Published:
May 07, 2021
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Insurers decline to cover Biogen's new Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug as the fallout continues from the FDA's controversial approval
News Commentary | July 19, 2021
Biogen's AD drug, Aduhelm, continues to stir controversy, as several private insurers have decided not to cover the high costs of the medication. This includes some affiliates of Blue Cross Blue Shield and even the CMS, despite the FDA's accelerated approval. With pharmaceuticals like Roche and Eli ... Not part of subscription
Google-backed Calico and AbbVie announce second extension of a long-standing partnership to tackle aging-related diseases
News Commentary | July 30, 2021
Google‑backed Calico and pharma giant AbbVie are doubling down on tackling aging‑related diseases with this second partnership extension. Twenty early‑stage programs have been developed across oncology and neurodegeneration, with the lead oncology target, which acts at multiple steps in the cancer ... Not part of subscription
NHS launches world's largest liquid biopsy trial, which could potentially detect 50 types of cancer
News Commentary | September 17, 2021
NHS will use GRAIL's Galleri test in this study, which aims to recruit 140,000 volunteers in eight areas of England. Besides being touted as the world's first and largest clinical trial of its kind, the more important significance of this study is that it is being spearheaded by one of the largest ... Not part of subscription
by Nardev Ramanathan
Multiple new and emerging COVID-19 variants with higher transmission rates have thrown into question the continued efficacy of existing vaccines across these newer strains. Previous research has focused on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) given its importance in attaching to and infecting human cells. This study, however, found that 84% of circulating antibodies from recovering COVID-19 patients were in fact targeting areas outside the RBD, and some were targeting parts of the virus that are not easily mutable. Next-generation vaccine design could focus on amplifying these antibodies. One limitation is that the study was based on blood plasma samples from four patients; a larger sample size is needed to validate this observation.
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