The Gates Foundation is joining with other philanthropic funders in launching an initiative to develop small-molecule antiviral drugs to lay in as part of preparations for the next pandemic.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Audere, Medical Diagnostech, Nexstim, Royal Philips.
An analysis of brain scans of participants in the UK Biobank has shown there are significant differences between the condition of the brain before and after mild COVID-19 infection. These included a reduction in overall brain size, reduction in grey matter thickness in the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampal gyrus, and changes in markers of tissue damage in regions functionally connected to the primary olfactory cortex. Infected participants also showed, on average, a larger cognitive decline than participants who had not contracted COVID-19.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Axonics, Quotient, Saluda Medical, Sense.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Clinithink, Fox Biosystems, Harald AI, Heartbeat Health, Immunovia, Katalyst Diagnostics, Macatt Medica, Pixcell, Vygon.
The world’s largest genomics study in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 infections has uncovered 16 new genetic variants associated with severe disease and drawn up a roadmap for research into new therapies and diagnostics. The research involved comparing the complete genome sequences of 7,491 patients admitted to 224 intensive care units in the U.K. against those of 48,400 participants in Genomics England’s 100,000 Genomes project, and of a further 1,630 people who had mild COVID-19. While some of the gene variants found in the Genomicc study affect the function of a protein, others influence the amount of the protein that is expressed. An example is mucin-1, where overexpression led to worse outcomes.
Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Breg, Calyx, Clinchoice, J2 Medical, Oncimmune, Premier, Tytocare.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Circa Scientific, KSL Diagnostics, SQI Diagnostics.
LONDON – The U.K. Recovery trial has added a fourth drug to the list of therapies it has shown are effective in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, demonstrating the JAK inhibitor Olumiant (baricitinib) reduces the risk of death by 13% in seriously ill patients. That effect is in addition to treatment with dexamethasone, which became standard of care after the Recovery trial showed it reduced mortality by one-third in patients on ventilators.
Two years ago, BioWorld reported on 30 therapeutics and vaccines in development for COVID-19, about 3,000 people had died from the disease, and societal lockdowns began. Today, therapeutics and vaccines have ballooned to 1,048, deaths are at 6 million, and the world remains on edge due to highly transmissible variants and breakthrough infections. One thing remains the same: Scientists still do not know where the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated.
