The Australian government has begun its closely watched independent review of the health technology assessment (HTA) process in the country, and it delivered a first peek at what it will consider. This independent review of the HTA system is the first of its kind in nearly 30 years.
Australian biotech company Ferronova Ltd. has secured AU$11 million (US$7.7 million) to advance its nanoparticle platform to assist surgeons more accurately locate and remove malignant cells during treatment of gastrointestinal and brain tumors.
The discovery of two new sarcoma-specific pathways and 14 new genes that predispose people to heritable sarcomas could pave the way to managing cancer risk early via detection of these mutations for this rare type of cancer. Sarcomas are rare connective tissue malignancies mostly derived from embryonic mesoderm and affect younger people.
Vaxxas Pty. Ltd. and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) signed a partnership agreement to develop Vaxxas’ vaccine-patch delivery technology in a project that could end the need for frozen storage of mRNA vaccines.
Immunotherapy company Cartherics Pty Ltd. is leading a consortium that received a AU$5.4 million (US$3.6 million) grant from the Medical Research Futures Fund to develop a new approach to enhance cancer therapy by engaging the patient’s own immune system to complement CAR cell therapy.
Medical technology company Synchron Inc. completed an AU$110 million (US$73.9 million) series C round that will allow the company to conduct a feasibility study and pivotal trial of its implantable brain computer interface that can interpret and stimulate parts of the brain.
A feasibility study conducted by the University of Queensland (UQ) confirmed the utility of Inoviq Ltd.’s exosome-based ovarian cancer screening test for isolating extracellular vesicle (EV) biomarkers. The Ovarian Cancer 97 study (OC97) screened data from 97 plasma samples and identified significant differences between the EV biomarker content of ovarian cancer and healthy control samples.
Vaxxas Pty. Ltd. raised AU$34 million (US$23 million) to advance its needle-free COVID-19 vaccine program, which began in early November, and readouts from the study are expected in late February or early March, Vaxxas CEO David Hoey told BioWorld. The COVID-19 vaccine patch is based on the company’s high-density microarray patch technology that delivers Hexapro, a second-generation version of the spike protein used in all major U.S.-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
When a drug prevents bacteria from synthesizing their own folate, an essential compound for their survival, they take it directly from the host. This antibiotic resistance mechanism had not been detected until now because bacteria behave differently in the laboratory than they do in vivo during an infection.
Global interest in radiopharmaceuticals is growing, and some big deals in the space have sparked interest in the last few years. Novartis AG has spent about $6 billion in acquisitions and is seen as the global leader.