science wire

Despite substantial reduction in prevalence over the past decades, leprosy remains endemic in over 120 countries. Approximately 200,000 new cases of leprosy still occur every year as diagnosis is difficult and often delayed. In an article published on July 7, 2017 in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and its partners reviewed innovative tools and approaches to help end leprosy transmission.

Positive phase III results for Roche's emicizumab in haemophilia A published in The New England Journal of Medicine HAVEN 1 showed emicizumab reduced bleed rate by 87% compared with on-demand bypassing agents All 12 secondary endpoints in HAVEN 1 were positive, including an intra-patient comparison that showed emicizumab reduced bleed rate by 79% compared to prior prophylactic bypassing agents Data from HAVEN 1 in adults and adolescents and inte

Label update includes 52 week data from CLEAR study demonstrating long-term superiority of Cosentyx versus Stelara in psoriasis ,   Update also includes use of Cosentyx in moderate-to-severe scalp ps

In ALK-positive advanced NSCLC patients, Zykadia demonstrated superior median progression-free survival (PFS) compared to SOC chemotherapy with maintenance   Zykadia benefit was also seen in patients

One of the largest clinical trials for prostate cancer led by the University of Birmingham has found that adding Abiraterone to hormone therapy at the start of treatment improves survival by 37 per cent. The trial looked at using Abiraterone as an additional treatment in patients with prostate cancer who were about to start long-term hormone therapy.

European Commission approves Sandoz Erelzi to treat immunological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis Approval of Erelzi provides more treatment options for heal

Fewer pills, more flexibility in dosing: Roche's new Esbriet tablet formulation approved in Europe for mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) New immediate-release tablet formulation of

Roche's emicizumab showed positive results in phase III studies (HAVEN 1 and HAVEN 2) in haemophilia A with inhibitors Emicizumab showed substantial and clinically meaningful reduction in bleeds across two pivotal studies Data from HAVEN 1 in adults and adolescents and interim data from HAVEN 2 in children to be presented at the 26th International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Meeting Roche today announced positive data from the p

Significant overall survival benefit observed for FLT3+ AML patients consistent across FLT3 mutation subgroups, including ITD and TKD Detailed data show Rydapt plus standard chemotherapy improved eve

Novartis Kisqali (ribociclib) receives positive CHMP opinion as first-line treatment for HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with any aromatase inhibitor CHMP opinio

83% of patients achieved complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete blood count recovery within 3 months of treatment with CTL019; consistent with interim ELIANA data   Data evaluating 63 patients demonstrate relapse-free survival and probability of survival in a majority of patients at six months   Advances in CTL019 and ELIANA result from global CAR-T cell therapy collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania   CTL019 is manufactured us

New 96-week data support durability and safety of Treatment-free Remission (TFR) in Ph+ CML-CP patients who stop taking Tasigna [1,2] More than 90% of Ph+ CML-CP patients in ENESTfreedom and ENESTop who stopped Tasigna and were in TFR at 48 weeks remained in TFR at 96 weeks [1,2] 48-week data from same trials recently added to Tasigna SmPC following EC approval; discussions with other regulatory authorities are underway worldwide - Novartis toda

Presentation confirms Venclexta/Venclyxto monotherapy benefit in certain patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and its potential in other hard-to-treat blood cancers First in class BCL2-specific oral inhibitor represents a potential new way of treating different blood cancers Efficacy and tolerability confirmed in high-risk patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, including those with 17p chromosomal de

Roche presents new data from GALLIUM study reinforcing clinical benefit of Gazyva/Gazyvaro in people with previously untreated follicular lymphoma Longer follow-up showed sustained benefit in progression-free survival of Gazyva/Gazyvaro-based treatment over MabThera/Rituxan-based treatment regardless of chemotherapy regimens People with follicular lymphoma who received Gazyva/Gazyvaro-based treatment reported improvement in health-related qualit

FDA approves Rituxan Hycela (rituximab and hyaluronidase human) for subcutaneous injection in certain blood cancers Treatment can be administered in five to seven minutes, compared to 1.5 hour

Novartis combination targeted therapy Tafinlar + Mekinist receives FDA approval for BRAF V600E mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Approval provides first targeted treatment in the U

Phase III CANTOS study met the primary endpoint, a composite of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, showing that ACZ885 (canakinumab) in combination with standard of care therapy reduces cardiovascular risk in people with a prior heart attack and inflammatory atherosclerosis   Despite current treatments about 40% of heart attack survivors remain at increased risk of  recurrent heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death because of hi

AMG 334 (erenumab) is the first anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody developed for migraine prevention to receive EMA regulatory filing acceptance   Filing is supported by a comprehensive clinical program o

Novartis real world study shows almost half of chronic urticaria patients are not receiving any treatment despite significant disease burden Urgent need to improve management of chronic urticaria (CU) - a disease that causes itchy, persistent hives and swelling which last more than 6 weeks or recur over months or years - highlighted by study of over 3,700 patients , 42% of CU patients studied are not receiving any treatment for their debilitatin

RTH258 achieved the primary efficacy endpoint of non-inferiority to aflibercept in mean change in BCVA from baseline to week 48 , in two head-to-head pivotal Phase III studies ,   57% and 52% of patients receiving RTH258 6 mg in the respective trials were maintained exclusively on a q12w interval immediately following the loading phase and continuing through week 48 ,   In both studies overall ocular and non-ocular adverse event rates for RTH258

European Commission approves Sandoz Rixathon â? to treat blood cancers and immunological diseases. Approval expected to broaden patient access to biologics and enable budget-constrained healthcare systems to reallocate resources to other healthcare priorities.

Large-scale European patient survey found that 94% of severe allergic asthma patients were unable to fully control their disease â? These new data underscore the disconnect between self-perceived control and clinical reality; a potentially limiting factor in patients seeking support to better control their condition â? Helping patients recognize the possibilities of living a life with properly controlled asthma is central to a major new global p

Cosentyx â? is the first and only IL-17A inhibitor to show sustained improvements in signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) , â? Additional data show rapid and sustained pain relief with Cosentyx as early as Week 3 which is sustained out to 2 years in PsA patients â? Patient recruitment underway for the new EXCEED head-to-head clinical trial to show superiority of Cosentyx versus Humira â? * in PsA The di

FDA accepts Sandoz ANDA for substitutable generic version of Advair Diskus â? Sandoz believes its combination product will offer asthma and COPD patients same safety and efficacy as reference medicin

Data from the comprehensive clinical program show AMG 334 (erenumab) is safe and effective at preventing migraine in patients with 4 or more migraine days per month â?

At interim analysis, three-month overall response rate (ORR) was 45%, with 37% complete response (CR); all patients in CR at three months remained in CR at data cutoff Best ORR was 59%, with 43% achi

Tasigna is the first and only tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) to include information on stopping therapy in Ph+ CML-CP patients in the EU product information Approval based on Novartis trials evaluating TFR with Tasigna in Ph+ CML-CP patients in both the first-line setting and after switching from Glivec â?

Phase III study showed Rocheâ??s Alecensa (alectinib) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by more than half versus crizotinib as first-line treatment in a specific type of lung cancer Second positive phase III head-to-head study to show Alecensa was superior to crizotinib in people with ALK-positive lung cancer Alecensa lowered the risk of tumour spread or growth in the brain or central nervous system Data will be simultaneously pub

Collaboration will use real-world patient data and cognitive computing with aim of improving outcomes in advanced breast cancer Brings Novartis innovation and breast cancer expertise together with IBM Watson Health proficiency in data analytics and machine learning Collaboration initiating in breast cancer given Novartis heritage and expertise; opportunity to expand to enhance outcomes for patients with other cancers â'â'â'â'â'â'â'â'â'â'â'â' â?

APHINITY study shows Rocheâ??s Perjeta-based regimen reduced the risk of invasive cancer returning compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy in HER2-positive early breast cancer Phase III study confirms

Phase I/II study to evaluate Mekinist â? (trametinib) in combination with Opdivo â? (nivolumab) and Opdivo + Yervoy â? (ipilimumab) â? Collaboration expands upon existing clinical investigation of Op

Novartis landmark study of Tafinlarâ? + Mekinistâ? demonstrates durable survival benefit at five years in patients with BRAF mutation-positive metastatic melanoma Study is longest follow-up to date o

Roche presents new data for TECENTRIQâ? (atezolizumab) and updates from across its cancer immunotherapy development programme at ASCO 2017 Data evaluated TECENTRIQ in novel combinations across a broad range of tumours including lung, kidney and melanoma Promising Phase II combination data with TECENTRIQ plus Avastin (bevacizumab) in advanced kidney cancer First treatment-beyond-progression data from a Phase III study of cancer immunotherapy in a

Novartis presents updated data that reinforce the efficacy and safety of Kisqali (ribociclib) plus letrozole as a first-line option for HR+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer At a subsequent

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) play an important role in the brain and immune system. Bern researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "TransCure" have now found a new way to influence the endocannabinoid system.

Novartis, the University of Georgia, Washington State University and collaborators advance therapeutic research for cryptosporidiosis Research collaboration with novel drug discovery process counters slow progress in developing new cryptosporidiosis treatments Scientists report discovery of Cryptosporidium PI(4)K inhibitor candidate KDU731 in new issue of Nature - Infectious disease scientists from Novartis, the University of Georgia and Washing

At the Meet Novartis Management investor event, Novartis highlights focus on innovation and productivity; expects the next growth phase to begin in 2018 Building depth across key therapeutic areas wi

Sandoz is seeking approval for their proposed biosimilars adalimumab and infliximab for use in all indications of their respective reference medicines, Humira * and Remicade ** Comprehensive data pac

Eight of nine evaluable patients tested had no signs of CLL in their bone marrow at three months. CTL119 is a humanized CD19-directed CAR-T cell therapy being developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Novartis is committed to advancing a portfolio of next-generation CAR-T cell therapies - Novartis announced findings from a pilot study (NCT02640209) of CTL119 in combination with ibrutinib* in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who had been taking ibrutinib for at least six months and who were not in complete remission.

Drug resistance is not only a major problem in fighting infectious diseases. Also in the treatment of cancer it can jeopardize the success of chemotherapy.

In ALK-positive metastatic NSCLC patients, Zykadia median progression-free survival (PFS) was 16.6 months, compared to 8.1 months with chemotherapy   The overall intracranial response r

New data at ATS add to the body of evidence for Roche's Esbriet (pirfenidone) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) In new post hoc analyses of phase III data, Esbriet reduced the risk of death in p

New analyses from the FLAME study suggest dual bronchodilator Ultibro Breezhaler provides similar or better efficacy versus steroid-containing therapies, regardless of blood eosinophil (a type of white blood cell)  counts   Data was published in the centenary issue of the American Thoracic Society's 'American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine'   Together with the International Primary Care Respiratory Group, Novartis is launching

FDA approves Roche's Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab) for giant cell arteritis Actemra/RoActemra is the first FDA-approved treatment for adults with giant cell arteritis (GCA) FDA previously granted Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Actemra/RoActemra in GCA Sixth FDA approval for Actemra/RoActemra since its US launch in 2010 Roche today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Actemra /RoActemra (tocilizumab) ) subcutaneous injection for the treatment of GCA, a chronic and severe autoimmune condition.

Phase III trial, first-line treatment with Zykadia resulted in improved progression-free survival (PFS) over SOC chemotherapy with maintenance, including in patients with brain metastases Zykadia is

Updated analyses from the Kisqali pivotal Phase III MONALEESA-2 trial in hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced breast cancer to be presente

Roche to present new data on personalised medicines and cancer immunotherapies at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 20 Roche medicines are included in more than 190

Roche provides update on phase III study of TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) in people with previously treated advanced bladder cancer IMvigor211 study did not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival (

Renal cell carcinoma is one of the most frequent and deadly urogenital cancers. Even if the tumors are treated, they ultimately end in metastasis in about half of the patients. 90 percent of these patients die within five years. Thanks to new kinds of immunotherapies, the outlook of this patient group has improved, but the treatment only works for a minority of patients.