Today Stories
Craigavon, N.I., 26 September 2019 – Almac Diagnostic Services, a member of the Almac Group, will launch the complete version of claraT at the ESMO Congress in Barcelona on 27th September. The Almac claraT Total mRNA Report content has expanded considerably from the initial version launched the previous year at the ESMO Congress. The complete version now includes 92 gene expression signatures, 100 single gene drug targets and over 7,000 additional biology linked genes, categorised by all 10 Hallmarks of Cancer.
The innovative claraT Total mRNA Report benefits both academic and biopharma biomarker discovery and translational researchers by saving them valuable time in analysing gene expression data and helping to maximise the understanding of their dataset. claraT analyses multiple publishe…
From today, for the very first time, millions of people in the UK and world-wide can access a new app purposefully designed to help them cope with the physical and psychological impact of cancer. Natia is the first app to incorporate the holistic programmes of Yoga, Meditation, Music, and Conversation, to provide individuals affected by cancer with support along the whole care pathway - emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Natia is supported by the UK cancer charity, Maggie’s Centres, who assisted with the development of the app, alongside cancer patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals, who also successfully tested the app. This co-creation approach to development has helped ensure that Natia meets the needs of the individuals it aims to support and provides a truly unique s…
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)…
-Semma’s unique investigational approach combines robust production process of pancreatic islet cells with proprietary delivery system to restore insulin secretion in type 1 diabetes patients-
-Semma to be acquired for $950 million in cash-
BOSTON & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 3, 2019-- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) today announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement under which Vertex will acquire Semma Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company pioneering the use of stem cell-derived human islets as a potentially curative treatment for type 1 diabetes, for $950 million in cash. Semma has demonstrated a differentiated approach to treat type 1 diabetes, a serious disease affecting over one million people in the United Stat…
The ABPI has launched new guidance to make sure that joint working between the NHS and industry delivers ‘a triple win’ in benefits for patients, the NHS and companies.
The guidance sets out a ten-step process to scope, set up and monitor joint working projects, while making sure they are completely transparent for patients and the public.
Examples of joint working projects include:
Identification of undiagnosed patients
Improving patient adherence to medicines
Contributions to nurse services
Increasing NHS system capacity to treat patients
Joint working projects are defined as being situations where pharmaceutical companies, the NHS and others pool skills, experience and resources for the joint development of patient-centred projects.
Launching the guidance, ABPI Chief Executive Mike T…
DE BEERS GROUP SUPPORTS MALARIA DIAGNOSTICS START-UP IN FIGHT TO RID AFRICA AND THE WORLD OF MALARIA
South African medical tech start-up, ERADA Technology Alliance, is pleased to announce it has received a €288,000 foundation grant from De Beers Group to support its pioneering work on the world’s first ever saliva-based rapid diagnostic test for malaria.
The foundation grant will prove instrumental in ERADA’s final stages of work prior to the diagnostic tool’s global launch planned to coincide with World Malaria Day next April.
The saliva-based diagnostic tool, whose technical name is Saliva-based Malaria Asymptomatic and Asexual Rapid Test (SMAART) for subclinical infection, is due to be marketed under the brand SALVA! and will complete its field trials before full commercialisation and d…
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…
Responding to news that Sir. Andrew Dillon is to step down as NICE CEO in March next year, ABPI CEO Mike Thompson said:
"He has played a central role in building the credibility of the organisation, insisting on transparent processes, and a continuous dialogue with all stakeholders, recognising that as the science evolves, NICE needs to evolve too.
As a result of this leadership, there is a consensus across industry about the central role of NICE in assessing all medicines, ensuring that patients have a right to access the treatments they need.
Hugely respected by all, we thank and congratulate Andrew on his outstanding achievements at NICE, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours”.
The NHS has saved hundreds of people from sepsis thanks to better use of digital technology in hospitals.
In a major nationwide push to tackle the condition, including a one hour identification and treatment ambition, new ‘alert and action’ technology is being introduced which uses algorithms to read patients’ vital signs and alert medics to worsening conditions that are a warning sign of sepsis.
Sepsis – also known as blood poisoning – is a life-threatening response to an infection in the body, where the immune system damages tissues and organs.
Three leading hospitals are using alerts to help identify sepsis and tell doctors when patients with the serious condition are getting worse, ahead of the measures being rolled out across England as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
NHS leaders in C…
A study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland demonstrated that a recently described T-cell subset, so-called peripheral T helper cells, may have a role in the development of type 1 diabetes. The frequency of circulating peripheral T helper cells was observed to be increased both in children with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes and in healthy children who later progressed to type 1 diabetes. The study was published in the journal Diabetologia.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that typically manifests in childhood. In type 1 diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system. In addition to genetic susceptibility, the appearance of autoantibodies in blood is predictive of future development of type 1 diabetes.
The appearance of auto…
An innovative partnership is transforming the lives of young people with learning disabilities in London.
Ten students have recently graduated through the collaboration between DFN Project SEARCH and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with four graduates already in full-time employment.
1000 young people have now graduated and secured full-time employment through DFN Project SEARCH programmes in the UK.
DFN Project SEARCH CEO Maura Lynch said: “Our partnership at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital is changing lives for the better.”
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An innovative partnership is helping to change the lives of young people with learning disabilities in London.
DFN Project SEARCH is working with Moorfield’s Eye Hospital to trans…
More than 150,000 members of the public and more than 50 health leaders are calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take action now to address the escalating crisis in care.
In what is believed to be the largest petition of its kind, the Prime Minister is urged to end the swingeing cuts in social care that have left around 1.4 million older people in England unable to access the care and support they need.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, NHS leaders welcome his commitment to ‘fix the crisis in social care once and for all’. They have pledged their support and are calling for:
Cross-party talks to help deliver a more sustainable social care system, backed up by a long-term financial settlement.
Immediate funding increases in the upcoming one-year government spending review that…
Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics, Nick Ville, director of membership and policy at the NHS Confederation, said: “These figures show the health service is still struggling to climb out of the morass created by a decade of austerity. Year on year, the demands made on frontline services continue to grow, with attendances at A&E significantly higher than at this time last year. Our dedicated staff do all they can for patients, but they are being stretched to breaking point.“This week’s announcement of additional investment in the NHS is welcome, as the money is desperately needed to modernise services and to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. But the government must complete the ‘unfinished business’ of the funding settlement for the health and care syst…
In Vitro Approach Provides Predictive Platform for Human-Based Drug Discovery
NEW YORK, August 6, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Researchers from TARA Biosystems, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today published data demonstrating that TARA’s engineered heart-on-a-chip system replicated drug responses found in adult humans. The findings, published in the Journal of Toxicological Sciences, show TARA’s 3D-cardiac tissue platform can predict how human hearts will respond to a wide range of drugs, something that has been a challenge in pre-clinical models until now.
“The cardiac tissues generated in the study are the first to provide high-fidelity human drug responses and demonstrate the potential for evaluating the safety and efficacy of new therapies in preclinical development,” said Michael P. Gra…
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…
Supporting the NHS on its decade-long journey towards an integrated health and care system, as well as delivering extra investment for new buildings and infrastructure, social care and addressing major gaps in NHS staffing, should be at the top of the new Prime Minister’s priority list.
That is the call today from the NHS Confederation in a letter and briefing to the Prime Minister. The NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, says there is much ‘unfinished business’ for the new government to resolve in the health and care sector.
The letter warns the Prime Minister that the question of NHS funding is not yet settled, despite the £20.5bn funding settlement that kicked in from April this year. The settlement excluded some vital areas of expenditure tha…
MR Solutions has received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of the company’s innovative PET imaging technology for use in pre-clinical research. MR Solutions already holds Queens Awards for innovation in 2016 and for export achievement in 2017.
MR Solutions has been the world leader in new developments in pre-clinical scanning firstly with the world’s first liquid helium free high field scanners and secondly the introduction of multi-modality scanners incorporating MRI with PET or SPECT and CT with PET or SPECT.
The Queens award was for the PET module which used the latest technology in silicon photomultipliers. This advanced technology improved performance and substantially shrank the size of the PET scanner. MR Solutions’ PET scanner can now be inserted within…
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) today announced that Jonathan Symonds will succeed Sir Philip Hampton as Non-Executive Chairman of the GSK Board with effect from 1st September 2019.
Jonathan is currently Deputy Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc and has been an independent non-executive Director of HSBC since April 2014. He is a former Chief Financial Officer of Novartis AG and AstraZeneca plc, and has been a non-executive Director of Diageo plc and QinetiQ plc. He is currently non-executive Chairman of Proteus Digital Health Inc, a non-executive director of Rubius Therapeutics Inc and Chairman of Genomics England Limited.
The appointment was approved by the Board and follows a thorough succession process undertaken by the Nominations Committee, led by Vindi Banga, the company’s Senior Independ…
NEW YORK, July 22, 2019 (Newswire.com) - InvestAcure, PBC, honored 10 leading bioindustry scientists with the Cure Coin Award for their outstanding work developing groundbreaking scientific discoveries into lifesaving therapeutics for Alzheimer's, CTE and other related Dementias. The award reception took place on July 15, during the 2019 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles.
"The Cure Coin Award aims to bring public attention to the vital work of leading industry scientists developing lifesaving treatments," said Max Tokarsky, the founder and CEO of InvestAcure, a Public Benefit, Finance company building a spare-change investment platform to facilitate public investment in companies working on developing effective therapeutics for Alzheimer’s.
While govern…
