Genetic Causes of Lung Cancer in Non-Smokers Discovered

< div> A rare inherited mutation in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor gene increases lung cancer risk significantly in never-smokers, according to a study published in Science that evaluated data from over 3.3 million people in the 23andMe genetic database, offering new potential for targeted medical screenings beyond traditional smoking histories. Genetic Variant Drives Lung … Read more

Anthropic Establishes New Biology Lab to Accelerate AI Drug Discovery

Anthropic has quietly established a physical biology laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area to conduct wet lab experiments, pushing its artificial intelligence capabilities beyond computer evaluations, according to two people familiar with the matter. Inside Anthropic’s New Bay Area Wet Lab The artificial intelligence startup built the physical experimentation space as part of a … Read more

Pennsylvania Seeks CDC Measles Help Amid Kennedy Dispute

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has conditioned its request for emergency federal disease experts on the U.S. State health secretary Debra Bogen warned CDC director Erica Schwartz that Pennsylvania will rescind its request for an Epidemic Intelligence Service deployment if the federal agency excludes the fatalities from its national tally. The Dispute Over Measles Fatality … Read more

GE HealthCare in Talks for $1B Sofie Biosciences Acquisition

GE HealthCare Technologies is currently in talks over a potential $1 billion acquisition of radiopharmaceutical developer Sofie Biosciences, according to a report by the Financial Times citing sources familiar with the matter. If completed, the transaction would mark the second major acquisition for GE HealthCare since its spin-off from General Electric in 2024. Why Sofie … Read more

Scholar Rock Wins First FDA Approval for Rare Muscle-Wasting Disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Scholar Rock’s injectable treatment Isembyld on Sept. 11 to improve motor function in adults and children with spinal muscular atrophy, marking the company’s first regulatory approval and sending shares up over 23% in after-market trading, according to Reuters. FDA Grants First Regulatory Approval to Scholar Rock for Isembyld … Read more

White House to Send $500 Obamacare Refunds to Nearly 1 Million Americans

The White House announced on Thursday that it will send $500 refunds to nearly one million Americans enrolled in Obamacare health insurance plans across 30 states, citing “user fees” passed on to consumers in higher premiums that exceeded the amounts needed to run the Healthcare.gov federal exchange. Details of the Obamacare User Fee Refunds and … Read more

Novartis Stock Falls After Failed Cholesterol Drug Study

Novartis shares dropped 3.3% on Monday morning, according to Reuters reporting, after its cholesterol drug pelacarsen failed in a large, late-stage study by not reducing heart attack and stroke risk in patients with high Lp(a). The setback casts doubt on dedicated Lp(a)-lowering therapies and increases pressure on upcoming data for the Swiss drugmaker’s pipeline. Pelacarsen … Read more

Ebola Outbreak in Congo Exceeds 6,000 Cases

According to government data released on Monday, confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surpassed 6,000, creating the largest epidemic in the central African country’s history. The current outbreak has officially exceeded the previous worst outbreak, which lasted from 2018 to 2020, according to official figures shared by the communication ministry on … Read more

China Accepts Novo Nordisk’s Oral Wegovy Application

China’s drug regulator has accepted Novo Nordisk’s application to sell an oral version of its Wegovy weight-loss drug, according to a Reuters report published on August 27. The regulatory filing in the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market marks a step for the Danish drugmaker as it chases rival Eli Lilly in the burgeoning anti-obesity sector. Regulatory … Read more

GLP-1 Drugs and Hair Loss: What the Studies Say

New research indicates that patients using GLP-1 drugs for weight loss or diabetes management face a higher risk of developing alopecia compared to those taking other classes of diabetes medications. While the overall incidence remains low—estimated between 3 and 9 per 1,000 people annually—studies published in The BMJ and the Journal of the American Academy … Read more