💊 AstraZeneca gets greener with Vanguard; Gavi gets optimistic about childhood immunization; Pfizer gets low on penicillin products

Bad cholesterol bad for your heart; Microplastics bad for your lungs; Climate and conflict bad for children

Hello and welcome back to The Kable. We’ve been talking a lot lately about how governments and corporations haven’t been walking their talk when it comes to getting greener. (No, we’re not talking about dollar bills.) At least AstraZeneca is listening. As part of its pledge to reduce its environmental footprint, the company has entered a partnership with Vanguard Renewables to decarbonise its US sites. Starting with Newark, Delaware, Vanguard will bring renewable natural gas produced from food and agricultural waste to AZ’s research and manufacturing sites. By the end of 2026, Vanguard will be supplying all of AZ’s US sites.

US-based Revvity has announced the launch of its SaaS platform which supports the entire drug development process, driving collaboration across drug discovery and specialty chemicals material development. This Signals Research Suite is available globally.

Astellas is looking at defeat in the patent infringement case concerning Myrbetriq, its blockbuster bladder drug.

Bayer and the biotech company Cedilla Therapeutics have announced an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialise the latter’s CyclinE1/CDK2 complex inhibitors which selectively address oncogenic drivers and allow for precise targeting.

CEPI and Celestial Therapeutics have announced a partnership to advance development of the latter’s self-adjuvanting mRNA vaccine platform by establishing preclinical proof of concept.

Meanwhile, Roche has announced that its cobas HPV test, for use on the cobas 6800/8800 systems, has been granted WHO prequalification, enabling wider access to cervical cancer screening tools in LMICs.

Ipsen’s drug Bylvay had been approved by the US FDA to treat pruritus, or severe itching, in the rare inherited liver disease PFIC in 2021. Now, the oral drug also has a thumbs up for use in treating pruritus which emerges as a complication in the rare liver disease Alagille syndrome.

And while they were at it, the US FDA has also given Endologix the green light for its Detour system which is used to treat peripheral arterial disease, the recommended therapy for which is currently an invasive surgical bypass.

Not everyone is getting validation from the FDA, though. ImprimisRx has, instead, received a warning letter concerning deficiencies in its site's sterile drug production practices.

The WHO recommends a threshold of 44.5 healthcare professionals per 10,000 population. A study has found that in India, the density of doctors stands at 6.1 per 10,000 persons, whereas the density of nurses is 10.6 per 10,000. When you consider adequate medical qualifications, those numbers drop further to 5 and 6, respectively.

Also, in India, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, or CDSCO, has approved the first indigenously developed tissue engineering scaffold from mammalian organs. The animal-derived biomedical device can rapidly heal skin wounds, with minimal scarring and without burning a hole in patients’ pockets.

Again, an India update, as the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, or Pharmexcil, is urging member companies to supply pharma ingredients for drugs for muscle spasms, gastrointestinal infections and respiratory infections to Brazilian companies.

Hong Kong’s HKSH Medical Group and UCLA Health have inked a development agreement for knowledge transfer in cancer management; HKSH’s oncology health professionals will engage in a three-year programme at the latter institute, starting November 2023.

The Geneva-based global non-profit FIND has inked two MoUs with Korean institutes. With RIGHT Foundation, FIND will support investments in diagnostic platforms, rapid tests and digital tools for better access to testing in LMICs. With the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, FIND will support the diagnostics industry in the Republic of Korea.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has signed an MoU with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to transform health services in the country. Specifically, the MoU focuses on implementing the Indonesian health transformation agenda, developing health policies with better impact, and supporting the country’s leadership in strengthening ASEAN health infrastructure.

In Bangladesh, the highest single-day count of dengue hospitalisations was recorded earlier this week as 211 patients were admitted within 24 hours.

­­­In Chile, authorities are saying that over 11,000 animals have died from bird flu, with close to 10,000 seal deaths alone.

In Madagascar, Senegal and Cambodia, a study has uncovered alarming antibiotic prescription practices for children.

And finally, in case you were planning on getting inked, you might like to know that the US FDA has issued draft guidance to tattoo ink manufacturers and distributors to help them identify potential contamination with microorganisms and prevent such situations from occurring. In the past 20 years, firms conducted 18 recalls of tattoo inks that were contaminated with a variety of microorganisms.