UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Amir Ali, PharmD, discusses abstracts on shorter venetoclax durations in AML and blinatumomab in B-ALL, highlighting their efficacy and implications for treatment. Ali emphasizes the role of pharmacists in optimizing treatment durations and managing side effects, noting the potential for shorter venetoclax regimens and the benefits of blinatumomab pre-HSCT, especially for Hispanic patients.

Dr. Timothy Masterson discussed RPLND strategies for metastatic testicular seminoma at the 2024 SUO meeting, highlighting historical studies and recent trials (SEMS, PRIMETEST, COTRIMS) that support RPLND as an effective option for stage IIA/B seminoma patients, with improved survival outcomes and reduced long-term toxicities compared to radiotherapy.

Since 2010, about a third of U.S. pharmacies have closed, primarily due to chain consolidation starting in 2018, making it harder for people to access essential health services. Independent pharmacies were more likely to close, often excluded from preferred networks. Closures disproportionately affected Black, Latino, and low-income neighborhoods, potentially widening health disparities. Researchers suggest policies to include independent pharmacies in benefit networks and increase reimbursement rates to protect critical access.

Scientists engineered inducible CRISPR tools controllable by focused ultrasound (FUS), demonstrating precise CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) and epigenetic editing in vitro and in vivo. FUS-CRISPR successfully generated DNA breaks at telomere sites in tumor cells, enhancing CAR-T cell efficacy, and reprogrammed tumor cells via systemic delivery, priming CAR-T cells for cancer therapy.

CU Anschutz Medical Campus receives up to $46 million in federal funding over five years to pursue the first-ever full eye transplantation, part of a national effort to cure blindness. The interdisciplinary project involves novel stem cell and bioelectronic technologies, with teams from multiple institutions collaborating and competing to achieve the goal of restoring vision through eye transplantation.

Pregnancy challenges for women with epilepsy include medication risks like valproate's link to autism and lower IQ, and the need for dose adjustments due to faster metabolism. A study followed 298 children of women with epilepsy to age 6, finding no difference in verbal abilities compared to healthy women's children, though medication levels in the third trimester had nuanced effects. Folate supplementation was beneficial, while acetaminophen showed risks. Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of various epilepsy drugs and genetic factors influencing outcomes.

Foundation Fighting Blindness, in partnership with ARPA-H, aims to achieve vision recovery through six whole eye transplants in humans by 2030, with a $46 million grant supporting a multi-disciplinary consortium led by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Roswell Park CEO Candace Johnson introduces Michael Wong as the center's first Physician in Chief, aiming to enhance patient care and outcomes. Wong, a former MD Anderson Cancer Center professor, will lead clinical teams and focus on improving care delivery.

DrugAgent, a multi-agent framework, automates ML programming in drug discovery, leveraging LLMs to perform tasks autonomously, from data acquisition to model selection, enabling pharmaceutical scientists to benefit from AI without extensive coding expertise. It systematically explores diverse ideas and builds domain-specific tools, achieving an F1 score of 0.92 in ADMET prediction using a random forest model, demonstrating its effectiveness in accelerating drug discovery.

Skin color may influence drug efficacy, as melanin can absorb certain drugs, affecting dosage effectiveness. Researchers suggest using diverse cellular models and regulatory guidelines to address this issue, ensuring more inclusive preclinical research and clinical trials.