Hepatitis

ACTG CROI Presentation Demonstrates Superiority of HepB-CpG Vaccine Over Conventional Hepatitis B Vaccine Among People Living With HIV Who Have Not Previously Responded to Vaccination

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

These data demonstrated that the HepB-CpG vaccine achieved up to 99 percent protection among people living with HIV who had previously not responded to conventional hepatitis B vaccines, a noteworthy increase compared to the protection achieved by conventional vaccines.

Key Points: 
  • These data demonstrated that the HepB-CpG vaccine achieved up to 99 percent protection among people living with HIV who had previously not responded to conventional hepatitis B vaccines, a noteworthy increase compared to the protection achieved by conventional vaccines.
  • People living with HIV, especially those with lower CD4 counts, often do not develop protective antibodies after receiving conventional hepatitis B vaccines.
  • The HepB-CpG (HEPLISAV-B®) vaccine includes a TLR-9 agonist adjuvant (CpG 1018® adjuvant) and is known to achieve high protection against hepatitis B among people living with HIV, but until now there have been limited data about its protection among people living with HIV who have not responded to conventional hepatitis B vaccines.
  • “Hepatitis B remains a significant issue for people living with HIV, as having both viruses increases the likelihood of liver complications,” said ACTG Chair Judith Currier, M.D., M.Sc., University of California Los Angeles.

89bio Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Updates

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 29, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 89bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETNB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of liver and cardiometabolic diseases, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023, and provided corporate updates.

Key Points: 
  • ENLIGHTEN-Fibrosis is expected to enroll non-cirrhotic patients with fibrosis stage F2-F3 and ENLIGHTEN-Cirrhosis is expected to enroll NASH patients with compensated cirrhosis (F4).
  • ENLIGHTEN-Fibrosis and ENLIGHTEN-Cirrhosis are expected to initiate in the first and second quarter of 2024, respectively.
  • Completed follow-on offering in the fourth quarter of 2023 for $172.5 million in gross proceeds.
  • The foregoing financial information is unaudited and subject to change, and actual results may vary from the foregoing.

Vir Biotechnology Completes Enrollment of Phase 2 Chronic Hepatitis Delta SOLSTICE Trial Ahead of Schedule

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that its Phase 2 SOLSTICE clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of tobevibart and elebsiran for the treatment of people living with chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) virus has completed enrollment of its current cohorts one month earlier than anticipated.

Key Points: 
  • Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that its Phase 2 SOLSTICE clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of tobevibart and elebsiran for the treatment of people living with chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) virus has completed enrollment of its current cohorts one month earlier than anticipated.
  • Initial data are expected in the second quarter of 2024.
  • SOLSTICE is a Phase 2 multi-center, open-label trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of tobevibart and elebsiran in adult participants (age 18 to 69) with CHD infection receiving nucleot(s)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy.
  • Depending on the cohort, trial participants are receiving multiple doses of tobevibart and elebsiran as either monotherapy or in combination administered via subcutaneous injection for up to 88 weeks.

Gilead to Present Late-Breaking Data and Real-World Evidence Highlighting Innovative Antiviral Portfolio and Research Pipeline at CROI 2024

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 26, 2024

Outcomes from pipeline research studies will also provide insights into investigational treatment candidates, including the novel combination regimen of lenacapavir plus bictegravir.

Key Points: 
  • Outcomes from pipeline research studies will also provide insights into investigational treatment candidates, including the novel combination regimen of lenacapavir plus bictegravir.
  • Additionally, a late-breaker oral presentation of Week 24 data from the INSIGHT trial evaluating Biktarvy in people with HIV and tuberculosis will be presented.
  • Gilead will present new data evaluating the safety and efficacy of Hepcludex® (bulevirtide) in people living with the coinfections of HIV, hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis delta (HDV).
  • Biktarvy combines the novel, unboosted INSTI bictegravir, with the Descovy® (emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg tablets, F/TAF) backbone.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Opdivo® (nivolumab), in Combination with Cisplatin and Gemcitabine, for First-Line Treatment of Adult Patients with Unresectable or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 7, 2024

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opdivo® (nivolumab), in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC), the most common type of bladder cancer.1,2 This approval is based on results from the Phase 3 CheckMate –901 trial which evaluated Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine followed by Opdivo monotherapy (n=304), compared to cisplatin-gemcitabine alone (n=304), for patients with previously untreated unresectable or metastatic UC.1,3 The primary efficacy endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR).1

Key Points: 
  • Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opdivo® (nivolumab), in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC), the most common type of bladder cancer.1,2 This approval is based on results from the Phase 3 CheckMate –901 trial which evaluated Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine followed by Opdivo monotherapy (n=304), compared to cisplatin-gemcitabine alone (n=304), for patients with previously untreated unresectable or metastatic UC.1,3 The primary efficacy endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) assessed by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR).1
    In the trial, with a median follow-up of approximately 33 months, treatment with Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine reduced the risk of death by 22%, demonstrating a median OS of 21.7 months versus 18.9 months with cisplatin-gemcitabine alone (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.78; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.63, 0.96; p=0.0171).1,4 Patients receiving Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine had their risk of disease progression or death reduced by 28%, with a median PFS of 7.9 months compared to 7.6 months with cisplatin-gemcitabine alone (HR 0.72; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.88; p=0.0012).1
    Additionally, in exploratory analyses, treatment with Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine resulted in an objective response rate (ORR) of 57.6% (n=175) (95% CI: 51.8, 63.2) versus 43.1% (n=131) (95% CI: 37.5, 48.9) with cisplatin-gemcitabine alone.1,4 The complete response (CR) rate and partial response (PR) rate seen in patients treated with Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine was 22% (n=66) and 36% (n=109), respectively, versus 12% (n=36) and 31% (n=95) with cisplatin-gemcitabine alone.1
    “This approval marks an important advancement in a historically difficult-to-treat setting, where there has been a need for new and differentiated first-line approaches that may offer patients a chance to live longer,”5 said Guru P. Sonpavde, MD, Medical Director of Genitourinary Oncology and the Phase I Clinical Research Unit and Christopher K. Glanz Chair for Bladder Cancer Research at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute, Orlando, Florida.
  • “Based on outcomes and the safety profile seen in the CheckMate -901 clinical trial, the approval of Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine has the potential to change how metastatic or unresectable UC is treated for certain patients and offers them new hope.”1
    Opdivo is associated with the following Warnings & Precautions: severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions, including pneumonitis, colitis, hepatitis and hepatotoxicity, endocrinopathies, dermatologic adverse reactions, nephritis with renal dysfunction, other immune-mediated adverse reactions; infusion-related reactions; complications of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); embryo-fetal toxicity; and increased mortality in patients with multiple myeloma when Opdivo is added to a thalidomide analogue and dexamethasone, which is not recommended outside of controlled clinical trials.
  • Please see Important Safety Information below.1
    “Bringing Opdivo to the first-line setting in UC with chemotherapy is the latest realization of our history of research and progress in immunotherapy, which has helped transform the treatment landscape for many cancers, including bladder cancer,”1,6 said Wendy Short Bartie, senior vice president and general manager, U.S. Hematology and Oncology at Bristol Myers Squibb.
  • “This milestone adds a meaningful expansion to our portfolio of Opdivo-based treatments in genitourinary cancers, where we now have offerings in UC spanning three indications across stages of disease and treatment needs.”1
    The FDA previously approved Opdivo for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with UC who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of UC; it also previously approved Opdivo for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic UC who have had disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.1
    Bristol Myers Squibb’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) leading to today’s approval was granted Priority Review status by the FDA, and was approved under the FDA’s Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) pilot program, which aims to ensure that safe and effective treatments are available to patients as early as possible.7 The review was also conducted under the FDA’s Project Orbis initiative, which enables concurrent review by the health authorities in several other countries where the application remains under review.

Questions and answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal medicinal products, including those from a ‘non-European’ tradition

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, March 10, 2024

1

Key Points: 
    • 1
      Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC)

      Questions & Answers on the European Union framework
      for (traditional) herbal medicinal products, including those
      from a ?non-European? tradition

      Table of Content
      1.

    • European Pharmacopoeia

      SAWP

      Scientific Advice Working Party

      SmPC

      Summary of Product Characteristics

      THMP

      Traditional Herbal Medicinal Product

      TUR

      Traditional Use Registration

      WEU

      Well-Established Use

      Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.

    • Terminology of herbal medicinal products (Q&A 1-4)

      Question 1
      What are herbal substances, herbal preparations, and herbal medicinal products?

    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Question 4
      Are food supplements regulated under the European Union (EU) pharmaceutical legislation
      for (traditional) herbal medicinal products ((T)HMPs)?
    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Regulation of herbal medicinal products in the European Union (Q&A 511)

      Question 5
      Where to find the pharmaceutical legislation and dossier requirements for herbal medicinal
      products (HMPs), including traditional herbal medicinal products (THMPs), in the European
      Union (EU)?

    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • These countries have,
      through the EEA agreement, adopted the complete Union acquis on medicinal products and are
      consequently parties to the Union procedures.
    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Specific provisions for traditional herbal medicinal products (Q&A 1221)

      Question 12
      Which indications can be granted for traditional herbal medicinal products (THMPs)?

    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Nov. 2023
      Answer 17

      Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.

    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.
    • Question 29
      Does the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) hold a specific database on
      (registered) authorised (traditional) herbal medicinal products ((T)HMPs)?
    • Discussion with Member States intended to be

      Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.

    • Questions & Answers on the European Union framework for (traditional) herbal
      medicinal products, including those from a ?non-European? tradition
      EMA/HMPC/402684/2013 Rev.

Government of Canada supports community-based projects addressing HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 23, 2024

However, these infections remain a significant public health concern in Canada, especially among Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and other equity-deserving communities.

Key Points: 
  • However, these infections remain a significant public health concern in Canada, especially among Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and other equity-deserving communities.
  • Today's funding includes more than $12 million through the CAF, which will support 15 community-based interventions to address HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI.
  • In 2022, the Government of Canada invested $106.4 million to help address STBBI across Canada.
  • Through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) invests $26.4 million annually to support time-limited projects (up to 5 years) across Canada to address HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted infections (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis).

The Inner Circle Acknowledges, Howard Siegel, MD as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 19, 2024

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Howard Siegel, MD is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member for his contributions as a Gastroenterologist with 57 Years of Dedication and Expertise.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Howard Siegel, MD is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member for his contributions as a Gastroenterologist with 57 Years of Dedication and Expertise.
  • His unwavering commitment to patient care has made him a respected figure in the field of gastroenterology.
  • Dr. Siegel's practice, Manhattan Internal Medicine Associates, P.C., is renowned for providing advanced and personalized gastroenterological care.
  • In memory of his esteemed mentors, Dr. Siegel pays tribute to the invaluable guidance and support received from Dr. Edward King, MD, and Dr. David.

Rocket Lab Prepares to Bring In-Space Manufacturing Capsule Back to Earth for Varda Space Industries

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the reentry of Varda Space Industries’ (“Varda”) in-space manufacturing capsule, enabling Rocket Lab to commence a series of complex in-space maneuvers and de-orbit burns on the Rocket Lab-built and operated satellite currently hosting the capsule on orbit.

Key Points: 
  • Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the reentry of Varda Space Industries’ (“Varda”) in-space manufacturing capsule, enabling Rocket Lab to commence a series of complex in-space maneuvers and de-orbit burns on the Rocket Lab-built and operated satellite currently hosting the capsule on orbit.
  • In the coming days, Rocket Lab will conduct a series of maneuvers to bring the capsule, named Winnebago-1, back to Earth.
  • This mission is the first of four which will use identical Rocket Lab spacecraft to support Varda’s in-space manufacturing.
  • Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success.

Global Registrational Phase III Study of Olverembatinib (HQP1351) Cleared by FDA

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Under protocol HQP1351CG301, titled "A Global Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized, Phase III Registrational Study of Olverembatinib (HQP1351) in Patients with Chronic-Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (POLARIS-2)," the study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of olverembatinib in the treatment of patients with CML-CP with or without the T315I mutation.

Key Points: 
  • Under protocol HQP1351CG301, titled "A Global Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized, Phase III Registrational Study of Olverembatinib (HQP1351) in Patients with Chronic-Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (POLARIS-2)," the study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of olverembatinib in the treatment of patients with CML-CP with or without the T315I mutation.
  • The US FDA's clearance of the trial marks the first global registrational Phase III trial for olverembatinib in patients with CP-CML to be conducted.
  • Olverembatinib is a global best-in-class novel drug developed by Ascentage Pharma.
  • *Olverembatinib is an investigational drug that has not been approved for any indication outside the Chinese mainland.