Breaking WORLD PHARMA NEWS

Low-cost drug shows promise for patients with life threating respiratory infections

A widely available and affordable drug has been shown to be effective in treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients, according to a new international study led by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with King's College London.

The study analysed data from almost 500 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 across six countries.

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New drug and enzyme class found to have anti-ageing properties

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London’s School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, using the simple fission yeast as a model, have shown that new TOR inhibitor rapalink-1 prolongs chronological lifespan.

The new study, published in Communications Biology journal by Juhi Kumar, Kristal Ng and Charalampos Rallis, sheds light on how drugs and natural metabolites can influence lifespan through the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) pathway.

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Pfizer to acquire Metsera and its next-generation obesity portfolio

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Metsera, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSR) announced the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Metsera, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company accelerating the next generation of medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The acquisition brings deep expertise and a portfolio of differentiated oral and injectable incretin, non-incretin and combination therapy candidates with potential best-in-class efficacy and safety profiles.

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Sugary drinks may increase risk of metastasis in advanced colorectal cancer

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows that the glucose-fructose mix found in sugary drinks directly fuels metastasis in preclinical models of advanced colorectal cancer. The study was published in Nature Metabolism.

A research team led by Jihye Yun, Ph.D., assistant professor of Genetics, studied how sugary drinks may affect late-stage colorectal cancer.

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Inhaling cannabis may greatly increase your risk of getting asthma

If you're looking to reduce your chances of developing lung disease, say experts at UC San Francisco, then it may be smart to avoid inhaling cannabis.

A new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that inhaling marijuana every day is associated with a 44% increased chance of developing asthma.

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Hundreds of new bacteria, and two potential antibiotics, found in soil

Most bacteria cannot be cultured in the lab - and that's been bad news for medicine. Many of our frontline antibiotics originated from microbes, yet as antibiotic resistance spreads and drug pipelines run dry, the soil beneath our feet has a vast hidden reservoir of untapped lifesaving compounds.

Now, researchers have developed a way to access this microbial goldmine.

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Roche enters into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 89bio

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 89bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETNB), a publicly listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of innovative therapies for the treatment of liver and cardiometabolic diseases. 89bio’s pegozafermin is a FGF21 analog currently in late-stage development for MASH in moderate and severe fibrotic patients (F2 and F3 stages) as well as cirrhotic patients (F4 stage).

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Scientists uncover key stabilizing role of small molecules

For decades, amino acids have been added to medical formulations like insulin as stabilizers: these small molecules keep proteins (i.e. larger particles) from interacting in undesirable ways. And for decades, scientists have known that this works - but not why.

Now, an international team of scientists, led by the Supramolecular Nano-Materials and Interfaces Laboratory in EPFL's School of Engineering,

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Using deep learning for precision cancer therapy

Altuna Akalin and his team at the Max Delbrück Center have developed a new tool to more precisely guide cancer treatment. Described in a paper published in Nature Communications, the tool, called Flexynesis, uses deep neural networks and evaluates multi modal data.

Nearly 50 new cancer therapies are approved every year. This is good news.

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Vitamin K analogues may help transform the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington’s disease are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons. The resulting debilitating symptoms, such as loss of memory and cognition, and motor impairment, can significantly degrade patients' quality of life, confining them to round-the-clock care. While currently used drugs help alleviate symptoms, curative treatments are lacking, thus underscoring the need for novel therapeutic strategies.

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