NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Oxford Nanopore Technologies said today that it has raised £100 million ($140 million) in new funding from a number of international investors, bringing its total raised so far to £451 million.

The funding round includes investments from GIC in Singapore, CCB International in China, Hostplus in Australia, and existing investors.

The company plans to use the new capital to build a manufacturing facility near Oxford, to grow its commercial team, and to support the development of nanopore platforms. The new 34,000 square-foot manufacturing facility will go up on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus near Oxford and will be used to manufacture and distribute the company's DNA and RNA sequencing products.

"Oxford Nanopore has a unique business model of providing accessible, real-time DNA-analysis technologies that can be applied to pocket-sized or industrial installations. We believe this will continue to drive growth in their user base as well as in new applications for DNA or RNA sequencing," said Bryan Yeo, chief investment officer of public equities at GIC, in a statement. "This investment reflects our confidence in the global demand outlook for DNA information across many industries over the long term."

Read more: https://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/oxford-nanopore-raises-100m-international-investors#.WrEwl2Z0cnM

Donald Trump has once again promised to lower the cost of prescription drugs, this time saying he will roll out proposals to bring down prices in the next month.

The president spoke out alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a brief stop in New Hampshire to discuss the opioid crisis.

"If you compare our drug prices to other countries in the world, in some cases it's many times higher for the exact same pill or whatever it is, in the exact same package made in the exact same plant,” Mr Trump said. “We're going to change that."

Trump promises to go after drug dealers and opioid manufacturers
Mr Azar promised he would soon debut a “whole slate” of proposals focused on decreasing the price of prescription drugs and bringing discounts from “the middlemen” down to consumers.

The secretary did not lay out any concrete proposals, but praised UnitedHealthcare’s recent decision to pass the discounts it receives from pharmaceutical companies directly to consumers.

Read more:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-prescription-drug-prices-promises-to-lower-opioid-crisis-speech-pharmaceuticals-a8264246.html

Roche’s Tecentriq has met its targets in a clinical trial involving previously-untreated people with a form of advanced squamous lung cancer, stealing a march on its immuno-oncology rivals.
The phase III IMpower131 study showed that adding the PD-L1 inhibitor to standard first-line chemotherapy with carboplatin and Celgene’s Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) in patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) reduced the risk of disease worsening or death compared to chemotherapy alone.
There has been no impact on overall survival so far, the trial’s other primary endpoint, and Roche says it is continuing the study as planned. According to clinicaltrials.gov the primary completion date for the study is in August with follow-up until February 2023.

Read more: http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/new_data_could_put_roches_tecentriq_first_in_squamous_lung_cancer_1228404

Influenza vaccination targets across Europe are being missed by almost 60 million people per year, the Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination has said.

Concerted action is needed to increase seasonal vaccination coverage across the European Union (EU), according to a coalition of medical and scientific organisations.

The Steering Group on Influenza Vaccination has launched the ‘EU Manifesto on Influenza Vaccination’, outlining several key steps needed to boost vaccination rates and protect the most vulnerable people.

The manifesto calls for better exchange of good practice and interprofessional collaboration at a European level.

Read more: https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/news/call-for-better-influenza-vaccine-uptake-across-europe/20204554.article

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. VAR recently announced that it has received regulatory clearances from the U.S. antitrust authorities and the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) for the $1.3-billion acquisition of Sirtex Medical Limited.

In a bid to become the global leader in multi-disciplinary integrated cancer-care solutions, Varian Medical signed an agreement to acquire the Australia-based global life sciences company on Jan 29.

Read more: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/varian-medical-receives-regulatory-nod-for-sirtex-buyout-cm935308

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It has been announced that Amazon has recently appointed healthcare magnate Taha Kass-Hout to its healthcare team, reportedly named 1492.

With extensive experience across the healthcare sector, Kass-Hout is set to work alongside Babak Parviz to further Amazon’s various projects in this space.

Working as Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Health and Intelligence Officer at Trinity Health up to May last year, Kass-Hout was responsible for setting the vision, strategic direction and overall oversight of data, analytics and digital health initiatives, according to LinkedIn.

Previously, he also worked as FDA’s first Chief Health Informatics Officer for over three years.

Amazon is slowly moving into the healthcare sector, with the launch of its Alexa assistant, which is now harnessed within a number of healthcare initiatives. Additionally, the company’s recent partnership with J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway highlights the e-commerce giant’s increased interest in healthcare, yet is keeping its own internal operations under wraps.

Read more: http://www.healthcareglobal.com/people-and-skills/amazon-appoints-fdas-first-fda-chief-health-informatics-officer-its-health-team

Lupin rose 0.36% to Rs 765 at 15:09 IST on BSE after securing US drug regulator's approval for a generic drug indicated for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in patients 18 years of age or older.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 19 March 2018.
Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 290.66 points or 0.88% at 32,885.34.

Read more: http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-cm/lupin-inches-up-after-fda-nod-for-generic-drug-118031900492_1.html

Science 37, a trailblazing company focused on “site-less” clinical trials, announced today a strategic alliance with Novartis that will support the development of its new decentralized clinical trial (DCT) offerings. This three-year commitment will enable a more extensive portfolio of trials powered by the Network Oriented Research Assistant (NORA®), Science 37’s proprietary technology platform that enables patients to participate in clinical research regardless of their geographical location using mobile devices and telemedicine services.

Read more :https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180306006783/en/Science-37-Novartis-Sign-Strategic-Alliance-Advance

An estimated 78,000 cancer patients are not properly tested each year in the United States alone and are possibly not getting access to potentially lifesaving medications.

New research uncovers a brain receptor that could explain why some people experience major depressive disorder after a stressful event, while others do not.

Recently, an increasing amount of studies have been focusing on the neurological causes of depression, which is a psychiatric condition affecting more than 16 million adults in the United States.

Only a few months ago, one such study pointed out that depression originates in brain areas associated with memory and reward.

And, just a few days ago, another study laid out an electrical brain map of depression that could predict who develops the condition.

Now, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in Jupiter, FL, may have uncovered a new drug target for the treatment of depression.

Scienitsts led by Kirill Martemyanov, Ph.D. — co-chair of the TSRI Department of Neuroscience — focused on a brain receptor called GPR158 after they noticed that levels of the GPR158 protein were very high in people with depression.



Read more: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321109.php

Scientists have discovered a promising new type of therapy for bile duct cancer – a deadly disease which in most cases is inoperable and incurable.

New Hsp90 inhibitor drugs, which work by destroying several cancer signals at once, were particularly effective at killing bile duct cancer cells when grown in dishes or transplanted into mice.

The team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, also uncovered a marker indicating whether cancers were likely to respond well to the treatment.

Cancers that produced a small molecule of RNA called MIR21 seemed able to resist treatment more than those with low levels.

Testing for MIR21 could help judge whether a patient’s cancer was likely to respond to Hsp90 inhibitors, while future drugs that block MIR21 production could be used in combination with Hsp90 inhibitors to increase sensitivity in tumours with high MIR21.


Read more: https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/news/promising-new-class-of-drugs-for-bile-duct-cancer-298174

Bacteria could be programmed to efficiently produce drugs, thanks to breakthrough research into synthetic biology using engineering principles, from the University of Warwick and the University of Surrey.

Led by the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre at Warwick's School of Engineering and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, new research has discovered how to dynamically manage the allocation of essential resources inside engineered cells -- advancing the potential of synthetically programming cells to combat disease and produce new drugs.

The researchers have developed a way to efficiently control the distribution of ribosomes -- microscopic 'factories' inside cells that build proteins that keep the cell alive and functional -- to both the synthetic circuit and the host cell.

Read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305130425.htm

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed a technique that allowed them to determine at diagnosis whether children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia would relapse following treatment.

The method, described in a paper publishing online March 5 in Nature Medicine, predicted relapse in the cohort they examined with 85 percent accuracy, a significant improvement from 66 percent accuracy achieved by the current risk stratification method used at diagnosis. The method examines cancer cells one at a time using mass cytometry, a technique developed by Garry Nolan, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology and a senior author of the study. Using data on the cells' stage of development and signaling behavior, the scientists figured out how to identify a tiny subset of malignant cells that, if present, predisposed a patient to relapse.

Read more: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/sm-rir022718.php

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing with standard review the Jazz Pharmaceutical’s New Drug Application (NDA) seeking marketing approval for solriamfetol, an investigational medicine for the treatment of excessive sleepiness in adult patients with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for an FDA decision is December 20, 2018.

Read more: http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2018/03/fda-accepts-jazz-pharmaceuticals-new-drug-application-solriamfetol-jzp-110-excessive-sleepiness-associated-narcolepsy-obstructive-sleep-apnea/

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pharmaceutical issuer Kimia Farma has acquired a new subsidiary after acquiring 60 percent stake in Saudi Arabia's Dawaa Medical Limited Company. President director Honesti Basyir said the acquisition is a step to expand the company's market to the Middle East and Africa.

"We want to work on all the potentials that exist in Saudi Arabia," he said in Jakarta, Monday, March 5.

Kimia Farma made the acquisition by investing Rp130 billion in capital. The corporate action was carried out under Dawaa Medical's rights offering.

Read more: http://bit.ly/2FYgJOG

Biogen and AbbVie are withdrawing their multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Zinbryta (daclizumab) from global market after reports of eight cases of serious brain inflammation.The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started an Article 20 referral procedure after reports of inflammatory encephalitis and meningoencephalitis.

Seven cases of serious inflammatory brain disorders including encephalitis and meningoencephalitis have been reported in Germany while the other case has come from Spain.

Read more: http://regulatoryaffairs.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/news/biogen-abbvie-pull-out-ms-drug-zinbryta-over-brain-inflammation-reports-050318-6071900

The UK medicines regulator has said that new patients should not be prescribed Gedeon Richter’s Esmya while an EU safety probe is ongoing.
In December, the EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) started a review of the treatment for abnormal bleeding in women with uterine fibroids after four cases of serious liver injury - three resulting in a liver transplant - were reported among users of the drug.

Read more: http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/mhra_suspends_new_prescriptions_of_fibroid_drug_esmya_1223141

People who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma have to pin their hopes for the future on advances in medicine, and that largely means on new cancer drugs. Despite the fact that the number of diagnosed cases of malignant mesothelioma are expected to rise in the next decades, there has been little real progress in available treatments, and the chemotherapy drug used to treat the disease is the same one that has been used for the last several years. Though there is a natural push for new drugs to be brought to the market more quickly, the co-founder of a well known cancer drug development company says that there’s a need for a change in attitude among researchers, and that there needs to be a greater emphasis for safety in the earliest stages of drug development rather than in the end stages.

Read more: https://mesothelioma.net/mesothelioma-news/cancer-drug-developer-says-safety-must-prioritized-drugs-cancers-including-mesothelioma/

The U.S. FDA has removed 2,546 medical device establishments from its active registration database. As of Feb. 19, the FDA database contained 24,578 registered establishments, compared to 27,124 registered establishments on Feb. 2.

So why did FDA remove the registrations?

Establishments are typically removed due to failure to renew their annual FDA registrations. FDA requires medical device establishments to renew their registrations between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year. Within two or three months, FDA typically removes any establishments that do not properly renew.

Read more: https://www.medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com/fda-removed-10-medtech-establishments-registration-database-heres/

A Cyprus-based company, NnBU holdings, announced Monday it intends to raise EUR 15 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) to fund the development of a blockchain-linked medical device and medical records system. The device is a neonatal birth unit designed to improve health outcomes for babies born by Caesarean section, “C-section.”

The medical technology used in the device, now in concept phase, is patented, according to NnBU’s press release announcing the ICO. Funds will go toward development and marketing to hospitals and clinics internationally. The release did not specify which countries or regions NnBU intends to target first for regulatory approval and distribution.

The NnBU device is designed to simulate natural birth. It is designed to massage the torso of a newborn delivered by C-section, which simulates “natural stresses,” and focus light on the newborn’s fontanel. This is designed to set a comfortable waking process C-section babies, who are typically born asleep, according to the NnBU release.

Read more: http://www.the-blockchain.com/2018/02/21/nnbu-plans-e15m-ico-fund-chain-neonatal-medical-device/

LAVAL, QC, Feb. 20, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Prometic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) (OTCQX: PFSCF) ("Prometic") today provided an update regarding its clinical development programs and confirmation of its priorities regarding its lead drug candidates.

PBI-4050 and follow-on analogs, PBI-4547 & PBI-4425

"Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is now priority No.1 for PBI-4050" stated Pierre Laurin, President and CEO of Prometic. "IPF remains to this day a significant unmet medical need affecting hundreds of thousands of patients with an established market value measured in $billions. The clinical efficacy demonstrated so far in multiple phase 2 clinical trials combined with an impressive safety and tolerability profile gives us great confidence in PBI-4050's ability to efficiently address fibrotic diseases."

Read more: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/prometic-announces-realignment-of-its-clinical-program-priorities-for-2018-674637943.html

Source: University of Johannesburg
Summary:
Researchers can now remove a common anxiety drug from recycled water and wastewater, using low-cost titanium dioxide nanofibers. In cities running out of water, removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater in a simple, low cost way is becoming a priority.

Read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180220102411.htm

Heavy alcohol drinking during adolescence leads to long-lasting structural and genetic changes in the brain that can be reversed with a short course of the Alzheimer's drug donepezil (multiple brands), preliminary research suggests.
The current study identifies both neuromorphologic changes and changes in gene expression that suggest specific mechanisms by which alcohol exposure during adolescence may alter hippocampal function. The researchers, from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, also identified an anticholinesterase agent that reverses those effects in adulthood, long after the last exposure to alcohol.
The study was published online February 15 in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Read more: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/892867

For a few years, there's been a new drug on everybody's lips when it comes to depression treatment: ketamine. Ketamine is used both as an anesthetic and as a hallucinogenic drug, but has held promise as a potential therapy for treatment-resistant depression — only, scientists haven't been able to figure out why. But new research has shed new light on how ketamine affects your brain to help bust depression. And that's great news for depression sufferers, because the more we understand ketamine, the more we can test its wider use.

In 2014, Oxford scientists tested ketamine on 28 people whose depression had totally refused to lift despite every conventional treatment on the books — therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and everything else currently legalized for treating depression. The results were seriously promising: 30 percent of the patients felt a considerable lift in their symptoms that lasted at least a couple of weeks.

Read more: https://www.bustle.com/p/how-does-ketamine-affect-the-brain-new-research-is-shedding-light-on-why-the-drug-is-helpful-for-depression-8271375