Data Shows Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Also Tackles A Second Protein
The drug maker said its recent controversially-approved drug Aduhelm also lowers levels of a second protein that accumulates in the brains of people suffering Alzheimer's. A separate Alzheimer's drug from Cortexyme is moving forward in trials under a new regime.
Reuters:
Biogen Says Aduhelm Lowers Levels Of Second Protein Associated With Alzheimer's
Biogen Inc's (BIIB.O) Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, approved by U.S. regulators last year for its ability to reduce amyloid brain plaques, also lowers levels of a second protein that accumulates in the brains of people with the disease, according to new data released by the company on Thursday. Biogen said its Phase III studies found that Aduhelm significantly lowered blood levels of an abnormal form of the protein tau - another target of experimental Alzheimer's drugs - that forms toxic tangles of nerve fibers associated with the mind-wasting disease. (Beasley, 11/11)
Stat:
Cortexyme Bets On A Lower Dose Of Its Once-Failed Alzheimer’s Drug
Cortexyme, pressing forward after its novel approach to Alzheimer’s disease failed in a mid-stage trial, believes a lower dose of the medicine might safely treat a subset of patients. But detailed data, presented at a medical conference Thursday, suggest the path ahead could be difficult. In the roughly 650-patient study, Cortexyme’s drug proved no better than placebo at slowing patients’ decline, as measured by tests of cognition and ability to complete basic activities. However, the failed trial taught the company how to succeed next time, said Michael Detke, Cortexyme’s chief medical officer, at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease meeting in Boston. (Garde, 11/11)
In other research, innovation news —
The New York Times:
Bariatric Surgery May Lower Risk For Severe Liver Disease, New Study Finds
One in four American adults has fatty liver disease caused by obesity, not drinking, and there is no medical treatment for it. Doctors say the only way to keep it in check is to lose weight and eat a healthier diet. Now a new study reports that bariatric surgery, in addition to helping with weight loss, can protect the liver. The findings were striking: Of a group of more than 1,100 patients who had an aggressive form of fatty liver disease, those who had weight-loss surgery cut their risk of advanced liver disease, liver cancer or related death by almost 90 percent over the next decade. (Caryn Rabin, 11/11)
CIDRAP:
Beta-Lactam Plus Doxycycline Tied To Better Pneumonia Outcomes In Elderly
A retrospective study of elderly pneumonia patients treated at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals found that use of doxycycline as part of guideline-concordant therapy was associated with lower mortality than regimens without doxycycline, researchers reported this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Of the 70,533 patients 65 and older who were hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) at VA hospitals from 2002 through 2012, 5,282 (7.5%) received empiric therapy with a beta-lactam antibiotic plus doxycycline. That combination is an alternative regimen recommended for CAP under 2019 American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines, but prior to this study, there was limited evidence supporting its use. (11/11)
CIDRAP:
Multivalent Ebola Vaccine Enters Clinical Trial
Oxford University today announced the launch of a multivalent (multi-strain) Ebola virus vaccine, which targets the two species likely to infect humans. The small phase 1 trial is enrolling 26 healthy UK adults ages 18 to 55 with the goal of assessing immune response and safety, the university said in a statement. The vaccine targets the Zaire and Sudan strains and uses the same adenovirus vector as the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. (11/11)
Stat:
5 Health Tech Startups Targeting The Medicaid Population To Watch
When it comes to new opportunities, health tech companies tend to follow the money. That means that for years, Medicaid — the public insurance program serving nearly one in five U.S. residents — has been largely left behind in the race to use tech to provide more convenient, better care. That’s changing though, amid increased calls for equity and inclusion in health care and as a growing cadre of private and public payers begin to align themselves with value-based care models that reward clinicians for the quality of care they provide, rather than the quantity of services given. There’s a crop of pioneering startups beginning to court the roughly 73 million people covered by Medicaid. (Brodwin, 11/12)
Stat:
Rectify Is Hoping It Can Mend Broken ABC Transporters, Starting In The Liver
A former Vertex scientist is setting his sights on an entire family of transporter proteins that can cause scores of rare inherited conditions. His startup, Rectify Pharmaceuticals, recently completed a Series A to solve the problems created when so-called ABC transporters break — but the path ahead isn’t as easy as 1, 2, 3. There are 48 distinct ABC transporter proteins found in humans, and they each perform essential functions for organs. Some help cells pump out natural and artificial antibiotics; others move lipids; and still more pass peptides through the cell membrane. But when ABC transporters aren’t formed correctly, they give rise to huge problems. (Bender, 11/12)
Stat:
Optogenetics Tools Pinpoint Location, Timing Of Memory Formation
A mouse finds itself in a box it’s seen before; inside, its white walls are bright and clean. Then, a door opens. On the other side, a dark chamber awaits. The mouse should be afraid. Stepping into the shadows means certain shock — 50 hertz to the paws, a zap the animal was unfortunate enough to have experienced just the day before. But when the door slides open this time, there is no freezing, no added caution. The mouse walks right in. ZAP. The memory of this place, of this shock, of these bad feelings had been erased overnight by a team of neuroscientists at four leading research institutions in Japan using lasers, a virus, and a fluorescent protein normally produced in the body of sea anemones. (Molteni, 11/11)
Axios:
Air Pollution Overlooked As Cause Of Heart Disease
Doctors should incorporate air pollution to their list of risk factors for heart disease when treating patients, a study out Thursday from the New England Journal of Medicine urges. Air pollution is still overlooked as a cause of heart disease, as outdoor air quality worsens in some parts of the globe. Pairing reduction strategies with cardiovascular disease prevention "could save millions of lives," the authors write. (Fernandez, 11/12)
On drone medicine deliveries in Utah —
Bloomberg:
Zipline Drone Startup To Start Medicine Deliveries In Utah
California drone startup Zipline plans to begin delivering medicine and other supplies to homes in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company, whose fixed-wing drones have been transporting medical supplies to rural clinics in Rwanda and Ghana since 2016, has signed a service agreement with Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare to make deliveries to its patients in the city. Zipline said it expects to make its first deliveries in the spring of 2022 and to reach hundreds per day within four years of launching the service. (Boudway, 11/11)
