University of Oxford

Novavax appoints Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, MD, PhD, as EVP and Head of R&D in November 2024, leveraging her 20+ years of clinical, corporate, and global public health expertise to evaluate the company's pipeline and Matrix-M™ adjuvant technology.

Chronic pain treatment involves a lengthy trial-and-error process due to individual variability. Advances in biomarkers and AI show promise for personalized pain medicine, potentially revolutionizing treatment matching.

IntraBio Inc. announces FDA approval of Aqneursa (levacetylleucine) for treating NPC in adults and pediatric patients ≥15 kg, marking a significant milestone for NPC treatment. Aqneursa is the only FDA-approved stand-alone therapy for NPC, with clinical trials showing significant neurological improvements within 12 weeks. IntraBio remains committed to expanding Aqneursa's use for other neurodegenerative disorders.

A nationwide clinical trial, PANORAMIC, begins enrolling participants to assess new oral COVID-19 antivirals for early-stage treatment. Open to UK residents aged 50+ or 18-49 with health conditions, participants must have a positive COVID-19 test within 5 days of symptoms. The trial aims to compare antiviral treatment with standard care, providing crucial data for NHS planning. Led by the University of Oxford, the study involves GP practices, NHS 111, and other healthcare providers. Participants can join from home, with medicines delivered by courier if allocated to the antiviral group.

A systematic review found that older triptans like eletriptan, rizatriptan, sumatriptan, and zolmitriptan are more effective for migraine pain relief than newer drugs like lasmiditan and ubrogepant.

Jason Efstathiou discusses the PARTIQoL trial, comparing proton beam therapy to IMRT for localized prostate cancer, focusing on patient-reported outcomes and bowel function at 24 months. The trial, involving 450 patients from 29 centers, employs innovative strategies to overcome accrual challenges, emphasizing rigorous data generation to assess proton therapy's benefits. Despite proton therapy's potential advantages, its limited availability and high costs in the U.S. highlight the need for comparative studies like PARTIQoL.

OpenSAFELY, developed at Oxford's Bennett Institute, ensures patient data privacy while enabling research using 58 million GP records. The platform, crucial in Covid-19 research, operates via code instructions, enhancing transparency and accountability. It has supported 171 projects and 86 academic papers, with plans to expand beyond Covid-19 data.

Wave Life Sciences announced positive interim data from the FORWARD-53 trial evaluating WVE-N531 in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) amenable to exon 53 skipping, showing mean muscle content-adjusted dystrophin expression of 9.0% and unadjusted dystrophin of 5.5%, with improvements in muscle health biomarkers. WVE-N531 was safe and well-tolerated, with skeletal muscle concentrations of ~41,000 ng/g and a 61-day tissue half-life. The company expects feedback on a pathway to accelerated approval and complete 48-week data in Q1 2025.

Antidepressants like escitalopram may boost cognitive function via the 5HT4 receptor, improving memory and thinking skills.

Antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) may improve memory and cognitive function by affecting the 5HT4 receptor, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry. Researchers found that patients' cognitive test performance improved, particularly in word recall, linked to higher 5HT4 receptor activity. The study suggests targeting this receptor could treat cognitive issues independently of depression symptoms.