Today Stories

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…

Responding to the news that antibody testing will be given to health and care staff as a priority, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:“This could be a game changer – and it is great that we now have a reliable antibody test.“As the government acknowledges of course there are still unknowns. We don’t yet know whether antibodies mean you are immune, and if so, for how long. We also need to know whether those with antibodies can still transmit the virus.“But this will make a real difference, in understanding how and to whom the virus has spread and because it will help us to answer these pressing questions.“We very much welcome the decision to give health and care staff priority and to work with local lead…

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…

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- INOVIO (NASDAQ:INO) today announced the publication of the preclinical study data for IN0-4800, its COVID-19 DNA vaccine, demonstrating robust neutralizing antibody and T cell immune responses against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications titled, "Immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19" by INOVIO scientists and collaborators from The Wistar Institute, the University of Texas, Public Health England, Fudan University, and Advaccine. Dr. Kate Broderick, INOVIO's Senior Vice President of R&D and the Team Lead for COVID-19 vaccine development, said, "These positive preclinical results from our COVID-19 DNA vaccine (INO-4800) not only highlight the potency of our D…

Clinical Trials Day is a well-deserved ‘time out’ to recognize the people who conduct clinical trials and to say “thanks” for what they do every day to improve public health. This day of celebration also provides our community with a unique opportunity to raise awareness of clinical trials – and of clinical research as a career option – among the greater public. Clinical Trials Day is celebrated around the world in May to recognize the day that James Lind started what is often considered the first randomized clinical trial aboard a ship on May 20, 1747. According to some historians, The HMS Salisbury of Britain’s Royal Navy fleet was patrolling the English Channel at a time when scurvy is thought to have killed more British seamen than French and Spanish arms. Aboard this ship, surgeon ma…

The UK has joined the US, Europe and the World Health Organisation by including loss of smell or taste as an officially recognised symptom of Covid-19 – thanks in part to an international research project involving Professor Carl Philpott at the University of East Anglia. Led by an international delegation, the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) survey was launched in response to anecdotal reports of smell and taste loss in people who have tested positive for Covid-19. UEA smell expert Prof Carl Philpot, from Norwich Medical School, is one of the research group’s members. He has also been surveying local hospital workers during the pandemic. He said: “Our group of international smell and taste researchers united to study how, when and why people are experiencing a loss of s…

PharmiWeb is pleased to announce the launch of our IOS Job Search App for the pharma and life science sector. Even in these times, PharmiWeb’s niche job board (PharmiWeb.Jobs) maintains a vast selection of active job vacancies from countries right across Europe and into Australia. The new app is designed to help job seekers quickly search over 2500 current vacancies from more than 80 actively recruiting employers and agencies. Once installed, job seekers can save their searches, shortlist the roles or apply online using their hand held devices. Developed by our platform partner Madgex, our IOS app complements our existing Android app already available on the Google App Store. To download the IOS App to your Apple device, simply go here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/pharmiweb-jobs/id1485…

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…

Construction of the UK’s New Vaccines Centre by Glencar Construction Starts Well Ahead of Schedule as Timelines are Fast Tracked Due to Covid-19 Harwell, Oxfordshire: Work has begun ahead of schedule to build the highly specialist facility that will house the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC). VMIC, a not for profit organisation, will provide the country’s first bespoke strategic vaccine development and manufacturing capability. A rapidly accelerated programme will aim to see the 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft - footprint) state-of-the-art facility opening its doors in 2021, ahead of the original scheduled date in 2022. VMIC was established by University of Oxford, Imperial College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with support from industrial partners, Merck Sha…

Cambridge and Israeli scientists create a revolutionary air filter to capture and destroy coronavirus particles. A team of scientists and engineers from Cambridge, UK and Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Israel, have developed a revolutionary new carbon-based material that captures and destroys an animal coronavirus, a close relative of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. The Active Virus Filter in the form of a thin carbon nanotube mat (TorStranTM) has the filtration and air permeability properties which allow it to capture free virus molecules and those contained in airborne aerosolised droplets. Both filtration and virus disruption take place at the same time allowing the filter to reduce the risk of infection by removing contamination from the air. We envisage it being particularly useful in c…

Responding to the government’s promise of more tests in the care sector, Dr Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:“The offer of more tests for social care staff is desperately needed as this sector has been suffering in silence during this pandemic. But it comes as health leaders across primary, community and mental health services are continuing to experience difficulties with getting their staff the tests they need to get back to work despite similar promises being made by Government.“Things are improving but the country’s testing capacity is far from where it needs to be to meet the ambition of 100,000 a day in just over two weeks – that’s over 85,000 more tests a day than what is happening now.“We need absolute…

London, 14 April 2020 - Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, today reveals that one of the most advanced supercomputers in the world, the powerful BullSequana X1000 installed at The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre, is providing supercomputing power to assist in global computational drug discovery efforts to help combat COVID-19. The Hartree Centre team is working closely with Washington University School of Medicine who lead the Folding@home project, which allows a global community of contributors to lend unused background capacity on their personal computers to power simulations of target drug interactions. While there is plenty of compute power[1] available to run these simulations, creating the drug structures to be simulated uses complex and…

Responding to yesterday's Downing Street press briefing, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:"This is so important because frontline charities play a crucial role in supporting the NHS.“Hospices in particular are on the front line – lifeline support for them is a such a relief as they are a vital part of our healthcare system. “However, we are still worried about the fragile state of social care on which a lot of this NHS effort depends.“Extra funding for local government on top of what has already been announced, as well as extra help for private social care providers, may not sound like a priority for the NHS but health leaders tell us that it is. Every penny spent on social care and on community healt…

Researchers at the University of East Anglia are launching a new project to track the health of the nation during lockdown, and they are looking for volunteers to take part. They will monitor and track how lifestyle behaviours change as a result of the lockdown and how this affects our physical and mental health. This will be investigated against the backdrop of social and policy changes - including the lifting or tightening of lockdown measures, as the pandemic unfolds. The research will take the form of an online survey – with questions on a range of lifestyle behaviours including physical activity, diet, sleep, smoking, drinking, and drug use. The research team plan to publish their findings in a rapid response format to inform current decision making, as well as future pandemic respons…

MENLO PARK, CA (April 7, 2020) - The precision diagnostics company BillionToOne today announced a significant development in the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. BillionToOne has developed a highly accurate and cost-effective novel COVID-19 test protocol, unlocking the capacity to perform 1+ million tests per day in the United States alone. Test reagents will be available in 2 weeks, pending the manufacture of the kits and an EUA being awarded by the FDA. "We've all seen the impact this pandemic has had on every aspect of our daily lives," Dr Oguzhan Atay, the CEO of BillionToOne, said. "From the loss of lives and the damage to the economy to the strain on the healthcare system, this coronavirus has delivered a crippling blow to the country. We're honoured to be on the front line of…

PARIS and TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – March 30, 2020 – The first patient outside of the U.S. has been treated as part of a global clinical program evaluating Kevzara® (sarilumab) in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19. The global clinical program has now been initiated in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, Russia and the United States – all countries that have been impacted by COVID-19. This is the second multi-center, double-blind, Phase 2/3 trial as part of the Kevzara COVID-19 program, and the companies are continuing to work with health authorities around the world to secure initiation at additional sites. This follows Sanofi and Regeneron’s announcement earlier this month of the initiation of the first trial, which is U.S.-based. “Sanofi and Regeneron are relentlessly working to rapi…