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01 / 05
J&J’s Combination Lung Cancer Treatment Adds a Year to Patient Survival

Fierce Pharma | Noncommunicable Disease

J&J’s Combination Lung Cancer Treatment Adds a Year to Patient Survival

“Johnson & Johnson’s combination of Rybrevant and Lazcluze has racked up an overall survival (OS) victory against AstraZeneca’s standard-of-care Tagrisso as a first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

In reporting positive top-line results from the phase 3 MARIPOSA study in 1,074 patients with NSCLC with EGFR exon 19 deletions or L858R substitution mutations, J&J’s combo is expected to keep patients alive for at least a year longer than Tagrisso.

The results, details of which are yet to be revealed, show a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS, according to J&J. 

While it was a secondary endpoint from the trial, OS is typically viewed by patients and physicians as the ‘gold standard endpoint,’ according to Mark Wildgust, Ph.D., J&J’s vice president of oncology global medical affairs.

‘The (result) really shows that we have a new standard of care for patients with EGFR non-small cell lung cancer,’ Wildgust added in an interview with Fierce Pharma. ‘We know that Tagrisso gives about a three-year median overall survival. We’re expecting that we will be adding at least a year beyond that.'”

From Fierce Pharma.

The Conversation | Noncommunicable Disease

New Therapy Teplizumab Could Delay Type 1 Diabetes by Years

“For millions around the world living with type 1 diabetes, treatment to keep blood sugar in check means lifelong daily insulin. However, using insulin comes with its own risks.

If blood sugar drops too low, it can cause hypoglycaemia, or ‘hypos’, which in severe cases may lead to seizures or even death. It is no surprise that constantly balancing between high and low blood sugars takes a heavy toll on both physical and mental health…

Teplizumab offers a completely different approach. Instead of simply replacing insulin, it targets the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes…

Teplizumab works by retraining the immune system and dialling down the specific cells that target the pancreas. Studies show it can delay the disease and the need for insulin therapy by two to three years, with generally mild side-effects…

The drug is already approved in the US and is under review for routine NHS use, although a few children and teenagers in the UK have also received it through special access programmes.”

From The Conversation.

ABC News | Communicable Disease

Swiss Medicines Authority Approves Antimalarial Drug for Treatment of Infants

“Switzerland’s medical products authority has granted the first approval for a malaria medicine designed for small infants, touted as an advance against a disease that takes hundreds of thousands of lives — nearly all in Africa — each year.

Swissmedic gave a green light Tuesday for the medicine from Basel-based pharmaceutical company Novartis for treatment of babies with body weights between 2 and 5 kilograms (nearly 4½ to 11 pounds), which could pave the way for hard-hit African nations to follow suit in coming months…

Up to now, antimalarial drugs designed for older children have been administered to small infants in careful ways to avoid overdose or toxicity, in what Bassat called a ‘suboptimal solution’ that the newly designed medicine could help rectify.”

From ABC News.

Gavi | Vaccination

Immunization Effort to Avert over 605,000 Cervical Cancer Deaths

“By 2023, Gavi had worked with over 40 countries to provide the HPV vaccine to 23.7 million girls. This massive immunisation effort is projected to avert over 605,000 future deaths from cervical cancer, a testament to the vaccine’s life-saving potential.

In 2023 alone, Gavi-supported countries vaccinated more than 14 million girls – more than the total number vaccinated in the previous decade combined. Thanks to an unprecedented scale-up of vaccine introductions, dedicated investment and expanded access since 2023, Gavi is on track to reach its ambitious goal of protecting 86 million girls with the HPV vaccine by 2025, a milestone that is expected to prevent more than 1.4 million future cervical cancer deaths.”

From Gavi.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

Suriname Certified Malaria-Free by WHO

“Today [6/30/25], Suriname became the first country in the Amazon region to receive malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization…

Certification of malaria elimination is granted by WHO when a country has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous transmission has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years.”

From World Health Organization.