1. Roche launches imCORE, a global network of cancer immunotherapy centers of excellence
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has launched the global cancer immunotherapy Centers of Research Excellence (imCORE™) Network. This network brings together many of the world's leading scientific and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy to collaborate in investigating the most promising new treatment approaches. The goal is to rapidly initiate pre-clinical and clinical research based on the latest scientific discoveries and to aggregate and share data to accelerate the search for cures for people with cancer.
2. Roche delivers good sales growth in the first nine months of 2016
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) has announced that Group sales increased 4% to CHF 37.5 billion. Sales in the Pharmaceuticals Division were up 4% to CHF 29.1 billion, driven by demand for breast cancer medicines Perjeta and Herceptin as well as for Actemra/RoActemra for rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Merck announces new biopharma heads for North America and China
Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced two appointments in two regions important for its biopharma business. Gary Zieziula will lead Merck's biopharma business in North America and Marc Horn will take the helm of the biopharma business in China.
4. U.S. FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Roche's investigational medicine ocrelizumab in primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the investigational medicine ocrelizumab (OCREVUSTM) for the treatment of people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).
5. Meditation, yoga and vegetarian diet linked to decline in plasma metabolites associated with inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk
In a novel controlled clinical trial, participants in a six-day Ayurvedic-based well-being program that featured a vegetarian diet, meditation, yoga and massages experienced measurable decreases in a set of blood-based metabolites associated with inflammation, cardiovascular disease risk and cholesterol regulation.
6. Daiichi Sankyo announces commencement of clinical trials in Japan for Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (hereafter, Daiichi Sankyo) announced today that administration of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (hereafter, DMD) treatment drug DS-5141b (hereafter, the Drug), which is jointly developing with the Orphan Disease Treatment Institute Co., Ltd. (hereafter, ODTI), to the first subject has begun in the first clinical trial in Japan.
7. Type 2 diabetes drug can exhaust insulin-producing cells
Long-term use of liraglutide, a substance that helps to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, can have a deteriorating effect on insulin-producing beta cells, leading to an increase in blood sugar levels. This according to a study on mice implanted with human insulin-producing cells conducted by a team of scientists from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and the University of Miami, USA.
8. AstraZeneca completes acquisition of Takeda's respiratory business
AstraZeneca has completed the acquisition of the core respiratory business of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda"). The agreement, announced in December 2015, includes the expansion of rights to roflumilast (marketed as Daliresp in the US and Daxas in other countries), the only approved oral PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
9. Amgen builds its digital health capabilities through investment in leading digital health incubator
Amgen (Europe) GmbH, an affiliate of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) (collectively, "Amgen") today announced an investment in eHealth Ventures, an Israel-based digital health incubator. The investment reflects Amgen's commitment to serving patients by driving innovation and sustainable healthcare through technology discovery, and recognizes the importance of Israel as a source of innovation in eHealth and digital technologies.
10. A faster and cheaper way to produce new antibiotics
A novel way of synthesising a promising new antibiotic has been identified by scientists at the University of Bristol. By expressing the genes involved in the production of pleuromutilin in a different type of fungus, the researchers were able to increase production by more than 2,000 per cent.
11. FDA approves Roche's cancer immunotherapy TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) for people with a specific type of metastatic lung cancer
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TECENTRIQ® (atezolizumab) for the treatment of people with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy, and have progressed on an appropriate FDA-approved targeted therapy if their tumour has EGFR or ALK gene abnormalities.
12. Global pharmaceutical industry calls on governments to work with them to beat the rising threat of drug resistance
More than 80 leading international pharmaceutical, generics, diagnostics and biotechnology companies, as well as key industry bodies, have come together to call on governments and industry to work in parallel in taking comprehensive action against drug-resistant infections - so-called 'superbugs' - with a joint declaration launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
13. New drug clears psoriasis in clinical trials
About 80 percent of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis saw their disease completely or almost completely cleared with a new drug called ixekizumab, according to three large, long-term clinical trials led by Northwestern Medicine investigator Kenneth Gordon, MD, professor of Dermatology.
14. New compound shows promise in treating multiple human cancers
A new compound, discovered jointly by international pharmaceutical company Servier, headquartered in France, and Vernalis (R&D), a company based in the UK, has been shown by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Servier to block a protein that is essential for the sustained growth of up to a quarter of all cancers.
15. Nanoparticle-based cancer therapies shown to work in humans
A team of researchers led by Caltech scientists have shown that nanoparticles can function to target tumors while avoiding adjacent healthy tissue in human cancer patients. The findings, published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that nanoparticle-based therapies can act as a "precision medicine" for targeting tumors while leaving healthy tissue intact.
16. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer announce global real-world data program and present new analyses of Eliquis (apixaban)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that 17 abstracts will be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.16), to be held April 2-4 in Chicago, IL. The new analyses contribute to the Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Alliance's body of evidence on the use of Eliquis to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and for the treatment of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE).
17. Human medicines: highlights of 2015
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has released an overview of its 2015 key recommendations in relation to the marketing authorisations of new medicines and the safety monitoring of authorised medicines.
18. 'Beiging' white fat cells to fight diabetes
Researchers are getting closer to learning how to turn white fat cells into brown fat cells, in a process called "beiging," to bring down blood sugar levels and fight diabetes. The team, led by Joseph Baur, PhD, an assistant professor of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published their findings this month in the journal Diabetes.
19. Use of and barriers to access to opioid analgesics worldwide
Use of common opioid painkillers such as codeine, morphine and oxycodone has more than quadrupled in Australia over the past decade and doubled worldwide over the same period a report published today in The Lancet by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reveals. Yet at the same time the authors warn that the majority of countries, particularly those in developing and poorer regions have little or no access to basic pain medication and there has been little change over the decade.
20. Dangerous drug interactions uncovered with data science
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and the Data Science Institute at Columbia University have uncovered a potentially dangerous drug interaction using data science. Their findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Safe when taken on their own, some prescription drugs become deadly when combined.
PS: Best wishes for a wonderful new year filled with health, happiness, and spectacular success!