| | | |   | Meghana here, welcoming you back to another week — and some news. Let's get to it. | | | An approval of Incyte’s vitiligo drug looks probable Incyte’s topical JAK inhibitor drug Opzelura improved vitiligo in teenagers in adults — allowing for “clinically meaningful facial and total body repigmentation,” new data show. By week 52 of the study, about three-fourths of the patients who applied 1.5% ruxolitinib cream twice daily saw at least a 50% improvement in facial repigmentation. About a third of the group saw a 90% improvement. Opzelura is already on the market for use in eczema, but Incyte is now seeking FDA approval for vitiligo. The drug was originally meant to be reviewed by the FDA in April, but regulators delayed their decision to July 18, requesting additional data. “With 52-week data showing better efficacy and no unexpected safety concerns, we see a July approval as probable,” an analyst for RBC Capital Markets said. | GSK/Vir antibody getting pulled from use thanks to BA.2 Health officials are stopping the use of sotrovimab, the Covid-19 monoclonal antibody therapy made by GSK and Vir Biotechnology, in areas where the BA.2 coronavirus is taking off. Recent laboratory studies have shown that the drug doesn’t work against the variant. Notably, sotrovimab did seem to work against the original Omicron strain, unlike antibody therapies from Eli Lilly and Regeneron. Monoclonal antibodies are particularly vulnerable to quickly mutating viruses. However, oral antivirals like Paxlovid and molnupiravir seem to still offer some potential in treating the new wave of Covid-19. And lab data show that Lilly’s monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, could work against BA.2. Read more. | Advancing research in immune-mediated dermatologic diseases, including psoriasis For the over 100 million people worldwide living with psoriasis, there may be a physical and emotional burden. At this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), Bristol Myers Squibb is showcasing its commitment to this sizable population with 9 company-led abstracts highlighting research in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. This includes a variety of data, including clinical, clinical pharmacology, translational and health economics. Learn more. THIS INFORMATION IS INTENDED FOR U.S. HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS | Second booster to be offered to Americans 50 and older The Biden administration will go ahead and make available a second Covid-19 booster shot for Americans age 50 and older, the New York Times writes. The idea is to prevent severe disease, should a new virulent wave of Covid-19 become rampant in the coming months. Although the new BA.2 subvariant is driving a new coronavirus surge in Europe and it is circulating stateside, it’s unclear how severe this wave will be. Offering up a second booster could potentially protect against hospitalizations and deaths, or it could be unnecessary. | Vitamin C sepsis study called into question A rather infamous study was published in 2017, claiming that a regimen of vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine could help prevent sepsis. If treatment for such severe infection could indeed be so simple, many lives could be saved — and drug costs could be slashed. But for as much attention as the study received, there’s been doubt from the beginning that it was valid. Turns out, the data underpinning the controversial findings could be fraudulent, MedPage Today reports. An analysis by Australian physician and statistician Kyle Sheldrick said that the pre- and post- comparison groups in the 94-patient study were eerily similar. “This is extreme,” he said. “This is probably the most obviously fake data I have seen.” | More reads - Israel lab says it has made safe a powerful — but toxic — cancer treatment (in mice). (Times of Israel)
- Abbott snags $1 billion U.S. government contract for rapid Covid-19 tests. (FierceBiotech)
| Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow,  | | | |
No comments