January 2020

PACT Pharma, in pursuit of its vision to eradicate solid tumors using transformational, first-in-class fully personalized NeoTCR-T cell therapies, today announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $75 million Series C financing. This round, led by Vida Ventures, a next generation life science venture firm with industry-leading experience in the cell and gene therapy, also included current investors of PACT.

A National Institutes of Health study found that chronic treatment with mirabegron, a drug approved to treat overactive bladder, activated brown fat in a small group of healthy women and had several other beneficial metabolic effects. Brown fat, or brown adipose tissue, is a form of fat that burns calories to generate heat. The research, led by Aaron Cypess, M.D., Ph.D., at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), was published on Jan. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Women who breastfed their infants exclusively for seven to 12 months may have a significantly lower risk of early menopause than their peers who breastfed their infants for less than a month, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study also suggests that pregnancy can reduce the risk of early menopause.

Amazon pharmacy is expanding its working outside US and potentially in India, Canada, U.K. and Australia. Recently, Amazon has filed to trademark “Amazon Pharmacy” in Canada, the U.K. and Australia, signaling a potential move into selling prescription drugs outside of the U.S. reported by CNBC.

As per WHO update (as of 11th January, 2020) in all, 41 cases of Novel Coronavirus have been reported so far from China [including one death (further update is awaited)]. As per WHO risk assessment, the risk for global spread, as of now, remains low.

Tobacco smokers are at significantly higher risk than non-smokers for post-surgical complications including impaired heart and lung functions, infections and delayed or impaired wound healing.