Today Stories

London, 20 October 2020: GPDQ, the UK’s leading on-demand GP service, today announces the launch of London’s first private drive thru Covid-19 testing facility operating with immediate effect.  Following the wide spread demand for Covid-19 PCR tests, with people all over the country unable to receive tests in a timely manner, GPDQ has launched the service in London to meet this increased demand. If people are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, patients can book a 10 minute slot at the site in Hadley Wood using GPDQ’s online system, and the test will then be conducted using swabs on-site at the centre. Should the 24 hour result come back positive, as part of the service you will be called by a GP who will provide a consultation on how best to manage your symptoms and address and concerns the p…

UK-based Contract Research Organisation (CRO) Gentronix – the largest independent genetic toxicology CRO in Europe - has appointed a new Operations Director to accelerate its strategic growth plans.  Laura Hinton, whose previous role was as Director of Scientific Operations at Cyprotex, will join the senior executive team working alongside fellow Operations Director Nick Billinton to facilitate a ‘scale at pace’ growth strategy for the business in line with burgeoning market demand as well as growth into new markets and service areas. As a leading predictive toxicology contract research organisation, Gentronix’s work helps develop safe products used by millions of people around the world including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, fragrances, foods and cosmetics. The business has a specialis…

Survey of NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in England Key highlights: Almost 4 out of 10 (36.36 percent) of CAMHS have not adopted any new digital mental health tools to support children in need of mental health support since the onset of COVID-19. The majority (63.64 percent) of NHS CAMHS are signposting children and young people (CYP) to an online resource - rather than a proven digital intervention. 45.4 percent of NHS CAMHS believe digital therapeutics have a role to play in early intervention support. LONDON, Oct. 15, 2020, A survey of 135 NHS CCGs in England carried out by BfB Labs, a pioneer in the development of evidence-based digital therapeutics for CYP shows that almost 4 out of 10 NHS CCGs have not implemented any new digital therapeutics to support chi…

Online therapy provider Healingclouds has taken home the award for Best Mental Healthcare Platform 2020 in the SME UK Enterprise Awards. The awards celebrate a multitude of exciting and vibrant businesses and industries in small and medium enterprises. This year the team at web-based therapy platform Healingclouds have been recognised for their work in the mental health space.  Breaking down barriers people face when seeking help and support is top priority for the service, which connects users to a pool of therapists via video call, with 60 to 90 minute sessions from as little as £35. A range of therapies are available from approved and accredited practitioners, including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), psychological counselling and psychotherapy. Users can address a number of concerns…

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…

Anti-viral Alphabodies act by inhibiting viral cell fusion New class of Alphabodies with prophylactic and therapeutic potential Hasselt, Belgium, September 7, 2020 – Complix, a biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of transformative Alphabody therapeutics announces that it has been awarded a €1.2 million grant (approximately USD$1.4 million) from the Flanders government through the Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). This grant will allow Complix to accelerate the discovery and development of a novel and differentiating class of Alphabody based therapeutics against coronavirus infections.  Alphabodies represent an ideal scaffold to target the viral cell fusion mechanism based on their exceptional biophysical and structural properties. The cell fusion mec…

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…

Kancera AB (Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market: KAN) announces that screening of covid-19 patients for the clinical phase II study of KAND567 starts today. The study, which is carried out in collaboration with Capio St. Göran's Hospital and Petter Brodin's research group at SciLifeLab, aims to study the effect of KAND567 on the immune system, lung function and rehabilitation. Results from the study will be analyzed and communicated on two occasions, the first after all patients have undergone sampling after day 7, and the second after day 90. Kancera develops drugs that counteract damage in acute and chronic inflammation. The Fractalkine blocker KAND567 is primarily developed to effectively counteract hyper-inflammation in various disease states and thereby protect vital organs, e.g.…

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…

*Principia Biopharma Inc. is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi PARIS – September 28, 2020 – Sanofi announced today the successful completion of its acquisition of Principia Biopharma Inc. (“Principia”) for $100 per share in cash. “The Principia acquisition further strengthens our core areas of autoimmune and allergic diseases, giving us full control of tolebrutinib (SAR442168), as well as additional BTK inhibitors to further develop,” said Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer. “The Principia integration into Sanofi augments our small molecule research capabilities as we look to maintain leadership in the discovery and development of oral medicines for serious illnesses.” The tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Principia common stock expired as scheduled at one mi…

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 Pharmacists Day is coordinated by the International Pharmaceutical Federation to encourage pharmacists to promote and advocate for the role of the pharmacist in improving healthy living in every corner of the world. “Transforming global health” is the theme of this year’s World Pharmacists Day designed to show how pharmacists contribute to a world where everyone benefits from access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and health technologies, as well as from pharmaceutical care services.

Inflazome is a pioneering inflammasome company developing orally available NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors to address clinical unmet needs across a wide variety of inflammatory diseases   Acquisition of Inflazome gives Roche full rights to the Inflazome portfolio   Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the body is implicated in many diseases caused by chronic, uncontrolled inflammation   Inflazome shareholders received €380 million upfront, and are eligible to receive additional milestone payments   Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK), 21 September 2020: Inflazome announced today that it has closed a share purchase agreement with Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) in which Inflazome’s shareholders received an upfront payment of €380 million, and are eligible to receive additional conting…

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…

In Phase III KITE study, Beovu (brolucizumab) 6 mg achieved its primary endpoint of non-inferiority to aflibercept 2 mg in mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at year one (week 52)1  In a key secondary endpoint, more than half of Beovu patients were maintained on a three-month dosing interval through year one, following the loading phase1  Beovu showed superior improvement versus aflibercept in change of central subfield thickness, a secondary endpoint, over the period of week 40 through week 521   Beovu demonstrated an overall well-tolerated safety profile comparable to aflibercept; in addition the rate of intraocular inflammation was equivalent between Beovu and aflibercept1   Novartis actively progressing full clinical development program of Beovu, with studies across we…

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…

Daiichi Sankyo moves into new UK headquarters in Uxbridge Business park, with its new offices operational from 1 September 2020 Move marks significant investment by Japanese pharmaceutical company into the UK as it seeks to continue to expand its presence domestically Uxbridge, Tuesday 1st September 2020 – Daiichi Sankyo is today pleased to announce that it has formally relocated its UK headquarters to Uxbridge Business Park, marking a significant investment from the Japanese affiliate company. Daiichi Sankyo had previously been located at Chalfont Park in Gerrards Cross, leasing office space from June 2006 until this year. To support the ambitions to grow the organisation’s presence in the UK, Daiichi Sankyo announced in early 2020 that it would be relocating its Head Office operations…