Today Stories

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…

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…

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…

Today the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has awarded £100 million to fund a Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre to accelerate production of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. The centre, located in Braintree, Essex, is due to open in December 2021 and will have the capacity to produce millions of doses of vaccines. An additional £4.7 million will be awarded for upskilling in advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing. The funds will be utilised to expand existing training facilities and develop a virtual learning platform to address the demand for skills in the UK cell and gene therapy industry. Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the BioIndustry Association (BIA) commenting on the funding for the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult said: “The funding will he…

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…

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…

DANBURY, Conn. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IQVIA™ (NYSE:IQV) has announced its collaboration with AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) to accelerate development of a potential new vaccine for COVID-19. This joint initiative is part of the U.S. government’s recently announced Operation Warp Speed project. Operation Warp Speed is part of a broader strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. The specific IQVIA and AstraZeneca collaboration will drive faster delivery of clinical studies in the U.S. aimed at demonstrating efficacy of AstraZeneca’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222. This initiative includes an expansive subject study, which is expected to begin enrolling participants this summer and wil…

Edinburgh, UK, July 14, 2020 – Macomics Ltd, an immuno-oncology company with world-leading expertise in macrophage biology, launches today with a £3.2 million seed financing round led by transatlantic VC Epidarex Capital, with the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, also investing. Company formation and in-licensing of the technology has been facilitated by Edinburgh Innovations, the commercialisation service for the University of Edinburgh. Macomics, which was spun out from the University of Edinburgh, will use the proceeds of this fundraising round to develop novel, first-in-class immunotherapies designed to modulate macrophages, increasing the body’s immune defence against tumours.  Macomics’ approach is based on leading academic research around macropha…

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…

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…

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…

London, 30 June, 2020 – Freeline, a biotechnology company focused on developing curative gene therapies for chronic systemic diseases, today announced the closing of a $120 million extended Series C financing. The financing augments Syncona’s previously announced Series C investment in Freeline of $40 million (£30.6 million) with an additional $80 million (£61.2 million) of new capital. The round was led by Novo Holdings A/S, Eventide Asset Management and Wellington Management Company, with additional participation from Cowen Healthcare Investments, Acorn Bioventures and Ample Plus Fund. Freeline expects to use the proceeds from the financing to bring its lead program in Haemophilia B into a pivotal trial, as well as to continue its Phase 1/2 clinical program for Fabry Disease and further…

New UK fund cornerstoned by £50 million investment from the British Business Bank, through its Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme Epidarex Capital III UK LP will invest in new life science companies from emerging research hubs across the UK, including spinouts from highly regarded universities Edinburgh, UK, 22 June 2020 - Epidarex Capital (“Epidarex”), a transatlantic life science venture firm, announces that it has closed Epidarex Capital III UK LP (the “Fund”) at £102.1 million. The Fund will build new life science companies based on world-class research and innovation from emerging hubs across the UK, including spinouts from highly regarded universities. Typical initial investments will range from £2 million to £5 million. The new Fund has been cornerstoned by the British Busin…

--- 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…