R&D

Scientific evidence to date on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy does not support boosters for general population

An expert review by an international group of scientists, including some at the WHO and FDA, concludes that, even for the delta variant, vaccine efficacy against severe COVID is so high that booster doses for the general population are not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic.

The review, published in The Lancet, summarises the currently available evidence from randomised controlled trials and observational studies published in peer-reviewed journals and pre-print servers.

First-in-human clinical trial for a vaccine to treat opioid use disorders enrolls first patients

The first patients have been enrolled in a phase 1 randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to study a therapeutic vaccine for opioid use disorder developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the trial will test the safety and potential efficacy of a vaccine that is designed to selectively prevent the euphoric and toxic effects of oxycodone.

No serious health effects linked to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Federal and Kaiser Permanente researchers combing the health records of 6.2 million patients found no serious health effects that could be linked to the 2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

The study published September 2 in JAMA reports the first comprehensive findings of the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), which studies patient records for 12 million people in 5 Kaiser Permanente service regions along with HealthPartners in Minneapolis, the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, and Denver Health.

Rheumatoid arthritis treated with implanted cells that release drug

With a goal of developing rheumatoid arthritis therapies with minimal side effects, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have genetically engineered cells that, when implanted in mice, will deliver a biologic drug in response to inflammation.

A drug costing less than €2 a day helps in the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients

Metoprolol, a drug widely used to treat cardiovascular disease, is beneficial when administered to COVID-19 patients. This is the finding of a study by investigators at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).

AI algorithm solves structural biology challenges

Determining the 3D shapes of biological molecules is one of the hardest problems in modern biology and medical discovery. Companies and research institutions often spend millions of dollars to determine a molecular structure - and even such massive efforts are frequently unsuccessful.

Gut bacteria and flavonoid-rich foods are linked and improve blood pressure levels

Flavonoid-rich foods, including berries, apples, pears and wine, appear to have a positive effect on blood pressure levels, an association that is partially explained by characteristics of the gut microbiome, according to new research published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

Research & Development

Scientific evidence to date on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy does not support boosters for general population

First-in-human clinical trial for a vaccine to treat opioid use disorders enrolls first patients

No serious health effects linked to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Rheumatoid arthritis treated with implanted cells that release drug

A drug costing less than €2 a day helps in the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients

AI algorithm solves structural biology challenges

Gut bacteria and flavonoid-rich foods are linked and improve blood pressure levels

More Pharma News ...