Novartis announced that it condemns the war in Ukraine: "The continued acts of unprovoked violence are harming innocent people, and this defies our mission to improve human health globally.

"As a medicines company, we have delivered more than one million packs of antibiotics, painkillers, cardiovascular, and oncology treatments which amounts to more than USD 25 million in medical aid to maintain the supply to those who rely on these drugs in Ukraine and in the border areas where people are seeking refuge."

Therapies based on engineered immune cells have recently emerged as a promising approach in the treatment of cancer. Compared to traditional drugs, engineered immune cells are more precise and sophisticated in their ability to detect and eliminate cancer cells.

Detailed results from the PROVENT Phase III pre-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) trial showed that AstraZeneca's Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimab), formerly AZD7442, reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77% in the primary analysis and by 83% in the six month follow-up analysis, compared to placebo. There were no cases of severe disease or COVID-19 related deaths in the Evusheld group through the six-month follow-up.

New UCLA research finds that 30% of people treated for COVID-19 developed Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), most commonly known as “Long COVID.” People with a history of hospitalization, diabetes, and higher body mass index were most likely to develop the condition, while those covered by Medicaid, as opposed to commercial health insurance, or had undergone an organ transplant were less likely to develop it.

Results of a new multicenter study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that vaccination with a primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in children ages 5-11 years by two-thirds during the Omicron period.

Cancer cells can disrupt a metabolic pathway that breaks down fats and proteins to boost the levels of a byproduct called methylmalonic acid, thereby driving metastasis, according to research led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings open a new lead for understanding how tumors metastasize, or spread to other tissues, and hints at novel ways to block the spread of cancer by targeting the process.

The antibodies generated by Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine rise more slowly and decline more quickly than those generated by the Moderna vaccine, according to a new study from UVA Health. The study also finds that older recipients of the Pfizer vaccine generated fewer antibodies than did younger recipients - but this wasn't the case for Moderna, where age did not appear to be a factor.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and Sierra Oncology, Inc (Nasdaq: SRRA) announced that the companies have entered into an agreement under which GSK will acquire Sierra Oncology, a California-based, late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted therapies for the treatment of rare forms of cancer, for $55 per share of common stock in cash representing an approximate total equity value of $1.9 billion (£1.5 billion).

A new protein-based antiviral nasal spray developed by researchers at Northwestern University, University of Washington and Washington University at St. Louis is being advanced toward Phase I human clinical trials to treat COVID-19.

Designed computationally and refined in the laboratory, the new protein therapies thwarted infection by interfering with the virus' ability to enter cells.

Sanofi launches its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Board, the first-of-its-kind in the pharmaceutical industry to feature outside advisors. Sanofi’s DE&I Board will include three of the most influential voices in the DE&I space as Board members appointed for 3 years: organizational psychologist & best-selling author John Amaechi, award-winning social entrepreneur Caroline Casey, and DE&I pioneer and renowned thought-leader Dr. Rohini Anand.

Since the first reports of HIV infection in the early 1980s, multiple clinical trials have tested potential vaccines against the virus, but unfortunately, HIV has numerous defense mechanisms that prevent a person's immune system from mounting an effective response following HIV vaccination. An alternative anti-HIV strategy called Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis (VIP) designed by researchers at the

The average person will take more than 600 million breaths over the course of their life. Every breath stretches the lungs’ tissues with each inhale and relaxes them with each exhale. The mere motions of breathing are known to influence vital functions of the lungs, including their development in babies, the production of air-exchange-enhancing fluid on their inner surfaces, and maintenance of healthy tissue structure.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and ReViral Ltd. announced today that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire ReViral, a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel antiviral therapeutics that target respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Licorice is more than a candy people either love or hate - it may play a role in preventing or treating certain types of cancer, according to researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Gnanasekar Munirathinam and his research team are studying substances derived from the licorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra to determine if they could be used to prevent or stop the growth of prostate cancer.

Novartis announced the introduction of a new organizational structure and operating model designed to support the company’s innovation, growth, and productivity ambitions as a focused medicines company in the coming decade.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) and has granted Priority Review for Actemra®/RoActemra® (tocilizumab) intravenous for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalised adults who are receiving systemic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

While cancer therapies targeting specific genes or disease pathways have extended lives, they can also lead to highly resistant tumors when small reservoirs of cancer cells survive treatment, grow, and spread.

Searching for ways to extend the survival benefit of targeted therapies, a team led by researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute identified a potential new tactic to disrupt the repair mechanism that cancer cells use after treatment, blunting their ability to regenerate.

EMA, in collaboration with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), has launched the Cancer Medicines Forum (CMF). Bringing together representatives from academic organisations and the European medicines regulatory network, the forum aims at advancing research into optimising cancer treatments and will contribute to foster high standards in cancer care in the European Union (EU).

A Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating various additional COVID-19 booster shots has begun enrolling adult participants in the United States. The trial aims to understand if different vaccine regimens - prototype and variant vaccines alone and in combinations - can broaden immune responses in adults who already have received a primary vaccination series and a first booster shot.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced the donation of additional medicines and diagnostics to Ukraine.

Beyond the already communicated 150,000 packs of an antibiotic medicine the new donation includes another 4,600 packs of specialized medicines for the treatment of influenza, rheumatoid arthritis, SMA and various cancers.