NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

A study released on World Cancer Research Day highlights the need for wider access to clinical trials, noting that despite $80 billion annual spending on R&D, less than 5% of cancer patients participate due to various barriers. The report, by Asia Society's Cure4Cancer, suggests leveraging technologies like liquid biopsy and expanding trial access in low- and middle-income countries. This call for global collaboration follows President Biden's launch of the Quad Cancer Moonshot.

Higher buprenorphine doses may reduce emergency visits for opioid use disorder, especially relevant for fentanyl users, according to NIH-funded study. Higher doses (24 mg+) delayed emergency/inpatient visits by 50% compared to standard doses (8-16 mg).

Enalare Therapeutics received FDA clearance for a phase I study of ENA-001, a novel respiratory stimulant for treating respiratory depression from drug overdose, using both IM and IV formulations. The study is funded by BARDA and supported by NIDA.

Football legend Brett Favre, 54, announced he has Parkinson’s disease, referencing his diagnosis during a congressional hearing. Favre, who experienced 'thousands' of concussions, highlights a link between head trauma and neurodegenerative disorders. Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder affecting movement, has no known cause but is linked to age, gender, and head injuries. While there is no cure, symptoms can be managed with medications, lifestyle changes, and therapies.

Amarex secures Orphan Drug Designation for Gibson Oncology's LMP744, a glioma treatment crossing the blood-brain barrier at 10x the concentration needed to kill cancer cells, targeting TOPO 1 and downregulating cMyc overexpression.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center received $12 million in NIH grants to develop a genomic-enabled learning health system (gLHS) network, aiming to integrate genomic data and clinical informatics to improve precision medicine. The network, including a coordinating center called DRAGON, will focus on diverse settings and underserved populations, with potential projects like integrating family health histories into EHRs and implementing personalized genomic reference ranges for lab tests.

Two-thirds of incarcerated Americans struggle with substance abuse, often opioid addiction. New research finds less than half of U.S. jails provide access to medications for opioid use disorder, and even fewer make them available to all inmates.

Black patients with triple-negative breast cancer receive immunotherapy at lower rates than White patients, with socioeconomic factors identified as barriers, according to a study presented at the 2024 AACR Conference. Despite lower immunotherapy access, Black patients showed similar survival rates when treated, highlighting the potential of immunotherapy to mitigate racial disparities in outcomes.