US researchers have reported that inhibitors of certain small RNA molecules known as microRNAs can promote an increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. The research has been published in Nature.
EMD Serono Inc, an affiliate of Merck KGaA of Germany, and Fast Forward LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US Multiple Sclerosis Society, are committing up to $3 million in 2012 to support early-stage projects in multiple sclerosis.
e-Therapeutics Plc expects to report clinical data by the end of 2013 on four drug candidates that have been identified using a ‘network pharmacology’ approach to drug discovery. The goal was outlined in the company’s interim results.
An experimental malaria vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc has reduced the risk of malaria by half in African children between the ages of five and 17 months. The results have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Oxford BioMedica Plc has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to start a first human study of its gene therapy for Usher syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects hearing and vision. The study will take place in Oregon.
Phase 2 data from the immunotherapy, talactoferrin, for non-small cell lung cancer have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The data showed an improvement in overall survival of patients who were treated with the drug.
Pevion Biotech AG said that data from an ongoing first-in-human trial of a therapeutic vaccine against Candida in healthy volunteers elicited high levels of specific antibodies and a 100% mucosal immune response rate.
A pivotal Phase 3 trial of teriflunomide, a new oral medication for multiple sclerosis, has shown that the drug significantly reduced relapse rates and disability progression, compared with placebo, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A team of European researchers has reported on a new epigenetic approach for the treatment of mixed lineage leukaemia (MLL), an aggressive form of cancer which is thought to account for up to eight out of 10 cases of the disease in children.
The European Commission has allocated €30 million to a collaboration of academic institutions and companies to investigate new immunisation technologies for the next generation of vaccines. The project comes under Framework Programme 7 (FP7).