science wire

Novartis announces exclusive option, collaboration and license agreement with Conatus to develop new oral treatments for chronic liver diseases Novartis to broaden liver portfolio to deliver best-in

If approved, Votubia would be the first adjunctive treatment specifically for refractory seizures in children and adults with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)   Seizures are the most common TSC-relat

Periodic Fever Syndromes are rare diseases mostly affecting children and cause recurrent and disabling fevers with potentially life-threatening complications   Ilaris (canakinumab) is recommended for

Acquisition to add a once-daily oral H4 receptor antagonist, ZPL389, to treat atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema, to the Novartis industry-leading pipeline    Investigational ZPL389 showed a clinically and statistically significant improvement of eczema lesions, leading to a 50% reduction in EASI score compared to placebo after eight weeks of treatment with a favorable safety profile   Eczema is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition af

Novartis provides update on pegpleranib Phase III clinical trial program in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD or wet AMD) Two pivotal Phase III studies did not show additional improvement in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) for pegpleranib and Lucentis (ranibizumab) combination treatment over standard of care Lucentis monotherapy , Recent Lucentis EU approval in new choroidal neovascularization (CNV)  indication

SMS for Life 2.0 launches for the first time in Kaduna State, Nigeria's third most populous region, in collaboration with the Kaduna State Ministry of Health   Program uses smartphones and tab

Novartis LEE011 (ribociclib) plus letrozole analyses show superior PFS across broad spectrum of patients in first-line HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer versus letrozole MONALEESA-2 analyses demonstrate superior PFS with LEE011 plus letrozole in pre-defined patient subgroups - from de novo to bone, liver and lung metastases - compared to letrozole alone   LEE011 plus letrozole reduced risk of progression or death by 55% over letrozole alone in de

Giovanna Raso and Jean Coulibaly are the awardees of the R. Geigy-Award 2016 and will share a CHF 20,000 prize in honour of their efforts to fight neglected helminth infections in West Africa.

«A few months after the proton treatment was over, I realised that I could see more and more. Just dimly, it's true, but I could see! That was sensational!» More than a year ago, Gabi Meier* was treated with proton therapy at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI.

Ultibro Breezhaler improved lung function and breathlessness after direct switch from long-acting bronchodilators or steroid-containing combination therapies   Results further support the 2017 GOLD recommendations that dual bronchodilation should be the foundation treatment for the majority of symptomatic COPD patients   Data from the pragmatic CRYSTAL study showcased for the first time at the 2016 British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting in Lond

Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab) plus chemotherapy receives FDA approval for platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer Approval based on two large Phase III studies including GOG-0213 that showed a five month overall survival difference for women with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer on Avastin plus chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone In the United States, Avastin is now approved for nine distinct uses across six different type

Novartis' Lucentis received EU approval in new indication - Lucentis the only treatment available for a wide range of CNV conditions The European Commission approved Lucentis to treat patients for vi

Patients without brain metastases at diagnosis experienced median progression-free survival of 26.3 months, the longest seen in a global Phase III study in ALK+ NSCLC   Patients with measurable brain metastases in the Zykadia arm experienced an intracranial response rate of more than 70%   Data will be used to support global regulatory submissions for first-line use of Zykadia in ALK+ advanced NSCLC patients - Novartis today announced res

ASSIST-FL trial demonstrates equivalent safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Sandoz proposed biosimilar rituximab (GP2013) to the reference product Interim data in over 600 adults show potential of GP2013 as an alternative rituximab Sandoz proposed biosimilar rituximab is the company's first monoclonal antibody candidate Holzkirchen, December 5, 2016 - Sandoz, a Novartis division, and the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, today announced data from the ASSIST-FL trial.

ENESTop post-hoc analysis provides further insights into Treatment-free Remission (TFR) among Ph+ CML switch patients The Tasigna TFR trials, including ENESTop, demonstrate our continued commitment to the CML community - Novartis today announced at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition new data from the Tasigna (nilotinib) ENESTop Treatment-free Remission (TFR) study, which demonstrate that TFR rates are c

Roche's Gazyva/Gazyvaro Helped People With Previously Untreated Follicular Lymphoma Live Significantly Longer Without Their Disease Worsening Compared to MabThera/Rituxan First Phase III study to show superior progression-free survival compared to MabThera/Rituxan-based standard of care treatment for most common slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma Results were presented during the Plenary Scientific Session at 58th American Society of Hema

82% (41 of 50) of patients achieved complete remission or complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery in interim analysis of Novartis study (ELIANA) ELIANA, the first global CAR T'cell tr

SEG101 reduced annual rate of sickle cell-related pain crises (SCPC) by 45.3% compared to placebo in patients with or without hydroxyurea therapy   SEG101 is a potential new disease-modifying, preventive treatment option for patients with SCPC; first in nearly 20 years   Data being highlighted in ASH 2016 media briefing, presented at Plenary Scientific Session and published simultaneously in The New England Journal of Medicine Basel, Dece

Rwanda becomes third country to launch Novartis Access portfolio against chronic diseases with first deliveries planned in early 2017 Since September 2015, Novartis Access has delivered more than 100

Using targeted immunotherapy, doctors have succeeded in curing a type of autoimmune enteritis caused by a recently discovered genetic mutation. This report comes from researchers at the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel. Their results raise new possibilities for the management of diarrhea, which is often a side effect of melanoma treatment.

2017 GOLD report recommends the first-line use of dual bronchodilators, such as Ultibro Breezhaler , in the treatment of the majority of symptomatic COPD patients   Bronchodilation regarded as the fo

Deal followed results of Phase II SUSTAIN study of SelG1 in reduction of vaso-occlusive pain crises, a major complication of SCD with limited treatment options   Results of SUSTAIN will be presented

No clinically meaningful differences between biosimilar etanercept and the originator product in safety and efficacy over 52 weeks   Innovative study design demonstrates switching between biosimilar etanercept and the originator product has no impact on safety and efficacy   Sandoz biosimilar etanercept was approved by the FDA* in August 2016 and is currently under review by the EMA ** Holzkirchen, November 18, 2016 - Sandoz, a Novartis division, and the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, today announced the publication of the EGALITY study in the British Journal of Dermatology .

The SNSF is launching the National Research Programme "Antimicrobial Resistance", which aims to develop new solutions to ensure that antibiotics remain effective. Worldwide, more and more pathogens are becoming resistant to today's antibiotics. The aim of European Antibiotic Awareness Day on 18 November 2016 is to highlight the fact that medicines are losing their effectiveness as a result and that once easy-to-treat infections are turning into deadly diseases.

First results from global registrational trial of CAR T'therapy, CTL019, in pediatric relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia  Sub-group analyses from pivotal MONALEESA-2 trial of LEE011 (ri

STRIVE, the first six-month placebo-controlled study of AMG 334 (erenumab) in migraine, met the primary endpoint, showing a statistically significant reduction in monthly migraine days versus placebo

Entresto reduced the risk of first and subsequent events of heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths following heart failure hospitalization by 20%-24% compared to enalapril   These f

Roche launches imCORE, a global network of cancer immunotherapy centers of excellence Research network of 21 academic centers from around the world to access and share technology, data and expertise

Cosentyx data show sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in approximately 80% of patients over 3 years *   New data show that with Cosentyx the high ACR response rates are consistently maintained in PsA, with no reduction from Year 1 to Year 3   New head-to-head clinical trials planned in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and PsA to compare Cosentyx versus Humira **/*** The digital press release with multimedia

Priority Review based on data from the largest clinical trials conducted to date in each indication , Designation will shorten FDA expected review time to within six months ; EMA also accepted the PK

Novartis ranks third in 2016 ranking   Company tops the industry in access-to-medicine management and capacity building   Novartis integrated access strategy addressing all income segments stands out

Roche showcases new clinical data across a variety of blood diseases at American Society of Hematology 2016 Annual Meeting New results from the phase III GALLIUM study which compared Gazyva/Gazyvaro

Roche to present new data on medicines for autoimmune diseases and severe inflammatory disorders at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting 15 oral presentations from 17 abstracts across six autoimmune cond

Priority Review based on Phase III MONALEESA-2 trial, which showed LEE011 plus letrozole, as initial treatment for advanced breast cancer, significantly extended progression-free survival compared to

Novartis Wins Two Prestigious Prix Galien Foundation Awards; Gleevec recognized as "Discovery of the Decade" for Best Pharmaceutical Product, Cosentyx as Best Biotechnology Product Basel, October 31,

Novartis delivered solid third quarter with Growth Products offsetting Gleevec patent expiration; several positive readouts for potential blockbusters Q3 net sales (-1% cc and USD) broadly in line wit

FDA approves Roche's cancer immunotherapy TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) for people with a specific type of metastatic lung cancer First and only anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy approved by the FDA for met

Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis Advisory Committee convenes at Swiss TPH This year's annual meeting of the Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis Advisory Committee, chaired by Jürg Utzinger, is hosted at Swiss TPH.

Alcon to host first live training program on the use of the CyPass Micro-Stent, a minimally invasive glaucoma surgical device to treat cataract patients with mild to moderate primary open-angle glauc

The SNSF is providing funding for University Children's Hospital Zurich's scientific review of the treatment of children with differences of sex development (DSD children). They used to be called hermaphrodites and intersexuals. From the 1950s onwards, it was customary for children and newborns with no clear biological gender to be assigned their "true" gender as soon as possible by exploiting pharmacotherapy or by surgically operating on them.

Progression-free survival (PFS) in ALKi-naïve patients is consistent with results previously reported from Phase I ASCEND-1 study Phase II study also showed overall response rate of 63.3% in A

Novartis breakthrough therapy LEE011 plus letrozole demonstrates superior progression-free survival as first-line treatment for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer compared to a standard of care LEE011 (ribociclib) plus letrozole reduced the risk of progression or death by 44% over letrozole alone, significantly extending progression-free survival (PFS) across all patient subgroups   Results showed that the combination significantly improved tumor

Novartis' Tafinlar (dabrafenib) + Mekinist (trametinib) demonstrate superior overall survival benefit in advanced melanoma patients at three-year follow up Latest data confirm an estimated 45% of pat

A new interdisciplinary, large-scale project from the "Hochschulmedizin Zürich" network focuses on skin research in Zurich.

FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation for Roche's Actemra/RoActemra in giant cell arteritis, a form of vasculitis Roche recently announced positive results from a Phase III GCA clinical trial Fourteenth Breakthrough Therapy designation for Roche medicines There have been no therapies approved for GCA in more than 50 years Roche , announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation status to Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab) for giant cell arteritis (GCA), a chronic, potentially life-threatening autoimmune condition.

The new chemical compound ACT-451840 is highly effective against most deadly malaria parasites in humans. It is also active against those parasites that have developed resistance against the standard therapies. The findings, published today in the journal PLOS Medicine, come from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in collaboration with partners from industry and academia.

US FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Roche's Alecensa (alectinib) for first-line treatment of people with ALK-positive NSCLC This second Alecensa Breakthrough Therapy Designation granted is based on phase 3 J-ALEX study Roche announced today that it has received a second Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ALK inhibitor, Alecensa (alectinib).

First phase III data on Roche's TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) to feature at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress - Superiority results from the phase III OAK study comparing Tecentriq to chemotherapy in a difficult to treat type of lung cancer will be highlighted at the ESMO Presidential Symposium - Investigational cancer immunotherapy-based combination approaches across a range of cancer types to be showcased during the con