Novartis announced today that the European Commission (EC) approved Aimovig® (erenumab) for the prevention of migraine in adults experiencing four or more migraine days per month. Aimovig is the first and only treatment specifically designed for migraine prevention to be approved in the European Union, Switzerland, the US and Australia.

Senescent cells are damaged cells that do not perform their normal roles anymore but that are not dead -hence they are commonly known as zombi cells. These cells interfere with the functioning of the tissue in which they accumulate. Senescence is a cell program that is triggered by many types of damage and senescent cells are present in many diseases.

In the first half of 2018, Group sales rose 7% to CHF 28.1 billion and core EPS grew 19%. Excluding the effect of the US tax reform, core EPS grew 8%, ahead of sales. Core EPS growth reflects the strong underlying business performance. IFRS net income increased 33%, due to the underlying core results and lower impairment of intangible assets compared to 2017.

Trying to determine how best to treat a patient, doctors often look to randomized clinical trials to guide their choice of what drug to prescribe. One of the most common illnesses is heart disease, and in recent years it's been proven that, contrary to popular belief, more women have heart problems than men do; similarly, it's more common for older people to have a heart condition than younger people. But do clinical trials reflect this reality?

AstraZeneca has agreed to sell the commercial rights to Atacand (candesartan cilexetil) and Atacand Plus (fixed-dose combination of candesartan cilexetil and hydrochlorothiazide) in Europe to Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH (Cheplapharm). Atacand is a prescription medicine for the treatment of heart failure and hypertension.

Novartis reaffirms its commitment to the fight against liver fluke (fascioliasis), signing a renewed memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organization (WHO) to extend its drug donation for Egaten® (triclabendazole) until 2022. Egaten is currently the only treatment for fascioliasis recommended by the WHO and is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Tibsovo (ivosidenib) tablets for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have a specific genetic mutation. This is the first drug in its class (IDH1 inhibitors) and is approved for use with an FDA-approved companion diagnostic used to detect specific mutations in the IDH1 gene in patients with AML.

Life-threatening fungal infections affect more than two million people worldwide. Effective antifungal medications are very limited. Until now, one of the major challenges is that the fungal cell wall is poorly understood, which has impeded the development of effective antifungal medications that target the cell wall. However, an LSU chemist has identified for the first time the cell wall structure of one of the most prevalent and deadly fungi, which could usher in a new era of antifungal drug development to help save millions of lives.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) in combination with Avastin® (bevacizumab) as an initial (first-line) treatment for people with advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer.

University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have uncovered a potential therapeutic target for kidney cancers that have a common genetic change. Scientists have known this genetic change can lead to an overabundance of blood vessels, which help feed nutrients to the tumors. Their latest finding shows a potential new cancer-driving pathway.