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Reuters
4 days ago
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Roche's Tecentriq reduces recurrence, deaths for certain colon cancer patients
June 6 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here.) Adding Roche's (ROG.S), opens new tab immunotherapy drug Tecentriq to chemotherapy after surgery in certain patients whose colon cancer had spread to the lymph nodes led to a 50% reduction in cancer recurrence and death compared to chemotherapy alone, according to trial data presented at recent medical meeting. Patients in the study had tumors with a genetic defect known as deficient DNA mismatch repair, or dMMR. About 15% of colon cancer patients have dMMR tumors, which do not respond well to chemotherapy. "The findings from our study represent a major advance in the adjuvant treatment of dMMR stage 3 colon cancer and will now change the treatment for this type of cancer," study leader Dr. Frank Sinicrope of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement. The data, opens new tab were presented at the ASCO meeting that concluded earlier this week. The trial enrolled 712 patients with dMMR stage 3 colon cancer that had been surgically removed and who had cancer cells in their lymph nodes. Half of the study participants received chemotherapy along with Tecentriq, which activates the immune system to attack and kill cancer cells, for six months, followed by the immunotherapy alone for another six months. The other half of the patients received chemotherapy for 12 months. The benefit of Tecentriq was seen even in the oldest patients and those at particularly high-risk. "It's extremely rewarding to be able to offer our patients a new treatment regimen that can reduce the risk of recurrence and improve their chances of survival," Sinicrope said. As patients recover after a minimally invasive heart procedure, they might be better off continuing to take a certain type of blood-thinning drug to help prevent a heart attack or stroke, instead of continuing with the traditional aspirin, a new study suggests. Early after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) - a procedure to prop open blocked arteries either after a heart attack, or to prevent one - patients often receive dual anti-clotting therapy with both a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel, the generic version of Plavix, or AstraZeneca's (AZN.L), opens new tab Brilinta (ticagrelor), and aspirin. After several months, patients are usually switched from dual therapy to lifelong daily aspirin use. But pooled data looking at patients who took part in five earlier clinical trials found that continuing to prescribe the P2Y12 inhibitors and stopping the aspirin was associated with lower rates of death, heart attack and stroke compared with continuing the aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding, researchers reported in The BMJ, opens new tab. Overall, the trials involved 16,117 patients who received either a P2Y12 inhibitor or aspirin after completing dual therapy following PCI. After an average follow-up period of around 4 years, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy was associated with a 23% lower risk of a composite of heart-related death, heart attack, or stroke, compared with aspirin, with no significant difference in major bleeding. That translates into one prevented cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke for every 46 patients taking a P2Y12 inhibitor instead of aspirin after dual therapy. Overall, the findings suggest that P2Y12 inhibitor drugs should be preferred over aspirin 'due to reductions in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events without increasing major bleeding in the medium term,' according to an editorial published with the study. But the editorial said that since patients are advised to continue the post-PCI therapy for life, large trials directly comparing the different strategies with longer follow up are needed. Some diabetes and weight-loss drugs from the class known as GLP-1 agonists were linked with a small but elevated risk for an age-related eye disease in patients with diabetes, according to a study published on Thursday in JAMA Ophthalmology, opens new tab. In 139,000 patients with diabetes, including 46,334 who had been using the GLP-1 drugs semaglutide or lixisenatide, researchers identified 181 new cases of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, also known as wet AMD. Wet AMD is a degenerative eye disease marked by the abnormal growth of blood vessels under the retina that leak fluid or blood and can lead to blindness. The risk of developing AMD during up to three years of follow-up was low, at 0.2% in GLP-1 users versus 0.1% in non-users. Still, the researchers point out, after accounting for patients' individual risk factors, the odds of AMD were doubled with at least six months of GLP-1 use and tripled in patients with the longest duration of use. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in the widely used Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, while lixisenatide is the main ingredient in Sanofi's ( opens new tab discontinued Adlyxin. GLP-1 drugs have also been associated with higher risks for an eye condition known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. Researchers did not have information about the dose, route of administration, or frequency of administration of the medications used in the study. Even with that information, the study could not have proved cause and effect. At least one earlier study with longer follow up reported that GLP-1 use was linked with a lower, rather than higher, risk for AMD. 'Our findings are not directly contradictory' with that earlier report, said study leader Dr. Reut Shor of the University of Toronto. 'Factors such as timing and duration of exposure, disease stage, and patient characteristics may all influence outcomes," Shor said. "Our results add another layer to the emerging understanding of this complex relationship and emphasize the need for further research to clarify these trends.' (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here)
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AstraZeneca Invests $2.5 Billion in Beijing Hub Amid Probe
(Bloomberg) — AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) will invest $2.5 billion in a new research center in Beijing, in a major show of commitment to China just months after the company's top executive there was detained by authorities. New York Subway Ditches MetroCard After 32 Years for Tap-And-Go LA Faces $1 Billion Budget Hole, Warns of Thousands of Layoffs Despite Cost-Cutting Moves, Trump Plans to Remake DC in His Style Amtrak CEO Departs Amid Threats of a Transit Funding Pullback NYC Plans for Flood Protection Without Federal Funds The hub — AstraZeneca's second in the country and a collaboration with the Beijing government — will focus on early-stage research and include an artificial intelligence lab. The investment over five years also covers collaborations with biotechs and a hospital as AstraZeneca tries to capitalize on the booming local sector, where Big Pharma is jostling to secure the next blockbuster to emerge. Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot has frequently talked up the scientific promise of China. Friday's announcement came as he met Beijing's Mayor Yin Yong, who according to Chinese media urged Soriot in December to expand AstraZeneca's research and development in the capital. Even so, the timing is striking. Though details remain scant, Chinese authorities are investigating some of Astra's current and former employees over alleged law breaches around drug imports, data privacy and insurance reimbursement. The drugmaker confirmed last year its China president, Leon Wang, was detained as part of the probe. Rather than withdraw, as rival GSK Plc (GSK.L) effectively did when hit by a Chinese investigation more than a decade ago, AstraZeneca is upping its investment. The decision reflects AstraZeneca's belief in Beijing's life sciences ecosystem and the company's commitment to the country, Soriot said in a statement. It also represents something of a mood shift. As its troubles mounted in China, Soriot moved last year to bulk up AstraZeneca's US business. That was shortly after Donald Trump's election victory, and the strategy fitted the then president-elect's expected focus on boosting domestic manufacturing. But the fresh China investment shows Soriot also has no intention of backing away from the world's second-largest economy. Astra has built up a substantial presence, with a life sciences innovation campus in the eastern city of Wuxi, and a $1 billion investment fund together with a state-owned bank. Shares of AstraZeneca traded 1.1% lower on Friday. They were up about 13% over the past 12 months through Thursday's close. The agreements announced Friday include a partnership with the Beijing Cancer Hospital and deals with biotechs Harbour BioMed ( and Syneron Bio. Astra will also launch a joint venture for vaccines development and manufacturing with BioKangtai ( focusing on respiratory and other infectious diseases. Soriot has also been invited to join the Beijing International Business Leaders Advisory Council, the company said. AstraZeneca has already agreed a series of deals with Chinese biotechs including a $2 billion deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd ( and the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. Beijing will be just its sixth strategic R&D center globally, and its second in China to go with its Shanghai site. The new hub will be at Beijing's BioPark, where international pharmaceutical companies are opening offices. Astra expects its Beijing workforce to grow to 1,700 employees. China's probe shocked investors, hitting the company's shares as fears grew about potential hefty fines. Soriot told reporters in November Astra has strong compliance mechanisms in China, but that it can't police every single employee. The company has since put in place new measures including field-based compliance officers to more closely monitor staff, he said. In January, Astra said it had received an appraisal opinion from the Shenzhen city customs office regarding suspected unpaid import taxes, likely relating to cancer medicines Imfinzi and Imjudo. The drugmaker said it could be fined as much as $4.5 million — a figure that reassured investors. —With assistance from Amber Tong. (Updates with more detail from second paragraph.) A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World Tesla's Gamble on MAGA Customers Won't Work How TD Became America's Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers The Real Reason Trump Is Pushing 'Buy American' One Man's Crypto Windfall Is Funding a $1 Billion Space Station Dream ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Reuters
20-02-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US CDC vaccine advisory meeting to be postponed, Stat News reports
Feb 20 (Reuters) - A panel of experts advising the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines will not convene for its February meeting, Stat News reported on Thursday citing a senior federal official. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was set to meet beginning February 26 and provide recommendations regarding several vaccines, including GSK's (GSK.L), opens new tab meningococcal vaccine and AstraZeneca's (AZN.L), opens new tab flu shot. That meeting will not happen, Stat News, opens new tab reported citing the U.S Department of Health and Human Services' director of communications. The move comes a week after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the Secretary of HHS despite being an avowed vaccine skeptic and critic of the CDC and other agencies under his watch. The HHS and CDC did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
