AstraZeneca and its haematology research and development centre of excellence, Acerta Pharma, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval to Calquence (acalabrutinib). Calquence is a kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy.

Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of dementia, has long been assumed to originate in the brain. But research from the University of British Columbia and Chinese scientists indicates that it could be triggered by breakdowns elsewhere in the body. The findings, published today in Molecular Psychiatry, offer hope that future drug therapies might be able to stop or slow the disease without acting directly on the brain, which is a complex, sensitive and often hard-to-reach target.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Sarah Cannon Research Institute today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to bring innovative treatments to cancer patients by developing novel immuno-oncology therapies. The new effort combines Boehringer Ingelheim's oncology research and Sarah Cannon’s expertise in clinical trial design and recruitment to evaluate BI 891065, a novel and potent SMAC mimetic, alone and as a potential combination partner with PD-1-directed cancer therapy.

Novartis announced today, that it has entered a memorandum of understanding with Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) under which Novartis intends to commence a tender offer for 100% of the share capital of AAA subject to certain conditions. Advanced Accelerator Applications (NASDAQ:AAAP) is a radiopharmaceutical company that develops, produces and commercializes Molecular Nuclear Medicines including Lutathera® (177Lu-DOTATATE),

Precision Medicine in oncology, where genetic testing is used to determine the best drugs to treat cancer patients, is not always so precise when applied to some of the world's more diverse populations, according to a study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

More than one-third of adults in China have high blood pressure – often dubbed the “silent killer” for its lack of symptoms – but only about one in 20 have the condition under control. These findings are published Oct. 25 in the Lancet's special issue on China by researchers at Yale and the Chinese National Center for Cardiovascular Disease.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced recipients of the fifth annual Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) during the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris, France. This year, 77 proposals from 25 countries were submitted, representing innovative research projects taking place across the globe.

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that a single infusion of wildtype hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) into a mouse model of Friedreich's ataxia (FA) measurably halted cellular damage caused by the degenerative disease. The findings, published online in the October 25 issue of Science Translational Medicine, suggest a potential therapeutic approach for a disease that currently is considered incurable.

Novartis today announced it will present 54 scientific abstracts from across its multiple sclerosis (MS) research portfolio at the 7th Joint European and Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS) meeting (October 25-28, 2017 Paris, France).

The largest Russian biotechnology company BIOCAD plans to enter the European market with oncological and autoimmune medicines. So far, there are seven molecules in the European portfolio of BIOCAD. This are innovative and biosimilar products, which could be used in treatment of melanoma, breast, stomach, kidney and lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis.