blow and so have organisers. The workaround of merely replacing physical by video one-on-one meetings on the same conference days meets organisational and technical glitches.RauCon has developed an entirely novel, Corona-proof partnering concept which is now online and running. The new Marketplace for Pharma Business Opportunities provides an unprecedented degree of flexibility in pharma partnering by adding full four weeks of pre-arranged and secure, one-hour video meetings to the physical two-days euroPLX or asiaPLX events. Attendees can move…

BASINGSTOKE, August 3, 2020 – Eli Lilly and Company today announced the initiation of BLAZE-2, a Phase 3 trial studying LY-CoV555 for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in residents and staff at long-term care facilities in the U.S. (skilled nursing facilities, commonly referred to as nursing homes, and assisted living facilities). LY-CoV555, the lead antibody from Lilly’s collaboration with AbCellera, is a neutralizing antibody against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 among residents of long-term care facilities combined with the higher mortality rate for the elderly creates the urgent need for therapies to prevent COVID-19 in this vulnerable population. “COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on nursing home residents. We’re worki…

Open Orphan plc "Open Orphan" or the "Company" Awarded Contract from Codagenix Inc. New York USA for COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Open Orphan plc (ORPH), a rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials is pleased to announce a new contract with Codagenix Inc. (“Codagenix”) to conduct a first in human (Phase I) trial evaluating safety and immunogenicity of a single-dose, intranasal SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate in 48 healthy young adult volunteers.  Highlights: First in human (Phase I) study of CodaVax-COVID, a codon deoptimized SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) single-dose, intranasal vaccine candidate Vaccine being trialled at hVIVO’s state-of-the-art Quarantine Facility in…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 22, 2020-- Moderna, Inc., (Nasdaq:MRNA) a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, today announced that it will host a live conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 to report its second quarter 2020 financial results and provide a corporate update. To access the live conference call, please dial 866-922-5184 (domestic) or 409-937-8950 (international) and refer to conference ID 2673189. A webcast of the call will also be available under “Events and Presentations” in the Investors section of the Moderna website at investors.modernatx.com. The archived webcast will be available on Moderna’s website ap…

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…

New technologies capable of sequencing single molecules in fine detail will help scientists better understand the mechanisms of rare nucleotides thought to play an important role in the progression of some diseases.   A review paper, led by a scientist at the University of Birmingham, describes how emerging sequencing technologies will transform our understanding of these molecules, ultimately leading to new drug targets. The paper is published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology.   Expression of genes to make protein involves making a messenger RNA molecule. Although RNA, like DNA consist of the four nucleotides, some of them carry decorations called the epitranscriptome. These modified nucleotides are important additions to the genetic code whose functions are little understood, but h…

--- Royal Society of Chemistry gathers publishers of more than 4,400 scholarly journals and tens of thousands of books in landmark commitment to reduce bias --- --- Publications range across disciplines including STEM and medicine to humanities and social sciences --- --- American Chemical Society, BMJ, Elsevier, the Royal Society, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press among those to sign up --- --- Nobel Prize-winning chemist Professor Frances Arnold endorses RSC leadership --- Publishers responsible for tens of thousands of peer-reviewed journals and books have signed an agreement to take a proactive stance against bias, as they commit to working together to better reflect the diversity of their communities and to remove barriers for under-represented groups. The joint…

BASINGSTOKE, June 15, 2020 – Eli Lilly and Company announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib, an oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor licensed from Incyte, in hospitalized adults with COVID-19. Baricitinib, is approved in 70 countries as a treatment for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Lilly expects to enroll 400 patients in the trial, with data expected in the next few months. The study will be conducted in the U.S., U.K., Europe and Latin America and includes patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV- 2 infection who have at least one elevated marker of inflammation but do not require invasive mechanical ventilation at study entry. In COVID-1…

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 10, 2020 – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the Company) today announced that through its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies (Janssen) it has accelerated the initiation of the Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of its investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant. Initially scheduled to begin in September, the trial is now expected to commence in the second half of July. Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson, said, “Based on the strength of the preclinical data we have seen so far and interactions with the regulatory authorities, we have been able to further accelerate the clinical development of our investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant. Simulta…

Abu Dhabi; June 09, 2020: Group 42 (G42), a leading AI and Cloud Computing company based in the United Arab Emirates, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies, an advanced sequencing technology company based in the United Kingdom, announced today they have developed an unprecedented population-scale technology that rapidly and accurately detects SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The end-to-end solution will be officially launched within weeks. With ultra-high parallel processing capacity, the new technology has the potential to transform the diagnostics industry globally. This innovation uses the LamPORE assay, which is based on the LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) technique and Oxford Nanopore’s rapid sequencing platform, in combination with the high-throughput automation,…

The House of Lords International Agreements Sub-Committee has today launched its first call for evidence, seeking views on the ongoing UK-US trade negotiations. The committee is seeking evidence on the full range of areas being negotiated with the US, with an initial focus on agriculture and food safety, healthcare and drug pricing, and digital trade and services. The committee is asking for submissions of written evidence to be received by Friday 26 June, but the call for evidence will remain open throughout the negotiations. Lord Goldsmith, Chairman of the Internaional Agreements Sub-Committee, said: “The International Agreements Sub-Committee has been established to scrutinise how the Government negotiates new international agreements for a post-Brexit UK. This includes new trade deals.…

Basel, May 26, 2020 — Novartis announces data from its Migraine Care pilot program which was created in collaboration with patient groups and leading experts in neurology, telemedicine and digital medicine, to provide a complementary, independent, third-party service for all Swiss-based Novartis associates living with migraine to improve their quality of life. These data have been published in the European Journal of Neurology after the 6th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology was held virtually due to COVID-19.   “The study confirms the high burden of people living and working with migraine but also demonstrates that empowering individuals can significantly increase quality of life and productivity”, said Dr. Gantenbein, Head of the Swiss Headache Society. “This further emphasize…

SAN FRANCISCO, May 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced the publication of research findings from the company’s efforts to develop therapeutics for COVID-19 in the May 18, 2020 issue of the journal Nature. The paper, entitled “Cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV2 by a human monoclonal antibody” (Pinto, et al., Nature), details the identification and characterization of S309, an antibody isolated from a patient who recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, which has been shown to prevent SARS-CoV-2 live virus infection of cells. Vir is advancing two clinical development candidates based on the S309 antibody as potential therapeutics for COVID-19, VIR-7831 and VIR-7832, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc (L…

Belfast, UK, 14 May 2020 – Almac Discovery, a member of the Almac Group, has announced an out-licensing partnership with an undisclosed biotechnology company in order to advance the development and commercialisation of one of its portfolio projects - ALM301. ALM301 is a novel, patent-protected, potent, subtype selective Akt kinase inhibitor with good pharmacokinetic properties across multiple species, and an excellent selectivity profile. It has demonstrated robust efficacy in pre-clinical prostate, breast and other cancer xenograft models, both as a single agent and in combination with standard chemotherapeutic agents, where synergy has been observed. The molecule is currently in late-stage pre-clinical development, and the partner will complete this before progressing into the clinical d…

4 May 2020 - The Medical Research Council (MRC) and independent medical research charity LifeArc are making £16m available to establish a network of centres that will offer clinical grade viral vectors, and translational and regulatory guidance to support academic-led patient trials of new gene therapies. Operating as centrally coordinated facilities, these “Gene Therapy Innovation Hubs” aim to address challenges faced by academics as they seek to progress novel gene therapy research into early stage clinical trials. These challenges include a shortage of viral vector production capacity and a complex and evolving translational pathway for gene therapies. LifeArc and the MRC will create the network by providing UK-based research organisations with grants for up to 5 years. The grants are d…

Glasgow, Scotland, 30th April 2020: A UK-based biotechnology firm has announced the discovery of two separate novel treatments for Covid-19 patients before they are put on ventilators.  They are now urgently seeking funding of £4m to accelerate safety studies and clinical trials. ILC Therapeutics has patented a new Interferon-Alpha subtype, called Interferon Alpha 14, which can be administered to patients through injection or inhalation. This natural human molecule treatment could prevent Covid-19 induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which would mean that a considerable number of patients may no longer need to be on a ventilator. Interferon Alpha 14 is the most potent antiviral interferon that exists and requires very small doses for treatment. It could also treat Covid-19 b…

University of East Anglia researchers are launching a new study to see how Covid-19 and lockdown are affecting people with bone, joint and muscle pain. Their previous research has revealed the challenges and poor health outcomes caused by social isolation and loneliness for people with conditions like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lower back pain, osteoporosis and fibromyalgia. Now, the team are looking for people with bone, joint and muscle pain to take part in a 12-week online survey to see how they are coping at this difficult time of coronavirus self-isolation. The study is being led by Dr Toby Smith, from UEA’s School of Health Sciences, and Prof Alex MacGregor, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School. Dr Smith said: “Bone, joint and muscle pain is a major cause of disability for pe…

-       Novel Carbohydrate Binding Modules (mCBMs) block entry into airway cells for a range of viruses causing respiratory tract infections -       Results show Pneumagen’s mCBMs demonstrate activity against coronaviruses   28th April 2020 – St Andrews, Scotland – Pneumagen Ltd, a University of St Andrews spinout, focused on treating infectious disease and oncology by targeting the human glycome, today announced results from three separate in vitro studies into preventing coronavirus infections including SARS-CoV-2 infection the cause of COVID-19 using Neumifil™ and other first-in-class multivalent Carbohydrate Binding Modules (mCBMs), generated using its proprietary GlycoTarge™ platform. Working closely with Public Health England’s Porton facility, and separately the University of Glasgo…