Several FDA-approved drugs - including for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV - significantly reduce the ability of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in human cells, according to new research led by scientists at Penn State. Specifically, the team found that these drugs inhibit certain viral enzymes, called proteases, that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected human cells.

11 - 12 May 2022, London, United Kingdom.
As Part of Europe's leading Injectable conference series, this event will assess innovations in drug product formulation and biologics, new technologies in device design and the use of long-release injectable compounds.

There is a rising demand for vaccines, insulin, and many modern medicines used to treat cancer and other chronic diseases.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Jardiance (empagliflozin) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults.

Jardiance was originally approved by the FDA in 2014 as a supplement to diet and exercise to improve glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered a new role of a chromatin-modulatory enzyme, termed EZH2, during cancer development. They then developed a new therapeutic approach with a potent small-molecule inhibitor of this enzyme.

27 - 28 April 2022, Boston, USA.
SMi's 5th Annual Pharmaceutical Microbiology East Coast Conference is taking place in Boston, with interactive workshops on April 26, 2022.

Microbiology remains an essential tool in reducing microbial growth in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, to detect and eliminate microorganisms that would pose a risk to patients and jeopardise product batches.

Autoimmune diseases are triggered when the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body's own structures. Although there is not, as yet, any cure for such diseases, their progression can be slowed down by therapeutic measures. Researchers at MedUni Vienna's Center for Physiology and Pharmacology have now discovered a central signaling pathway in immune cells that may help in the development of a new therapeutic approach.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) today announced that the new company, to result from the proposed demerger of Consumer Healthcare from GSK in mid-2022, will be called Haleon.

Haleon (pronounced "Hay-Lee-On") is inspired by the merging of the words 'Hale', which is an old English word that means 'in good health' and Leon, which is associated with the word 'strength'.

Little has been known to date about how the immune system's natural killer (NK) cells detect which cells have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. An international team of scientist led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now shows that NK cells respond to a certain peptide on the surface of infected cells.

BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech") and Medigene AG (FSE: MDG1, Prime Standard, "Medigene"), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focusing on the development of T cell immunotherapies, today announced that they have entered a multi-target research collaboration to develop T cell receptor (TCR) based immunotherapies against cancer. The initial term of the collaboration is three years.

At its annual Pharma Media Day 2022, Bayer presented the latest developments in the ongoing transformation of its pharmaceuticals business, which is aimed at delivering long-term, sustainable business growth by bringing forward new options for patients.

In 2021, EMA recommended 92 medicines for marketing authorisation. Of these, 53 had a new active substance which had never been authorised in the European Union (EU) before. This is a 35% increase compared to the 39 medicines with a new active substance that were authorised in 2020. The overview of key recommendations in 2021 includes figures on the authorisation of medicines and a selection of new treatments that represent significant progress in their therapeutic areas.

A study published by The BMJ finds that COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance use, and sleep disorders, up to one year after initial infection.

The findings suggest that tackling mental health disorders among survivors of COVID-19 should be a priority.

14 - 15 March 2022, London, UK.
SMi Group presents its 3rd Annual AI in Drug Discovery Conference, taking place on the 14th and 15th March 2022 in London, UK. With the recent pandemic highlighting the need for rapid drug discovery, AI has become an area of increased interest. This is driven by the ability to discover drugs through the use of machine and deep learning.

Although fractures normally heal, bone will not regenerate under several circumstances. When bone does not regenerate, major clinical problems could result, including amputation.

To enhance the regeneration of bone, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2, or BMP-2. However, it is expensive and only moderately effective. It also produces side effects - some severe.

Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 measurably improved the psychological well-being of participants in the Understanding Coronavirus in America study, a large longitudinal look at the impact of the pandemic on individuals in the United States. Vaccination was associated with declines in distress and perceived risks of infection, hospitalization, and death.

BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech") has taken a next step to improve vaccine supply in Africa. The company has introduced its approach to establishing scalable vaccine production by developing and delivering turnkey mRNA manufacturing facilities based on a container solution.

For at least six months after COVID-19 vaccination, antibodies produced by immune cells become steadily more formidable and more precisely targeted against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study of the antibody response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine have identified a powerful combination of antivirals to treat COVID-19. The researchers showed that combining the experimental drug brequinar with either of the two drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, remdesivir or molnupiravir, inhibited growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in human lung cells and in mice.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that Actemra®/RoActemra® (tocilizumab) intravenous (IV) has been granted World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Prequalification is a confirmation by WHO that Actemra/RoActemra meets the WHO standards for quality, safety and efficacy for the treatment of COVID-19 in adults who are receiving systemic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation.

A nationwide study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the first to show that immunity against severe COVID-19 disease begins to wane 4 months after receipt of the third dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna). Waning immunity was observed during both the Delta and Omicron variant waves in similar fashion to how mRNA vaccine effectiveness wanes after a second dose.