The research, led by the University of Plymouth and published in The Lancet, has shown that antidepressant mirtazapine offered no improvement in agitation for people with dementia - and was possibly more likely to be associated with mortality than no intervention at all.
Novartis announced that it has signed an initial agreement to leverage its manufacturing capacity and capabilities to address the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding its support of the fill and finish of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Novartis will use its sterile manufacturing facilities at its Novartis Technical Operations site in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to fill at least 24 million doses in 2022. 
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action to expand the use of a booster dose for COVID-19 vaccines in eligible populations. The agency is amending the emergency use authorizations (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of a single booster dose as follows: Global Heart Hub and Novartis announced the launch of the Invisible Nation program. Invisible Nation will bring together a worldwide network of patient organizations and other stakeholders in the cardiovascular (CV) space committed to effecting systemic change in the management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The program aims to prevent many of the 15 million yearly ASCVD deaths(1) and reduce what could soon become $1 trillion in annual CV disease cost(2). 
Johnson & Johnson welcomes the U.S. government's decision to donate 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 single-shot vaccine to countries in the African Union (AU). The United States is providing these doses through COVAX, committed to the AU, under an agreement signed recently by the U.S. government, Johnson & Johnson, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. 
Petrovax Pharm, the Russian biopharmaceutical company, will participate in CPhI Worldwide-2021 - the international specialized pharmaceutical industry exhibition. This year, it will be held from 9 to 11 November in Italy (Milan) on the territory of the largest exhibition complex Fiera Milano. Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has awarded 11 new clinical trial research grants, equaling more than $25 million of funding over the next four years. The FDA's Congressionally-funded Orphan Products Grants Program awards these grants to clinical investigators to support the development of medical products for patients with rare diseases. 
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that gantenerumab, an anti-amyloid beta antibody developed for subcutaneous administration, has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of people living with Alzheimer's disease (AD).