Breaking WORLD PHARMA NEWS

Preclinical study: after heart attack, a boost in anti-inflammatory cells promoted healing

A scientific technique that rapidly increases the body's production of anti-inflammatory cells promoted healing from heart attacks in mice, according to a new study by investigators from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Once adapted to treat humans, the technique could potentially be used to repair heart muscle damage after a heart attack and be applied to a variety of inflammatory disorders.

The investigators' findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Investigation.

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Bayer and Puhe BioPharma enter into global license agreement for clinical phase I PRMT5 inhibitor

Bayer and Suzhou Puhe BioPharma Co., Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced that they have entered into a global license agreement for Puhe BioPharma's oral, small molecule PRMT5 inhibitor that selectively targets MTAP-deleted tumors. Under the agreement, Bayer obtains an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize the MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor.

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Enzyme engineering opens door to novel therapies for Parkinson's, cancers and other hard-to-target protein diseases

Scientists have long struggled to target proteins that lack defined structure and are involved in cancer, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease, and other serious illnesses. Now, a new study from Scripps Research demonstrates a proof of concept for a new strategy: engineering proteases - enzymes that cut proteins at specific sites - to selectively degrade these elusive targets with high precision in the proteome of human cells.

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New tool to boost cancer immunotherapy effects

Among other functions, the NK cells (Natural Killers, a type of lymphocyte forming part of the immune system) have the capacity to detect and eliminate cancer cells. But in some cases they cannot overcome the tumour’s defense mechanism and the cancer grows. Now, a study published in Nature Immunology, with the involvement of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Pompeu Fabra University, proposes a new approach to strengthen NK cells in their fight agaist tumour cells.

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Scientists identify potential new genetic target for sickle cell disease treatment

Scientists from Johns Hopkins Medicine and eight other institutions in the United States, Africa and Europe say they have identified a potential new gene target that could be edited to treat sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder marked by sickle-shaped red blood cells that cause intense pain and shorten lifespans.

The potential target, the FLT1 gene, contributes to the production of a protein, fetal hemoglobin, whose presence is already known to improve the lifespan of people with sickle cell disease.

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AstraZeneca enters license agreement with Alteogen

AstraZeneca and Alteogen Inc. have entered into an exclusive license agreement for ALT-B4, a novel hyaluronidase utilising Hybrozyme™ platform technology. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire worldwide rights to use ALT-B4 to develop and commercialise subcutaneous formulations of several oncology assets. Alteogen will be responsible for clinical and commercial supply of ALT-B4 to AstraZeneca.

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Roche enters into an exclusive collaboration & licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that it has entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma (Nasdaq Copenhagen: ZEAL) (CVR-no. 20045078). Under the terms of this agreement, the two companies will collaborate to co-develop and co-commercialise petrelintide, Zealand Pharma's amylin analog as a standalone therapy as well as a fixed-dose combination with Roche’s lead incretin asset CT-388.

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Keeping fit and building muscle could increase survival rates in cancer patients

Physical fitness and increasing muscle strength could reduce the mortality rate for cancer patients by between 31% to 46%, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.

Around 20 million new cancer cases were reported in 2022, with 9.7 million cancer deaths reported world-wide during the same period, with experts expecting the trend to increase in the coming decades.

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Continued medication important for heart failure patients

Patients who have been treated for heart failure and experience an improvement of their pump function, are still at higher risk of heart-related death or hospitalisation if they stop taking heart failure medications. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the top-ranked journal Circulation.

"Our finding raises awareness about the importance of implementing and not withdrawing medical treatments in daily clinical practice even if patients with heart failure experience an improvement in symptoms and pump function," says the study's last author Gianluigi Savarese,

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Newly identified bacterial protein helps design cancer drug delivery system

A previously unknown protein in a family of bacteria found in soil and the human gut microbiome has been discovered - which could help drug delivery in cancer treatment.

In a paper published in PNAS, researchers at King's College London and the University of Washington describe the unique 3D structure of this protein, which is now being used to develop cancer drug delivery systems that can target drugs to tumour sites.

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