LONDON – Industry-sponsored clinical research in the U.K. took a big hit in the pandemic and is still struggling to catch up – and to capitalize on innovative trial designs and delivery approaches that were so successful in speeding up COVID-19 studies.

Shanghai Wision AI Co. Ltd. (Wision AI) has shared positive data from a first-of-its-kind study on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) computer-aided polyp detection (CADe) system during colorectal cancer screening in a U.S. patient population. Published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, it marks the world’s first external independent randomized controlled trial of AI in the medical field conducted in the U.S.

With fresh funds and a pivotal trial underway, Sommetrics Inc. may be about to shed its sleeper status. Executives at the Vista, Calif.-based company hope to provide a quiet, effective solution to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that’s less obtrusive and better tolerated than the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines that currently dominate the market.

LONDON – A large-scale analysis of U.S. data shows that 57% of patients with a recorded diagnosis of COVID-19 subsequently presented to their physicians with symptom(s) of long COVID. In 37% of those patients, the symptoms were not reported until three to six months after they contracted COVID-19, indicating they are not persisting acute symptoms.

Reports of increased alcohol use began early in the pandemic and, with many counseling services and physicians’ offices closed or more difficult to access, therapists worried that an increasing number of patients with substance use disorders would be unable to find effective treatment. In that gloomy setting, San Francisco-based Woebot Labs Inc. reported cheering news in the October issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Prophet, Oncohost Ltd.’s artificial intelligence-driven proteomics profiling platform, predicted response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients in a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Congress 2021. While ICI can generate a significant positive response in some patients with advanced NSCLC, in others the therapy promotes tumor growth, making identification of likely responders prior to treatment critical.

Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE have announced new data that could pave the way for childhood COVID-19 vaccine programs, with findings of a trial showing their shot is safe and effective in children of 5 to 12 years of age.

A multicenter study has found that a multiplex diagnostic panel developed by Opgen Inc. can reduce the use of inappropriate antibiotic therapy by 45.1%. Opgen’s Unyvero Hospitalized Pneumonia (HPN) panel uses PCR technology that can detect 21 pathogens and 17 antibiotic resistance markers in less than five hours. During the European Respiratory Society conference, Rockville, Md.-based Opgen presented data showing that combined with antibiotic stewardship, its HPN panel decreased time on inappropriate antibiotic therapy in hospitalized patients with pneumonia at risk for Gram-negative rods.

Cureapp Inc. is ready to take the next step for its digital therapeutic app (DTA) for hypertension, after completing a late-stage clinical trial and publishing the results. The company said it is the first global trial for a therapeutic app, conducted to seek regulatory approval in the field of hypertension.