Medicine
fromwww.theguardian.com
7 hours agoMedicines watchdog to investigate UK peptide clinics over health claims
UK clinics may be illegally promoting unregulated peptide therapies with unverified health claims.
On that sunny March morning, in a small health center in Lobamba, a rural area of Eswatini, this 32-year-old sex worker has just become one of the first people in the world to receive lenacapavir, a drug that, administered twice a year, offers nearly 100% protection against HIV.
Kelly Chibale describes the drug discovery process as a fairy-tale quest, stating, 'It doesn't mean that there aren't surprises or miracles. They do happen, but you have to kiss many frogs before you meet the prince.' This metaphor illustrates the challenges and unpredictability in finding effective medicines.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said it took action after investigations found the sites were breaching the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The latest group includes C***spin, Frumzi, Great Win, MyStake, Oh My Spins, RetroBet, The Dog House 2 Slot, and Viperwin. Officials say the sites were identified through a mix of public complaints and the regulator's own monitoring.
The Food and Drug Administration granted expedited approval to orforglipron, a GLP-1 drug that works like widely used injectable medications to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.
About 40% of Chinese employees stay in one job for less than two years, according to a Hay Group study. In India, annual turnover of 50% or more is not unusual. That's clearly a problem, not only because constantly recruiting and training people over and over again is expensive, but because it's disruptive. Continuity, let alone growth, can be tough to maintain when half your team is made up of brand-new faces every few months.
We might be talking about work from home mandates. We might be talking about restrictions on air travel and even rationing, if it got bad enough for long enough. This assessment from Rabobank's senior macro economist Benjamin Picton highlights potential escalation of fuel conservation measures globally if supply constraints continue.
RBC Capital analyst Luca Issi upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $35, up from $11. Wells Fargo also upgraded uniQure to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $60 price target. The catalyst: the departure of Vinay Prasad from the FDA. RBC views this as a positive for uniQure, noting it is "not inconceivable" that the FDA reverts to its prior stance, and believes Prasad's departure is likely to open up a more balanced discussion on risk/reward for Huntington's disease.
According to the patent, a specific crystalline form of the drug known as polymorph C may be more effective than other versions because it is absorbed more efficiently by the body. The patent also notes that laboratory studies showed the drug reduced tumor growth and helped mice with brain tumors live longer, prompting early clinical trials to test whether the treatment is safe and effective in humans.
Patients automatically trust practitioners of Harley Street and assume they will provide high quality surgery. In reality, many of the practitioners with Harley Street stamped on their business cards are no more than medical imposters.
Our data is still minimal, says Caroline Thain, national clinical adviser with the mental health organisation Headspace. We're really waiting for a few more months before we do a deeper dive. About one in 10 teenagers coming into Headspace centres have brought up the social media ban as their reason for seeking support.
Work from home works for families, because it saves time and money and it gets more parents working. Victoria will launch legislation to give employees the legal right to work from home two days per week, with laws due to come into effect on September 1.
Now, researchers have created an artificial-intelligence system that vastly simplifies and accelerates the process of chemical synthesis. The system, which is called MOSAIC and is described in a study published in Nature on 19 January, recommended conditions that researchers were able to use to generate 35 compounds with the potential to become products like pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals or cosmetics without needing to do any further trawling or tweaking.
This week in Other Barks & Bites, IPWatchdog's IP news roundup: the House of Representatives passes drug patent legislation, while antitrust legislation targeting patent-related activities is introduced into the Senate and the Trump administration mandates pricing information for pharmaceutical ads; the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issues a pair of precedential decisions on cases with multiple petitions; the USPTO issues marijuana-related trademark guidelines and a notice on modifying patent term adjustment practices;
This week in Washington IP news, the House Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access examines how well creditors are able to identify small businesses that are eligible for additional capital. Elsewhere, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosts the third event of the 2023 Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium. Also, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) discusses the future of manufacturing innovation in Germany and the United States.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reportedly mulling whether more prescription drugs should be sold over the counter (OTC) at pharmacies. In an interview on Wednesday, FDA commissioner Martin Makary told CNBC that everything should be over the counter except drugs that are deemed unsafe or addictive or that require clinical monitoring. Makary said the agency is reviewing how it decides which drugs can be sold with or without a prescription from a health care practitioner.
While the move came as a surprise to the high-profile vaccine maker, it is just the latest hostility toward vaccines-and mRNA vaccines in particular-from an agency overseen by the fervent anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In his first year in office, Kennedy has already dramatically slashed childhood vaccine recommendations and canceled $500 million in research funding for mRNA vaccines against potential pandemic threats.
When generic drug manufacturers have issues like contamination, it is difficult for those who take the medications to know if they are affected. There is no standardized way to look up the data for where the pills in your bottle came from. ProPublica made an app that makes the lookup more straightforward. Even though generic drugs make up 90% of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S., the FDA only provides piecemeal information about them.
Public health consultant Dr Ross Keat said supporting people earlier to make small preventative changes would make "a big difference later on". Some 3,500 people in the north of the island within that age bracket are eligible for the checks. The checks will be carried out by two pre-existing nurses that support GP staff and would not replace GP appointments, Keat explained, adding that the cost would be minimal and absorbed by Ramsey Group Practice.
Nearly 7,000 Irish medical professionals are now registered to work in Australia, sparking concerns about the impact on the Irish health service as the number seeking a better working life down under has risen by 86pc in six years.
I'm certainly confident that we're going to have a breakthrough within my career, and I have a good 10 to 15 years left. While antiretroviral (ARV) therapies are extending lives and keeping HIV at bay, and PrEP has the potential to effectively halt transmission of the virus, a cure has remained elusive. That's because the HIV virus itself is elusive, both co-opting the immune system and hiding from it.
We provide thought partnership. When a company is developing a drug, there's a lot of work involved, such as understanding the science, designing a study and generating good data. We come in and explain what the standard of care looks like today for their patient population, and what we think it will look like in five to eight years or whenever they plan to launch their therapy.