Healthcare: reloaded...

The variance found in the levels of active ingredients was alarming. In some cases, pills from the same blister pack contained different amounts. These findings expose huge holes in the global safety nets intended to prevent manufacturers from cutting corners to boost profits, and to protect patients from bad drugs. All the while, patients and governments with stretched resources are paying the price for drugs that don’t work.

Shipments have propelled Ireland, a country of 5.4 million, to the second-largest goods-trade imbalance with the U.S., behind China.

Si l'aspirine diminue fortement le risque de certains cancers de se répandre sous forme de métastases, c'est grâce à un gène particulier, inactivé dans certaines cellules immunitaires, ont découvert par hasard des chercheurs.

In the realm of pancreatic cancer treatment, biliary stent placement has emerged as a vital intervention, offering relief for patients suffering from obstructive jaundice. This procedure, while life-prolonging and often essential, carries with it a significant risk: the development of pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA), a severe and potentially fatal complication. Recent retrospective research brings to light critical insights concerning the incidence, pathology, and management of PLA following biliary stent placement in pancreatic cancer patients, pushing the boundaries of our understanding and underscoring the urgency of heightened clinical vigilance.

L’essor de l’intelligence artificielle, du Big Data, de la blockchain et de la télémédecine ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour une médecine plus personnalisée, efficace et accessible. La digitalisation n’est plus une option mais une nécessité stratégique pour améliorer l’efficacité des soins.

GSK is licensing an ABL Bio technology that yields bispecific antibodies engineered to leverage a certain transmembrane receptor to cross the blood-brain barrier to treat neurodegeneration. GSK is already partnered with Alector, which has monoclonal antibodies in clinical development for Alzheimer’s disease.

Pfizer said a patient dosed with danuglipron developed potential drug-induced liver injury. Pfizer is stopping further work on this program, a move that comes nearly two years after it discontinued development of a different obesity drug due to liver safety signals in a clinical trial.

Créée en 2022, DrugOptimal développe une application logicielle à destination des établissements de santé, et en particulier des infirmiers et les pharmaciens, pour mieux prévenir les risques d'incompatibilités physicochimiques médicamenteuses.

Microplastics are everywhere—in our water, food, and even the air we breathe. A new scientific review highlights a growing concern: microplastics and nanoplastics are accumulating in human brain tissue. Researchers are now investigating what this could mean for brain health and how we can reduce our exposure.

For GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically, adherence challenges are a major concern, as these medications require long-term use to achieve meaningful health benefits in chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity.

For decades, EMS has relied on blood component therapy, which was favored for its longer shelf life, efficiency, and lower risk of transfusion reactions. However, emerging data suggests that whole blood transfusion in the field could significantly improve survival rates, particularly in rural and remote areas where longer transport times pose additional risks.

Patients with type 2 diabetes initiated with metformin monotherapy had longer survival than did matched, non-diabetic controls. Those treated with sulphonylurea had markedly reduced survival compared with both matched controls and those receiving metformin monotherapy. This supports the position of metformin as first-line therapy and implies that metformin may confer benefit in non-diabetes. Sulphonylurea remains a concern.

The considerations posed by an ageing population are indeed substantial, yet shifting demographics also make clear the opportunity to enhance patient outcomes and improve people’s health and lives represented by transformative advancements in healthcare technology. The increasing demand for care has ignited a surge in innovation across healthcare system. From artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to telemedicine and wearables, there is opportunity to harness technology to enhance the quality of life for all, including those most in need of healthcare interventions, and to bolster the capacity of healthcare providers.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 118 million blood donations are collected each year—with 40 percent coming from high-income countries, home to 16 percent of the world's population. This means a large portion of the global population has limited access to blood transfusion treatment. Universal artificial blood could reduce preventable deaths in injury, surgery and childbirth—settings where supply mismatches or stockouts cost millions of lives annually in low-income nations alone.

The artificial blood could be a game-changer for blood transfusions as it can safely be administered to all patients regardless of blood type.

A next-generation "armored" CAR T cell therapy showed promising results in a small study of patients whose B-cell lymphomas continued to resist multiple rounds of other cancer treatments, including commercially available CAR T cell therapies. The new therapy diminished cancer in 81% of patients and resulted in complete remission in 52%, with some of the earliest patients treated experiencing durable remission for two years or more.

Keytruda has beaten Roche’s TIGIT drug candidate at the first interim analysis of a phase 2/3 lung cancer trial, prompting the Swiss drugmaker to stop the study and consider changes to the broader program.

By moving beyond adherence and drug interactions to a holistic, outcomes-driven approach, health systems and providers can redefine how medication is used — not as a rigid protocol but as a dynamic, patient-centered tool for achieving better health.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rise to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has some concerned that anti-vaccine policies are coming. If the nation’s top public health agency pulls support of vaccination, other healthcare stakeholders will need to step up to fill the vaccine messaging void.

The integration of advanced materials into drug delivery systems has become the new normal in pharmaceutical science to address the complexity of modern medicine. These innovations have used technologies such as nanocarriers, hydrogels, and bioresponsive polymers to enable precision, efficiency, and superior therapeutic outcomes. Advanced materials have revolutionized drug delivery by improving upon conventional systems, and their application in various fields, including oncology, chronic disease management, and vaccine delivery, has been remarkable.

Last month, the Japanese pharma deprioritized the development of mezagitamab, also known as TAK-079, in myasthenia gravis and systemic lupus erythematosus as part of a wider pipeline shake-up. But the team said at the time that it was still planning to continue to clinically evaluate the antibody in ITP.

Balancing healthcare benefits and insurance costs requires research. From becoming a Difference Card member to offering wellness resources, there are many ways to improve healthcare at low cost.

New research found that most healthcare CFOs anticipate minimal financial gains this year due to high labor costs and insufficient payer rates. While providers are leveraging more data to improve financial planning, persistent challenges like wage pressures, recruiting difficulties and payers' increasing use of technology to deny claims continue to strain margins.