The Institute of Cancer Research, London, has expressed disappointment that NICE has confirmed its decision not to recommend olaparib for previously treated, hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer. NICE’s decision means that men in England and Wales with prostate cancer will miss out on a highly innovative treatment option. It puts the NHS in England and Wales out of step with Scotland, where olaparib was approved last year for the treatment of prostate cancers with faulty DNA repair genes...

Plant-derived ring peptide and its variants show anti-tumor activity against lymphoma cells. Oncological study with participation of KL Krems. An Austrian study demonstrates an anti-tumor effect of certain nature-derived cyclic peptides. The study, which has now been published internationally, not only demonstrates the inhibition of cell division by these peptides, but even their ability to cause cell death of cancer cells...

Minderoo Foundation and Illumina, Inc. have announced a 40 million Australian dollar (US $27.8 million) partnership that will leverage the power of genomics to accelerate scientific understanding of marine systems and help marine conservationists make informed decisions. The three-year partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to conserving marine biodiversity and understanding the changing marine ecosystems on which people and national economies depend...

Modified version of herpes simplex virus shows promise against range of advanced cancers in early trial results A new genetically engineered virus has delivered a one-two punch against advanced cancers in initial findings from a phase I trial. Researchers found that RP2 – a modified version of the herpes simplex virus – showed signs of effectiveness in a quarter of patients with a range of advanced cancers...

Molnupiravir (Lagevrio®) is an antiviral medication to treat mild to medium COVID-19 infection. Molnupiravir is actually a prodrug of the active substrate N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC), a synthetic ribonucleoside analogue. The treatment leads to the introduction of copying errors during viral RNA replication and by this inhibits the viral reproduction. This new Application Note demonstrates how molnupiravir and its active agent β-d-N4-hydroxycytidine can be separated by using a YMC-Triart C18 UHPLC column...

At the start of July 2022, The NHS became the first health system to embed net zero into legislation. However, its goal of achieving net zero by 2040 is challenging when every stage of the pharmaceutical supply chain has a carbon footprint, from packaging pills to active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development. Here Aleiya Lonsdale, Head of Event, at the UK’s largest laboratory trade show Lab Innovations, explains how pharmaceutical companies in the UK can do their part to help reach this goal....

PhoreMost to deploy its SITESEEKER platform to identify novel targets for Roche’s discovery programmes. PhoreMost Ltd., the UK-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to 'Drugging the Undruggable^®' disease targets, has announced it has entered into a multi-project target discovery collaboration with Roche, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies. Under the terms of the agreement, PhoreMost will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for preclinical success-based milestones...

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have combined differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with thermomicroscopy to reveal detailed energy changes in specific materials. In this first ever study that uses DSC-thermomicroscopy to harness the benefits of analysing rubidium nitrate and polyethylene oxidation using both methods simultaneously, researchers at the University of Huddersfield’s Thermal Methods Research Unit (TMRU) used the Optical DSC450 System from Linkam Scientific Instruments...

To ensure all medicines are produced to the highest quality, pharmaceutical manufacturers around the world are subjected to strict regulations. The problem is, monitoring the conditions in a manufacturing facility 24/7 requires high-end, often costly networking technology. Here Ian Loudon, international sales and marketing manager at remote monitoring instrumentation manufacturer Omniflex, discusses how temperature monitoring systems can be cost effective, reliable and compliant with regulatory standards...

Learn about CRISPR technology’s impact on cell and gene therapies and drug discovery and discover tips and tricks for optimized CRISPR editing and screening. On September 20, 2022, Lonza will host a free virtual workshop on using genome editing technologies for cell and gene therapies and drug discovery. The 3-hour workshop brings together renowned genome editing experts from across industry and academia and comprises four interactive speaker sessions....

Medical research charity LifeArc and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) have jointly awarded more than£1.3 million of funding to help four GOSH researchers drive their discoveries towards new tests and treatments to tackle rare diseases affecting children. Four researchers based at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust have received project grants that aim to translate research discoveries...

Cansford Laboratories has made a significant investment in equipment at its in-house drug and alcohol testing laboratory in Cardiff, as part of its continuing development programme. The investment has been made in a new Robotic Automatic Liquid Pipetting Handler (RALPH) machine which will help the lab work more efficiently by allowing operators to perform separate processes, simultaneously....

Miniaturisation has existed for a while, but usually at a high cost to medical device manufacturers. When Manchester-based UK Robotics, a specialist in building integrated lab automation solutions for the life sciences, needed to create a new cost-effective two valve nanolitre microplate reagent dispenser, it turned to precision DC motor manufacturer maxon UK and Ireland for help...

EVONETIX LTD, the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, has announced the opening of its early access program for semiconductor synthesised DNA. Evonetix’s DNA synthesis capability brings together patented semiconductor chip design and proprietary, thermally controlled synthesis chemistry, which will be integral to the Company’s future gene synthesis platforms...

Drug molecules and biofuels can be made to order by living cell factories, where biological enzymes do the job. Now researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a computer model that can predict how fast enzymes work, making it possible to find the most efficient living factories, as well as to study difficult diseases. Enzymes are proteins found in all living cells. Their job is to act as catalysts that increase the rate of specific chemical reactions that take place in the cells....

Accelerated Technology Laboratories, Inc. (ATL), a leader in Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), continues the 2022 LIMS Webcast series on Wednesday, September 14 with LIMS: What You Should Know About SaaS vs. On-Premises Deployment. The move to cloud (also known as Software as a Service or SaaS) deployment has seen explosive growth the past few years and all signs point to continuing this upward trend....

Asynt report how award-winning formulation and development lab – Here2Grow Cosmetics & Homecare Labs (Selby, UK) used the ReactoMate DATUM laboratory reaction vessel system in the development of a next generation clinical haircare product. To tackle common scalp issues encountered by patients, a tricology clinic had been developing scalp therapy products in collaboration with formulation laboratories and manufacturers....

Scientists at the UK’s National Measurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC have published a paper, “Monkeypox: another test for PCR”, focusing on how to ensure the PCR diagnosis tests being deployed for monkeypox will be most accurate and that lessons learned on PCR testing from the COVID-19 pandemic are applied to the current epidemic. Dr Jim Huggett, Science Fellow at the NML, said, “Like the early stages of COVID-19, PCR is the only test that can be rapidly deployed to confirm Monkeypox cases....

Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced that Professor Gerhardt Attard has been selected to receive a prestigious Agilent Thought Leader Award. Prof Attard is a John Black Charitable Foundation Endowed Chair in Urological Cancer Research at University College London (UCL). Professor Attard is prominent for his innovative research and clinical trials using cutting-edge liquid biopsy technologies to identify biomarkers to monitor drug response and cancer progression...