The UK’s Daily Mail report on the origins of the Coronavirus, doesn’t look so good for China. Entitled: Wuhan doctor who went public over spread of coronavirus ‘goes missing’ gives a compelling presentation of the attempt to bury the story. If ever there was lesson to be learned, this was it. Transparency is critical to saving lives. The doctor, Dr Ai Fen, who identified the disease back in December and brought it to the attention of colleagues was severely reprimanded. The story provides a summary and timeline of how the Chinese Authorities knew this was happening but worked to cover…
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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard today committed up to $125 million in seed funding to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling-up treatments. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will play a catalytic role by accelerating and evaluating new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients with COVID-19 in the immediate term, and other viral pathogens in the longer-term. “Viruses like COVID-19 spread rapidly, but the development of vaccines and treatments to stop them moves slowly,” said Mark Suzman, chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “If we…
Samsung Biologics and Vir Biotechnology, Inc announced April 9th a manufacturing agreement under which Samsung Biologics will perform large scale manufacturing services for Vir’s SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) program. “Vir’s candidate molecules supported by Samsung Biologics’ production scale have the potential to bring hope to countless lives across nations suffering from COVID-19.” said Dr. Tae Han Kim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. Vir’s lead SARS-CoV-2 mAb development candidates, VIR-7831 and VIR-7832, have demonstrated high affinity for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and are highly potent in neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 in live-virus cellular assays. Vir plans to proceed directly into a phase 2 clinical trial…
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized its first emergency use coronavirus serology test. The test was developed by Cellex Inc. and involves a blood draw done at a certified lab. It can provide results in 15 minutes. FDA, it is reasonable to believe that your product may be effective in diagnosing COVID-19,” FDA chief scientist Denise M. Hinton said, adding “The known and potential benefits of your product when used for diagnosing COVID-19, outweigh the known and potential risks of your product.” The test will determine whether an individual has developed antibodies to the virus, which would be…
People diagnosed with advanced cancer can face a host of challenges and stresses, from navigating the health care system to dealing with relationship disruptions and figuring out how to spend the time they have left, that can leave them vulnerable to depression. Yet cancer centers and clinics don’t routinely provide psychological support to all advanced cancer patients to help them cope. In a new clinical trial, just three to six sessions of a tailored psychotherapy approach known as Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully, or CALM, helped to lessen symptoms of depression in people recently diagnosed with advanced cancer. Results from the trial…
It’s not unusual for cancer survivors to report problems with memory, attention, learning, and processing of information months or even years after completing treatment. Scientists are just beginning to understand why some people are particularly susceptible to these cognitive difficulties, which patients often call chemobrain or chemofog. New findings from two related NCI-funded studies—a clinical study in older women and a mouse study—may help shed further light on genetic risk factors for developing cancer-related cognitive problems. The clinical study results point to the role of the E4 version (or E4 allele) of the APOE gene, which is a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.…
In a proof-of-concept study performed in primates, frozen immature testicular tissue has been successfully used for the conception and birth of a baby monkey. Although human trials are needed before the technique can be approved for people, the study’s results point to potential options for preserving fertility among prepubescent boys being treated for cancer. “Showing that something works in nonhuman primates is the last and critical step to demonstrate safety and feasibility,” said Kyle Orwig, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who led the study. “This is now a very mature technology, and I believe it’s ready to…
As cancer progresses, it often leads to physical disability and pain that can threaten a person’s independence and devastate their quality of life. Yet most people with advanced cancer don’t receive physical therapy or engage in exercise that can help maintain function, said Andrea Cheville, M.D., a rehabilitation physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. For these patients, she said, small changes in physical fitness can mean the difference between being able to live independently and losing one’s independence, and may also affect their ability to receive certain treatments. An NCI-funded clinical trial led by Dr. Cheville found that a 6-month physical rehabilitation program…