💊 BMGF funds phase 3 for TB shot; Roche gets FDA green light for Alzheimer's diagnostic; Sanofi works on next-gen mRNA tech

#373 | Gavi invests in 6-in-one shot; One compound takes on multiple cancers; Vit D reduces atrial fibrillation risk

Hello, and welcome to today’s edition of The Kable. Bayer subsidiary BlueRock is now the first company to report initial success in treatments for Parkinson’s disease. The company’s experimental stem cell therapy was well-tolerated and produced dopamine as intended a year into a phase 1 trial.

Roche has received FDA clearance for a pair of cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, assays which can be used to detect Alzheimer’s. This is the second FDA nod Roche has gotten for CSF test pairs in the past year.

Pfizer and OPKO Health have also received an FDA greenlight for Ngenla, their growth hormone deficiency treatment for children.

In Japan, GSK’s Shingrix vaccine for the prevention of shingles was approved for adults 50 years and older in 2018. Now, it also has the go-ahead for use in adults 18 years and over.

Meanwhile, Astellas has positive news to share about its phase 3b trial for its treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms, or VMS – characterized by hot flashes and/or night sweats – during menopause.

Sanofi has announced that the mRNA tech it used to make Covid shots isn’t going to be as effective in making flu shots, especially against B strains of the virus. The company is already working on next-gen mRNA tech to overcome this hurdle.

Sun Pharma is entering the GLP battle. The company has announced phase 1 results of GL0034, its novel long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist. The once-weekly obesity and type 2 diabetes treatment was well-tolerated and showed dose-dependent reductions in body weight of up to 10.7% after four to 8 weeks of relatively low doses.

In the UK, a first-of-its-kind trial will see participants hallucinating away their depression with a new psilocin-based drug.

In Saudi Arabia, the newly set up biopharma investment company Lifera is teaming up with Germany’s Centogene to set up a JV to boost bioinformatics infrastructure and research in the GCC. Through the JV, Centogene will provide diagnostics to support regional needs.

And finally, how can African countries build climate-resilient health systems? Here are the questions they need to answer to get there.