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an hour ago
- Yahoo
EpiPen patent expiry opens new era for innovation
The upcoming EpiPen patent expiration on 11 September 2025 sets the stage for a pivotal shift in the epinephrine delivery market. Mylan acquired the rights to the injector pen for treating anaphylactic reactions following the $6.7bn acquisition of Merck KGaA's generics business, Merck Generics, in 2007. Mylan has since faced criticism for inflating the price of EpiPen and constraining patient access. The company has faced numerous lawsuits over the years in relation to overcharging drug wholesalers for access. In 2020, Mylan merged with Upjohn, Pfizer's off-patent medicine division, to form Viatris. In January 2025, Mylan reached a $73.5m settlement with KPH Healthcare Services following accusations that it conspired with Pfizer and Teva Pharmaceuticals to delay the release of generic EpiPens, thereby maintaining a monopoly and inflating prices for epinephrine autoinjectors. The lawsuit contested that prices for a two-pack of EpiPens rose from around $100 in 2008 to $600 during the class period between March 2014 and February 2025. The generics upswell and innovation rise According to Dr Stuart Grant, principal consultant at UK-based medtech consultant Archetype MedTech, the patent expiration's immediate effect will lead to a rise in generic competitors. 'An increase in generic options is likely to lower prices considerably, expanding choices for consumers and healthcare providers. Greater availability of affordable options could improve access for individuals and families who previously found it too expensive,' Grant said. With the patent expiration, Grant foresees Viatris facing pressures to cut prices or introduce new financial support programmes to maintain its market share. 'The brand might also explore developing next-generation devices, improving user experience, or applying for secondary patents to stay competitive. These strategies, known as 'evergreening', could draw regulatory attention depending on their intent and market impact,' Grant explained. Epinephrine injector competitors have previously had to develop their devices around EpiPen's patented spring-loaded mechanism, a reality that limited their ability to replicate or improve upon the core delivery system. 'They will now be able to use the original design as a foundation, incorporating enhancements such as better ergonomics, child-friendly features, or smaller form factors,' Grant said. 'The removal of patent barriers also paves the way for innovative technologies – Bluetooth tracking, dose reminders, and digital health integrations can now be layered on top of the legacy design. 'Moreover, companies can explore alternative formulations and delivery methods while leveraging the expired EpiPen model for regulatory efficiency, potentially qualifying for accelerated approval pathways. This reduces both development time and cost, encouraging new entrants into the market.' Grant concluded. "EpiPen patent expiry opens new era for innovation" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The biggest black hole ever seen? Scientists find one with mass of 36 billion suns
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. About 5 billion light-years away from where you're sitting, in one of the most massive galaxies on record, there exists an astonishing black hole. It was only just measured by scientists who managed to peer through the fabric of warped space-time — and it appears to hold a mass equivalent to that of 36 billion suns. Yes, billion. "This is amongst the top 10 most massive black holes ever discovered, and quite possibly the most massive," Thomas Collett, study author and a professor at the University of Portsmouth in England, said in a statement. More specifically, the black hole is found in one of two galaxies that make up the Cosmic Horseshoe system and is what's known as a "dormant" black hole. This means it's a relatively quiet black hole; it isn't actively chomping on matter in its surroundings, as opposed to an active black hole that is accreting matter from a disk that circles it, known as an accretion disk. The black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A*, is also a dormant black hole — but, for context, it only holds the mass of about 4.15 million suns. The fact that the Cosmic Horseshoe black hole is found in such a massive galaxy and that Sagittarius A* is found in our more modestly sized Milky Way is probably not a coincidence. In fact, the team behind the new measurement is hoping to learn more about the apparent size connection between supermassive black holes and their parent galaxies. "We think the size of both is intimately linked," Collett said, "because when galaxies grow they can funnel matter down onto the central black hole. Some of this matter grows the black hole, but lots of it shines away in an incredibly bright source called a quasar. These quasars dump huge amounts of energy into their host galaxies, which stops gas clouds condensing into new stars." This brings us to another key aspect of the team's findings: the way this black hole was measured to begin with. The research team was able to utilize a unique approach that doesn't rely on the black hole being an actively accreting one. Without active feeding, black holes can kind of hide behind the veil of the cosmos. It is the accretion itself that usually gives these objects away. Such commotion produces lots of emissions, like X-rays, that scientists here on Earth can detect. Naturally, it's also far easier to measure the precise masses of black holes via such emissions. However, there is one characteristic of black holes that even dormant ones can't suppress: their immense gravitational pull. And the greater the gravitational pull, the greater the warp in space-time, as predicted by Albert Einstein's general relativity theory. Where Einstein comes in In a nutshell, Albert Einstein's famous theory of general relativity explains the true nature of gravity. It suggests that gravity isn't quite an intrinsic, elusive property of an object that pulls things down. In other words, Earth itself isn't really pulling us down to the ground. Rather, general relativity states that objects with mass (all objects, including you and me) warp the four-dimensional fabric of space-time — and these warps influence the motion of other objects caught up in the folds. For instance, imagine a trampoline on which you place a ball. That ball would warp the trampoline inward. Now, imagine placing a smaller ball on the trampoline. That smaller ball would fall inward as well, along the warped trampoline's fabric and sit right next to the original ball. The trampoline in this case is space-time, the original ball is Earth and the smaller ball is you. The big caveat in this analogy, however, is that this trampoline exists in three dimensions. We'd need to scale this up to the four-dimensional universe for it to start representing reality more accurately, but our brains have a hard time comprehending that dimension visually. Importantly for the team's new measurements, something that arises from warped space-time (in the fourth dimension, remember) is that physical matter isn't the only thing affected by the warps. Light gets affected, too — and that includes light emanating from galaxies, such as the other galaxy in the Cosmic Horseshoe. This is the effect the study team managed to take advantage of when spotting the newly confirmed black hole. Light from the Cosmic Horseshoe system's background galaxy was warped as it traveled past the foreground galaxy that contains black hole. The Cosmic Horseshoe system is actually an iconic example of this effect, which is called gravitational lensing. Not only does this system have a strong version of this effect, but each galaxy involved happens to be perfectly aligned such that the light-warped background galaxy appears as almost a perfect ring around the foreground galaxy. When this happens, it's called an "Einstein Ring." So, we're seeing an "almost" Einstein ring in this case. It's more like ... an Einstein horseshoe? After combining those gravitational lensing measurements with measurements of stars in the vicinity that appeared to be zipping around at high speeds, the researchers knew they were onto something. Though scientists have previously suggested a monster black hole lurks in the Cosmic Horseshoe system, concrete evidence of the object and of its precise size wasn't available until now. "We detected the effect of the black hole in two ways — it is altering the path that light takes as it travels past the black hole and it is causing the stars in the inner regions of its host galaxy to move extremely quickly (almost 400 km/s)," Collet said. "By combining these two measurements, we can be completely confident that the black hole is real." "Its detection relied purely on its immense gravitational pull and the effect it has on its surroundings," Carlos Melo, study lead author and a Ph.D. candidate at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, said in the statement. "What is particularly exciting is that this method allows us to detect and measure the mass of these hidden ultramassive black holes across the universe, even when they are completely silent." What's next? There are quite a few ways to move forward on this work, one of which is, as mentioned, to reveal the link between galaxy size and supermassive black hole size — but another could be to zero in on the Cosmic Horseshoe black hole alone and learn how it became so utterly gigantic. The Cosmic Horseshoe is what's known as a "fossil group," which refers to the end stage of the "most massive gravitationally bound structures in the universe, arising when they have collapsed down to a single extremely massive galaxy, with no bright companions," according to the statement. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will likely become a fossil group someday, seeing as they're likely on a path to colliding somewhere in the far future. That crash has recently been brought into question, but it's still a possibility. Nonetheless, the Cosmic Horseshoe could very well be a peek into our realm's final era. "It is likely that all of the supermassive black holes that were originally in the companion galaxies have also now merged to form the ultramassive black hole that we have detected," said Collett. "So we're seeing the end state of galaxy formation and the end state of black hole formation." The team's paper was published on Aug. 7 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Swinney praises Olympic champion Hoy's cancer work after Bute House meeting
Scottish First Minister John Swinney has praised the work done by Sir Chris Hoy to raise awareness of prostate cancer following a meeting at Bute House. The champion cyclist, along with his wife Lady Sarra Hoy, charities and clinicians, met with the First Minister and Health Secretary to discuss how best to tackle prostate cancer on Friday. Sir Chris announced his terminal diagnosis last year and has since urged governments to change their guidelines on the condition, pushing for GPs to contact those in at-risk groups to get tested. Speaking after the meeting, the First Minister said: 'I am extremely grateful to Sir Chris Hoy, Lady Sarra Hoy and all those who shared their valuable insights about how we can work together to better raise awareness and understanding of prostate cancer in Scotland. 'Since the news of his diagnosis last year, Sir Chris has shown tremendous leadership and courage in his campaigning. 'It is a deeply personal issue, but his commitment to helping others is remarkably brave and deservedly recognised. 'We know that the earlier cancer is diagnosed the easier it is to treat, and even cure, which is why the efforts of Sir Chris and others to raise awareness are so valuable. 'I join with a great many others in offering my very best wishes to the Hoy family, and to all families facing the challenges of cancer.' The Olympic champion reiterated his calls for men to get tested if they are worried. 'I welcomed the opportunity to meet with the First Minister, the Health Secretary, doctors and charity leaders so we could talk about our shared commitment to raising awareness and understanding of prostate cancer,' he said. 'I would particularly like to thank the other guests who joined me in talking about their personal experiences. 'Knowing some of the common symptoms of prostate cancer can save lives. These include needing to urinate more often than normal, difficulty urinating or the appearance of blood when you do. 'It is especially important for black men and those who have a family history of prostate cancer to familiarise themselves with the symptoms, but I would encourage anyone with concerns to contact their GP practice for advice as soon as they can.' Since his diagnosis, Sir Chris has focused on raising awareness of prostate cancer and is due to host a major fundraising cycling event in Glasgow in September. Laura Kerby, chief executive officer of Prostate Cancer UK, said the charity was 'delighted to be working with Sir Chris Hoy and the Scottish Government'. She added: 'In the months after Sir Chris shared his story, we saw a huge increase in men using our online risk checker and the number of men in Scotland starting treatment for prostate cancer reached an all-time high. 'We're so grateful for the lifesaving impact he's making and continues to make with events like his upcoming Tour De Four cycling challenge. 'But, today, men in Scotland are still more likely to get a late prostate cancer diagnosis than anywhere else in the UK, so it's incredibly important that we do not take our feet off the pedals. 'We're grateful to the Scottish Government and First Minister John Swinney for assembling such a talented group of experts and leaders in this space today to continue the vital work to change this unacceptable situation.' Alison Wright, chief executive officer of Prostate Scotland, said the meeting was an 'important first conversation'. 'We hope it leads to ongoing collaboration and concrete steps to close detection gaps, so no man at risk is left behind,' she said. 'Far too many men – especially those with a family history, black African or Caribbean heritage, or inherited genetic mutations – are diagnosed late because testing was only prompted by symptoms. 'We advise that clear prompts for GPs be introduced to consider PSA testing based on risk factors alone, not just symptoms. Acting early will save lives.'
