The Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Adding BLINCYTO (blinatumomab) to chemotherapy significantly improves disease-free survival (DFS) in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), with a 3-year DFS of 96% compared to 87.9% with chemotherapy alone.

Pozelimab and cemdisiran combination shows superior inhibition of terminal complement in PNH patients, achieving higher LDH control and normalization rates compared to ravulizumab, with potential for self-administration.

KisoJi Biotechnology, a Montréal-based company, raised $57 million CAD to advance its cancer treatment into clinical trials and enhance its AI-driven antibody discovery platform. The funding will support the development of KJ-103, a monoclonal antibody targeting tumour cells, and expand the platform to identify new therapies for cardiometabolic diseases.

Lungpacer Medical's AeroPace System, an FDA-approved neurostimulation therapy, aims to strengthen the diaphragm for quicker weaning from mechanical ventilation, offering faster recovery, reduced ventilator days, and lower reintubation risk.

Mission Bio announces 20+ presentations at ASH 2024 showcasing Tapestri Platform's impact on hematology, including new datasets on Multiple Myeloma, AML, and CAR-T therapy development.

Latchmi Raghunanan, CEO of Maman Biomedical Inc., developed a painless fertility drug delivery patch for IVF, aiming to replace daily injections. The patch, created from her kitchen, represents a platform for various medical uses. Despite challenges like funding and lab access, Canada's ecosystem supports health tech innovation, with efforts to retain talent and foster growth.

The BALANCE trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that seven days of antibiotic treatment is sufficient for bloodstream infections, potentially reducing hospital stays and antibiotic resistance. Led by Sinai Health, the trial's success during COVID-19 paved the way for future non-COVID-19 trials, demonstrating the importance of conducting trials in general medicine wards.

Mohamad Baker Berjaoui, MD, discusses the 5-year update of the BJUI Compass paper comparing Aquablation therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia in prostates 30–80 cm³ and 80–150 cm³. The study showed a significant decrease in IPSS, improvement in Qmax, minimal complication rates, excellent sexual function preservation, and a retreatment rate of less than 4%.

Neuropsychiatric research is experiencing a resurgence driven by high unmet medical needs, personalized medicine, and novel mechanisms of action. New treatments like SIRT6 activators and GLP-1 agonists target fundamental disease causes. AI advancements aid in early drug candidate evaluation, while subpopulation studies focus on personalized medicine. Objective measures of disease progression, such as digital technologies and biomarkers, are replacing traditional subjective scales. This shift towards personalized medicine aims to improve treatment efficacy and tolerability for neuropsychiatric disorders.

USF Health and Weill Cornell Medicine published the first version of their clinically validated voice dataset on an AI platform, aiming to diagnose diseases like cancer and depression through voice analysis. The dataset includes over 12,500 recordings from 306 participants and will be expanded to 10,000 voices by the end of a four-year $14 million project. The data is standardized and includes respiratory, voice, and speech tasks, crucial for validating voice algorithms and developing new diagnostic methods.