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05.2023
Biz in Brief
HUTCHMED trial success to move drug approvals forward
HUTCHMED’s fruquintinib is now targeting second-line gastric cancer. A Phase III study, involving 703 patients, has shown a statistically significant impact in improving progression-free survival (PFS) when combined with another drug, paclitaxel. PFS is the length of time during and after the treatment of a disease wherein a patient lives with the disease but it does not get worse.
HUTCHMED has recently completed patient enrolment of ESLIM-01, the Phase III clinical trial of sovleplenib for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune disorder that can lead to increased risk of bleeding. ITP can often be serious and can have a significant, multifaceted impact on patients’ health and quality of life. Patients often become resistant to treatment over time and new treatment options are desperately needed. The drug has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for ITP in China. It is also being studied for use in indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple subtypes of B-cell malignancies.
Wind Tre is in the House (of Emerging Technology)!
Twelve innovative new companies are going to be welcomed to the House of Emerging Technology of Rome to get a boost from Wind Tre and partners. The House of Emerging Technology will select tech start-ups using AI, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) or 5G to address two areas of strategic importance for the city of Rome: mobility and tourism. This partnership is co-financed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, select Roman universities and corporate partners including Wind Tre. The House will provide aspiring innovators and citizens with a home to develop and share ideas, test new technologies and transfer acquired knowledge.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of medical and biotechnology research as essential for protecting the health of the public and strengthening the future of medicine. In light of this, the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) has recently gifted HK$150 million to the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). It will be matched by an equivalent amount from the government for a total development fund of HK$300 million. The funds will support research and the development of biomedical technologies. Mr Li Ka-shing has been impressed in the past by CUHK’s commitment to strengthening research, pushing forward on new discoveries and enhancing medical services. He links this progress to that of Hong Kong as a city, stating that “ensuring a more humanistic and technologically innovative future of healthcare is critical to the economic vibrancy of our city”.
In addition, LKSF has donated HK$5 million to support the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing to expand its premises. The gift will target specialist training, allowing more nurses to pursue their professional development and raise the quality of healthcare in Hong Kong.
Northumbrian Water has been awarded over £6 million in the second round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, led by the UK’s water regulator, Ofwat. The funds will advance projects which will help to reduce leakage and enable innovation across the utilities sector. The award will flow to two separate projects: the National Leakage Research and Test Centre and Stream, an open data-sharing platform to improve collaborative research.
