October 2015

Novartis's pivotal Phase III FUTURE 1 study for secukinumab in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Secukinumab is the first interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor to demonstrate efficacy in a Phase III study in patients with active PsA, a painful, debilitating condition causing inflammation of joints and skin. PsA is part of a family of long-term diseases impacting joints, known as spondylorarthritis.

Pfizer Inc., in partnership with five leading breast cancer advocacy organizations, today announced the next chapter of the Breast Cancer: A Story Half Told initiative, launched in 2014 to identify public misperceptions and gaps in knowledge surrounding metastatic breast cancer (MBC), the most advanced form of breast cancer. Research conducted as part of this initiative revealed that the majority of Americans (60%) reported they know little to nothing about MBC.1The new chapter aims to address this lack of understanding through the perspectives of women living with MBC, as chronicled by prominent photographers.

Tuberculosis is the number one cause of death in HIV-infected patients in Africa and a leading cause of death in this population worldwide, yet the majority of these patients are excluded from the early stages in the development of new, anti-tuberculosis drugs, according to findings presented today (29 September, 2015) at the European Respiratory Society's International Congress 2015.

Atezolizumab is set to substantially change treatment strategies for patients with refractory lung cancer, according to Dr Martin Reck, Chief Oncology Physician in the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Hospital Grosshansdorf, Germany. Reck’s comments came as the results from the POPLAR and BIRCH studies showing the first results of efficacy with atezolizumab across lines were presented at the European Cancer Congress 2015 (ECC 2015) in Vienna, Austria.1

Updated results from the CheckMate 057 phase III clinical trial, show that nivolumab continues to show an overall survival benefit compared to docetaxel in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance produced by our body, composed almost entirely of the mineral apatite (calcium phosphate) deposited on a substrate of three unique enamel matrix proteins. New research suggests that tooth enamel originated in the skin. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in China combined data from paleontology and genomics to arrive at the answer. The study appeared in the journal Nature.

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Florida in the US have identified a new class of compounds with the potential to stop 'chronic intractable itch' without the adverse side effects. The study was published in the journal Neuropharmacology.

The Medical Research Council researchers analyzed huge amount amount of health and genetic data from volunteers to the UK's Biobank project. The analysis of more than 50,000 people showed favorable mutations in people's DNA-enhanced lung function and masked the deadly impact of smoking.