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Opening the door to a vaccine for multiple childhood infections

World Pharma News - Fri, 11/07/2025 - 11:00
A vaccine that tackles the bacteria that cause up to 200 million childhood infections every year could be possible, experts say.

In the first study of its kind, an international team including those at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, the University of Oxford and the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit at Mahidol University in Thailand, analysed new and existing Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) genomes, from global samples collected between 1962-2023.

New cancer drug shows exceptional tumor-fighting potential

World Pharma News - Thu, 11/06/2025 - 11:00
A research team led by the Medical University of Vienna, the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences and the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest has developed a groundbreaking new chemotherapeutic agent, LiPyDau, which shows remarkable efficacy against multiple tumor types in preclinical studies. Published in the leading journal Molecular Cancer, the study introduces a highly promising strategy for tackling drug-resistant cancers.

Ingestible capsule robot: integrated diagnosis and treatment platform

World Pharma News - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 11:00
While ingestible capsule endoscopes have revolutionized digestive tract diagnosis, current capsule devices are still difficult to combine diagnostic functions (targeted biopsy) and therapeutic functions (targeted drug delivery) in one-time oral intake. Now, research has broken through this limitation by presenting a novel multichamber magnetic capsule robot (named macabot) that can selectively open specific chambers on demand for targeted liquid sampling or targeted drug release.

GLP-1 drugs effective for weight loss, but more independent studies needed

World Pharma News - Tue, 11/04/2025 - 11:00
Three new Cochrane reviews find evidence that GLP-1 drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss, but industry-funded studies raise questions. The reviews were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform upcoming guidelines on the use of these drugs to treat obesity.

The reviews, which examine the effects of three weight loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor antagonists, have found that all three drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss compared with placebo.

New switch for programmed cell death identified

World Pharma News - Mon, 11/03/2025 - 11:00
The activation and deactivation of apoptosis is a promising field of research in basic biomedical research. The team led by Prof. Franz Hagn from the Chair of Structural Membrane Biochemistry at the TUM School of Natural Sciences has now discovered a new switch: "Many research teams worldwide are working on the exciting topic of apoptosis and its targeted control. The big advantage is that we are dealing with a highly efficient, evolutionarily developed regulatory mechanism. So, we don't have to invent something completely new, but can use the appropriate structural methods to learn from nature's optimized processes."

Pfizer files lawsuit against Metsera and its directors and Novo Nordisk for breach of merger agreement

World Pharma News - Fri, 10/31/2025 - 13:00
Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Metsera, Inc., its Board of Directors, and Novo Nordisk, S.A. in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference in contract arising from Metsera’s breach of its obligations under the merger agreement between Pfizer and Metsera.

Pfizer receives early clearance from U.S. Federal Trade Commission for Metsera acquisition

World Pharma News - Fri, 10/31/2025 - 11:00
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), with respect to Pfizer’s pending acquisition of Metsera (NASDAQ: MTSR).

The termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies the regulatory review requirements under the previously announced proposed acquisition of Metsera, which was set to expire on November 7.

Pfizer addresses proposal for Metsera

World Pharma News - Thu, 10/30/2025 - 11:00
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is aware of the reckless and unprecedented proposal by Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) to acquire Metsera, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSR). It is an attempt by a company with a dominant market position to suppress competition in violation of law by taking over an emerging American challenger. It is also structured in a way to circumvent antitrust laws and carries substantial regulatory and executional risk. The proposal is illusory and cannot qualify as a superior proposal under Pfizer’s agreement with Metsera, and Pfizer is prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce its rights under its agreement.

AI-driven nanomedicine breakthrough paves way for personalized breast cancer therapy

World Pharma News - Wed, 10/29/2025 - 11:00
A comprehensive review in "Biofunct. Mater." meticulously details the most recent advancements and clinical translation of intelligent nanodrugs for breast cancer treatment. This paper presents an exhaustive overview of subtype-specific nanostrategies, the clinical benefits of FDA-approved nanodrugs, and innovative approaches to address tumor heterogeneity and treatment resistance. This serves as a foundational framework and pragmatic guide for enhancing precision-based breast cancer therapies.

Bayer's Lynkuet™ (elinzanetant) approved in the U.S. for treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause

World Pharma News - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 11:00
Bayer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved elinzanetant as the first dual neurokinin (NK) targeted therapy(1), neurokinin 1 (NK1) and neurokinin 3 (NK3) receptor antagonist, under the brand name Lynkuet™ for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS, also known as hot flashes) due to menopause. Inhibition of Substance P and Neurokinin B through antagonism of NK1 and NK3 receptor signaling on kisspeptin/neurokinin B/dynorphin (KNDy) neurons with elinzanetant can modulate neuronal activity in the thermoregulation associated with hot flashes.

Making cancer vaccines more personal

World Pharma News - Mon, 10/27/2025 - 11:00
In a new study, University of Arizona researchers created a model for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, and identified two mutated tumor proteins, or neoantigens, that contain features of good candidates for a vaccine. At the same time, they used artificial intelligence to create 3D models to help them understand and predict which neoantigens could provoke T cells, a type of white blood cell critical to the immune system, to attack the cancer.

Study finds COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sparks immune response to fight cancer

World Pharma News - Fri, 10/24/2025 - 10:00
Patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs lived significantly longer than those who did not get the vaccine, researchers have found.

The observation by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a defining moment in a decade-plus of research testing mRNA-based therapeutics designed to "wake up" the immune system against cancer.

Bias can lead to better therapies

World Pharma News - Thu, 10/23/2025 - 10:00
About one-third of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration target the largest family of cell membrane receptors called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

GPCRs are indispensable for maintaining human health as they play a role in nearly every physiological function. These receptors are embedded in the membranes of cells and detect a wide variety of biological signaling molecules arriving outside the cell.

Epigenetic reprogramming safely modifies multiple genes in T Cells simultaneously for CAR-T therapies

World Pharma News - Wed, 10/22/2025 - 10:00
Arc Institute, Gladstone Institutes, and University of California, San Francisco, scientists have developed an epigenetic editing platform that enables safe modification of multiple genes in primary human T cells, addressing a key manufacturing and scalability challenge in next-generation cell therapies. The research, published October 21, 2025, in Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates how CRISPRoff and CRISPRon can reprogram a patient’s own T cells for therapeutic purposes without the cell toxicity and DNA damage associated with traditional gene editing approaches.

Study helps to understand the role of genetics in the body weight

World Pharma News - Tue, 10/21/2025 - 10:00
Estonia's obesity rate has been steadily climbing and so have scientific efforts to understand why. New study, published in Nature Communications, takes a closer look at the genes behind body weight and how they might point toward future treatments for obesity.

For decades, scientists have sought a single "obesity gene."

Personalized brain stimulation offers new hope for people with hard-to-treat epilepsy

World Pharma News - Mon, 10/20/2025 - 10:00
Doctors and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC have developed a new treatment for epilepsy patients who don't respond to medication and aren’t candidates for surgery. Their approach, published today in Nature Communications, uses deep brain stimulation (DBS) that is tailored to each patient's unique brain wiring.

Epilepsy affects more than 50 million people worldwide, and about a third of those do not respond to medication.

New trial finds diabetes drug and nasal insulin improve brain health in  early Alzheimer's disease

World Pharma News - Fri, 10/17/2025 - 10:00
A clinical trial from Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that two widely available medications, the diabetes drug empagliflozin (Jardiance) and intranasal insulin, safely improve brain health in people with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease. The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, marks the first time empagliflozin has been tested in non-diabetic patients with Alzheimer's disease. The results show promising effects on memory, brain health and brain blood flow.

Could cardamom seeds be a potential source of antiviral treatment?

World Pharma News - Thu, 10/16/2025 - 10:00
Plant-based materials have traditionally been used to treat a variety of viral infections. Now, researchers have found that cardamom seed extract, as well as its main bioactive ingredient, 1,8-cineole, can have potent antiviral effects through its ability to enhance the production of antiviral molecules known as type I interferons via nucleic acid 'sensors' inside cells.

Plant-based treatments have traditionally been used to treat a wide range of diseases, including viral infections. Medicinal plants and herbs have been a rich source of 'bioactive' compounds (i.e. compounds that have a biological effect), which have been used by pharmaceutical companies in antiviral products.

Acarbose degradation mechanism guides design of next-generation antidiabetic drug

World Pharma News - Wed, 10/15/2025 - 10:00
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder marked by hyperglycemia. Acarbose is a potent glycosidase inhibitor widely used in the clinical treatment of T2DM. However, acarbose-preferred glucosidase (Apg) in K. grimontii TD1 degrades acarbose to acarviosine-glucose (M1) and acarviosine (M2), affecting its efficiency.

In a study published in Nature Communications, a research team led by GU Yang from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators, revealed the detailed molecular mechanism of Apg hydrolyzing acarbose.

Unlocking the blueprint for a powerful plant-based drug

World Pharma News - Tue, 10/14/2025 - 10:00
Researchers at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound that may help fight cancer.

Mitraphylline belongs to a small group of plant molecules called spirooxindole alkaloids. These compounds have unusual "twisted" ring structures and are known for their strong effects, like fighting tumours and inflammation.