Advancing Medical Research
Foundations of Science
AI in Drug Safety: Building the Elusive ‘Loch Ness Monster’ of Reporting Tools
BY BREAKTHROUGHS STAFF
Apr 20, 2020Whenever a patient takes a drug and has an unexpected side effect — from minor problems like a runny nose to more serious ones that require hospitalization — pharma companies are legally required to report this information, known as an adverse event (AE), to regulatory agencies.
Within the pharmaceutical industry, AE reporting is a critical and time-consuming part of ensuring the safe and effective use of…
All Hands on Deck as Scientists Revive SARS Protease Inhibitor to Attempt to Fight COVID-19
BY BREAKTHROUGHS STAFF
Apr 08, 2020As scientists around the globe race to find ways to treat COVID-19, the fastest approach to finding a treatment may be to repurpose existing drugs in the hopes of avoiding having to start from “square one” on the drug development pathway. There are dozens of existing drugs currently being evaluated for treating COVID-19 and its symptoms, ranging from a failed Ebola treatment to arthritis and diabetes medications.…
Racing to Develop a Potential COVID-19 Vaccine with Unprecedented Partnership
BY BREAKTHROUGHS STAFF
Mar 20, 2020The current global scale of the COVID-19 pandemic requires nothing short of a fast-moving and nimble international effort to thwart it.
One such partnership is already underway. Pfizer has joined forces with German biotech company BioNTech to develop a potential RNA vaccine to…
Riding the Wave to Non-Invasive NASH Diagnosis
By breakthroughs staff
Mar 17, 2020As early as ancient Greece, doctors used a method called palpation to diagnose illness, pressing their hands on a patient’s abdomen to assess the firmness of diseased tissues and organs.
This ancient practice is now getting a 21st-century upgrade. Scientists are working to develop advanced techniques to measure the stiffness of the liver to…
Solving the Matchmaking Problem in Precision Medicine Cancer Studies
BY BREAKTHROUGHS STAFF
Mar 05, 2020
With the rise of precision medicine, scientists are hopeful that more cancer patients can receive treatments tailored to their specific tumor mutations. But with these advances, a matchmaking problem has also emerged: It can be very challenging to recruit enough patients with specific tumor mutations to…
A Novel Approach to Hemophilia: Stopping the Body’s Natural Clotting Brakes
BY PUBLISHER
Feb 27, 2020
Our bodies delicately balance clotting and anti-clotting mechanisms, which help to stop bleeding when there’s an injury or dissolve dangerous clots that can form in blood vessels.
But for patients with hemophilia, a rare genetic disease that causes deficiencies in clotting factor VIII or IX, this…
Seeking to Improve Quality of Life for Children with Dwarfism
BY BREAKTHROUGHS STAFF
Feb 27, 2020
For children with achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism, scientists are exploring new ways to restore bone growth and potentially address some of the major health complications with the condition, such as spinal problems, swelling in the brain, frequent ear infections and sleep apnea.
Achondroplasia is a rare genetic bone disorder affecting…