💊 EMA investigates GLP-1 agonists' suicide risks; Bayer and Peking Uni extend partnership; As do Novartis and Samsung Biologics

#381 | How Africa's heat waves have been downplayed; To sleep or not to sleep?; To exercise or not to exercise?

Hello, dear reader. Welcome back to The Kable.

In Thailand, the Assistive Technology and Medical Devices Research Centre along with the Faculty of Dentistry at Chulalongkorn University have come up with a new toothpaste prototype; this bones- and teeth-like substance contains nano-hydroxyapatite which helps remineralise tooth enamel. Why do they care so much about toothpaste? Every other Thai kid has tooth decay and three in five adults have gingivitis.

Merck and Moderna are set to begin the phase 3 trial for their cancer vaccine next month. If trials are successful, this could be the first personalized cancer vaccine.

Japan’s Pentax Medical is setting up an endoscope manufacturing and R&D facility in Shanghai to service its China market.

Bayer is extending its partnership with China’s Peking University to promote the translation of basic pharmaceutical research into drug discovery and development. The partners will focus on oncology, cardiorenal, immunology, and cell and gene therapies.

In the US, Melinta Therapeutics has announced a partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, to advance two antibiotics – already approved by the FDA for use in adults – for use in paediatrics. This collaboration may help Baxdela and Vabomere integrate into national preparedness efforts and paediatric care for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, enhancing their sustained availability.

Samsung Biologics has expanded on its collaboration with Novartis. This time, the companies have entered a $390.9 million deal for Samsung to produce the latter’s drugs, though it is not yet clear exactly which drugs these will be. This is only one of Samsung’s many production pacts this year.

Meanwhile, Google is battling it out with Microsoft in the medical chatbot arena. The former is currently testing Med-PaLM 2, its AI programme trained to answer medical questions. Both companies believe AI medical assistants could be extremely useful in countries with limited access to doctors.

Duality Biologics is entering an up to $1.3 billion deal with BeiGene, granting the latter an exclusive option for a global license to an undisclosed preclinical ADC therapy for certain solid tumours.

The Egyptian Drug Authority has signed an MoU with the South Africa Health Products Regulatory Authority to enhance collaboration in pharmaceuticals - especially hepatitis C products and antivirals, biological products, and medical devices - between the two countries. The two regulators intend to share knowledge and engage with each other on market authorization, pharmacovigilance, GMP, and clinical trials.

Swiss medtech company Regen Lab is collaborating with the Moroccan Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry to promote regenerative medicine in Morocco and the rest of Africa. Dassault Systèmes, Baylor College of Medicine and the Moroccan Therapeutic Society are also part of this collab which will focus on regulatory standards and improved medical access for patients.

And finally, Ketoprofen and Aceclofenac may be good for livestock, but they’re toxic to vultures. In India, the Health Ministry is mulling banning the use, sale and manufacture of these veterinary drugs.