More than half of new drugs entering the German healthcare system have not been shown to add benefit, argue researchers. More than half of new drugs entering the German healthcare system have not been shown to add benefit, argue researchers in The BMJ today. Beate Wieseler and colleagues at the German health technology assessment agency IQWiG (Institute
Sangamo Therapeutics and Pfizer have reported additional findings from the Phase I/II Alta clinical trial of investigational gene therapy SB-525 to treat patients with severe haemophilia A. SB-525 is made up of a recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 6 vector (AAV6) that encodes the complementary deoxyribonucleic acid for B domain deleted human Factor VIII (FVIII). During
Resistance to high prices, even with novel payment models Europe’s leading nations should commit to a rapid overhaul of health technology assessment (HTA) and bold initiatives such as new pan-European real world evidence (RWE) frameworks, in order to nurture the nascent cell and gene therapy revolution in the region. That is the conclusion of a
Source STAT If nutritious meals can provide the same kind of benefit as medication, then why don’t health plans cover the cost of medically tailored meals, just as they cover prescription medications? It’s a question my colleagues and I at Community Servings, a nonprofit organization that provides nutritious meals for people with critical illnesses who are
Source Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard The human microbiome, the huge collection of microbes that live inside and on our body, profoundly affects human health and disease. The human gut flora in particular, which harbor the densest number of microbes, not only break down nutrients and release molecules important for our survival
Source NIH The blood-brain barrier, or BBB, is a dense sheet of cells that surrounds most of the brain’s blood vessels. The BBB’s tiny gaps let vital small molecules, such as oxygen and water, diffuse from the bloodstream into the brain while helping to keep out larger, impermeable foreign substances that don’t belong there. But
Orgenesis, a developer, manufacturer and service provider of advanced cell therapies, announced that the United States Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted Orphan Drug designation for its Autologous Insulin Producing (“AIP”) cells as a cell replacement therapy for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia-prone diabetes resulting from total pancreatectomy (“TP”) due to chronic pancreatitis (“CP”).
Two recent studies highlight novel ways to combat pattern hair loss in men and women using small molecules such as JAK inhibitors that reawaken dormant hair follicles, as well as stem cell therapies aimed at growing new follicles. In the first study, researchers led by Angela Christiano, PhD, the Richard & Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology at
Experiments in mice show transmission of nerve-killing protein from the gut into the brain In experiments in mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have found additional evidence that Parkinson’s disease originates among cells in the gut and travels up the body’s neurons to the brain. The study, described in the June issue of the
A robotic glove powered by 5G could help diagnose patients still on their way to hospital in a UK first. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), BT and WM5G have teamed up to deliver new technologies for front-line staff to diagnose patients quicker, including enabling remote diagnostics performed by paramedics. 5G capabilities would allow
