Precision Medicine

A clinical study evaluated by the FDA found that Paige Prostate improved detection of cancer on individual slide images by 7.3% on average when compared to pathologists’ unassisted reads for whole slide images of individual biopsies, with no impact on the read of benign slide images.

A new genomics program in South Carolina will enroll 100,000 volunteers over 4 years who will undergo exome testing to provide useful health information to the patients and their clinicians from the start, while also contributing to medical research.

The nanobodies, which bind tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, neutralizing it in cell culture, could provide a cheaper and easier to use alternative to human antibodies taken from patients who have recovered from COVID-19.

Research highlights from ESMO21 included results from Phase III DESTINY-Breast03 trial (AZ, Daiichi Sankyo), Phase II KRYSTAL-1 lung cancer study (Mirati Therapeutics), Phase III CheckMate 649 (Bristol Myers Squibb), and the Phase III KEYNOTE-826 trial.

Researchers found that blocking the activity of IL-6 at the blood-brain barrier increased the lifespan of fruit flies with cancer by 45% and also found that after 21 days, 75% of cancer-carrying lab mice treated with an IL-6 receptor blocker were alive, versus only 25% of untreated mice.

Swiss audiology tech firm Sonova is partnering French hearing-loss biotech Sensorion to study the genetics of age-related hearing loss in a large, long-term study of newly diagnosed individuals.

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center say that grouping epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations by structure and function can help to better match non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients to the most promising treatments.

Last year’s three deaths led the FDA to impose a clinical hold on the trial. The agency lifted that hold in December 2020, when Astellas eliminated the high dose, and agreed to dose patients at a lower dose.

In a “first of its kind” study, researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) have presented information suggesting a new potential direct link between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and glaucoma.

AbbVie is investing in eye gene therapy with a $370M upfront investment in Regenxbio's anti-VEGF gene therapy for treatment of retinal diseases. If various milestones are met then the U.S. biotech could earn up to $1.38B for the deal.