HIV affects young brains even after early treatment

Across sub-Saharan Africa today, a vast majority of children suffer from HIV. While early antiretroviral treatment, or ART, ensured that children with and exposed to HIV have less deadly results, studies have shown that the virus can still affect the brain.

Washington D.C: A new study has given a clear understanding about how even with early treatment, HIV still manages to attack young brains.

Across sub-Saharan Africa today, a vast majority of children suffer from HIV. While early antiretroviral treatment, or ART, ensured that children with and exposed to HIV have less deadly results, studies have shown that the virus can still affect the brain....read more

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Sosei Heptares alliance partner Pfizer nominates third clinical candidate from multi-target drug discovery collaboration

Pharmabiz

Sosei Group Corporation, an international biopharmaceutical group, announced that the company has been notified by its strategic alliance partner Pfizer that it has nominated a third clinical candidate from the multi-target drug discovery collaboration between the two companies. Achievement of this milestone triggers a payment of $3 million to Sosei Heptares. This new candidate is an oral small molecule targeting a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) implicated in metabolic and other diseases. Pfizer has nominated three distinct clinical candidates from the collaboration with Sosei Heptares during 2019, one of which recently entered a first clinical trial. The candidates have resulted from the combined and complementary expertise of drug discovery teams within Pfizer and Sosei Heptares. The collaboration has also leveraged Sosei Heptares’ unique StaR technology and Structure-based Drug Design (SBDD) capabilities to design molecules that modulate different GPCR targets across multiple disease areas. Sosei Heptares has now received $14 million in significant milestone payments from Pfizer during 2019. Dr. Malcolm Weir, executive vice president, research & early development at Sosei Heptares, said: “Sosei Heptares has a clear goal to be the partner of choice for pharma companies looking for novel drug candidates designed to address highly validated yet challenging targets. The exciting progress being made with Pfizer is a clear demonstration of the productivity that can be achieved through the combination of complementary teams with the unique insights into GPCR targets we can derive from applying our StaR technology and SBDD approach. We look forward to providing updates from this and other development programs in due course.”

Department of Pharmaceutical asks industry to regulate promotional practices

ET Healthworld - Teena Thacker

With concerns over the influence of offering gifts to medical professionals by pharmaceutical companies surging, the Department of Pharmaceutical (DoP) has asked the pharmaceutical industry to step up efforts at self-regulation or it will be compelled to bring in a law to regulate promotional practices in the pharmaceuticals industry. The DoP secretary held a meeting on 23 December to review the implementation of the uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices (UCPMP) which is being voluntarily adopted by the pharmaceutical companies since 2015. Following recent complaints of unethical marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies, a committee is likely to be set up by the DoP which will keep a strict vigil on any such violations, shared one of the persons attending the meeting. The DoP secretary has told both the domestic and multinational pharma lobby groups along with the medical device industry to “strictly” comply with the code of ethics, added the same people. The pharma lobby groups and the medical devices lobby group have been asked to share their comments on the issue within a week.

77 kids die in Kota hospital this month, doctors rule out negligence

ET Healthworld- Syed Intishab Ali

Seventy-seven children have died in Kota’s J K Lon Hospital in the first 24 days of this month with 10 deaths reported in the last 48 hours. The hospital, which had formed a committee on Tuesday to investigate the deaths, has ruled out negligence saying resources and equipment were functioning properly. In its report, the hospital pointed out that the 10 children who died over the last couple of days were extremely critical and on ventilator support. The hospital also claimed that five newborns who died on December 23 and 24 were just a day old and breathed their last within few hours after they were admitted. The report said they were suffering from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, a condition in which infant’s brain does not receive enough oxygen, and septicemia. The report also said a fivemonth-old died on December 23 because of severe pneumonia, while a seven-year-old died of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The third victim of the day, a one-and-ahalf-month-old, died of complex cyanotic congenital heart disease. Apart from them, a two-month-old succumbed to severe pneumonia with aspiration and another one-and-ahalf-year-old died of seizure disorder with aspiration on December 24. “After investigating, we have found that all the 10 deaths were normal and did not die because of negligence,” hospital superintendent Dr H L Meena said on Wednesday.

Bareilly: NCD clinics to become functional at CHCs by January

ET Healthworld- Priyangi Agarwal

The clinics for non-communicable diseases (NCD) proposed at all community health centres (CHCs) in the district are currently operational at two centres. Officials said they would get staff and equipment by January and NCD clinics would be made functional in remaining 14 CHCs by January. The clinic will aid patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke. The health department received a budget of nearly Rs 8 lakh to run NCD clinics at all 16 CHCs in the district. However, the department could start it at only two CHCs — Baheri and Faridpur — around three months ago. Additional chief medical officer RN Giri said, “We will start NCD clinics at all CHCs by January after we receive equipment and additional staff, including nurses and computer operator. NCD clinics will facilitate patients of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke. These patients will be saved from travelling long distance to reach the district hospital.”