Biomarker-Informed Treatments for Gastric Cancer Patients Improve Outcomes
Use of a highly personalized approach to treatment including specific monoclonal antibodies tailored to a patient's biomarker profile improves outcomes for patients with metastatic gastroesophageal cancers, shows research from the University of Chicago.
Genomic Applications in the Fight against SARS-CoV-2
Sponsor: UltivueIn this Keynote Webinar, sponsored by Illumina, two leading researchers will show how genomic technologies are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic—Alex Greninger, MD, PhD, (University of Washington School of Medicine) and Darrell Dinwiddie PhD, (University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center).
Thermo Fisher to Buy POC Molecular Dx Provider Mesa Biotech
Mesa Biotech has developed and commercialized a PCR-based rapid point-of-care testing platform available for detecting infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Strep A.
Triple Therapy Approach for Renal Cell Carcinoma Shows Promise
Experiments in preclinical models of RCC showed that triple therapy using established treatments plus angiotensin-(1–7) can improve tumor response and significantly prolong survival, suggesting that bolstering ACE2 could improve how patients respond to VEGFR inhibitors, which often lose their effectiveness against cancers over the long term.
Trial Suggests Arthritis Drug Has No Benefits for COVID-19 Patients
Despite previous findings to the contrary, the randomized controlled trial, carried out at the Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital of São Paulo, Brazil found that adding tocilizumab to standard care appeared to increase rather than decrease deaths in COVID-19 patients, leading to the trial being stopped early.
Melanoma Vaccine from NeoVox Shows Anti-Tumor Response Four Years Later
In a Phase 1 study among eight patients with advanced melanoma who received the NeoVax vaccine, after a median of four years, all of the patients remained alive and six patients had no signs of active disease.
Lilly and Merus Join Forces to Develop Bispecific Antibodies Against Cancer
Through its Biclonics platform, Merus aims to produce novel bispecific antibodies that are capable of binding two targets, but which neither require linkers or modifications to force correct pairing of heavy and light chains, nor require fusion proteins to add functionality.
Maltese ALS Patients Have Different Genetic Mutations than Northern Europeans
A study carried out by the University of Malta shows that patients with the fatal neurological condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have different causative mutations to patients from Northern Europe.
Syntegra, NIH, Gates Foundation Partner on COVID-19 Synthetic Patient Data
Syntegra uses machine learning to create validated “synthetic data”—replicas of healthcare data that are designed to precisely duplicate its statistical properties, with patient privacy protected by removing all links to the original data.
Mammoth, IDbyDNA Get DARPA Funds for CRISPR Diagnostics Development
DARPA identified five disease categories for which the devices should detect pathogens and biomarkers: respiratory illnesses, febrile illnesses, vector-borne illnesses, gastrointestinal illnesses, and sepsis.