GoKawiil
Tech News
Two clinical trials found that Eli Lilly's experimental obesity drug retatrutide significantly cut the number of apnea episodes experienced by participants compared with those given a placebo. Retatrutide is already being studied as a potent weight-loss treatment, and the apnea findings represent an additional effect observed during testing.
Roche has agreed to partner with Chinese pharmaceutical company Hansoh Pharmaceutical on an experimental drug, with the deal potentially valued at more than $15 billion depending on milestone payments. Roche will take over development and commercialization rights for markets outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan once early-stage clinical trials are finished.
A Boston Consulting Group analysis found that of 140 in vivo CAR-T-cell drugs currently being tested in animals or humans worldwide, 82% originate from Chinese developers, even though most early preclinical research came from the US and Germany. Researchers note China has moved unusually fast in pushing these therapies into clinical trials, with early results from at least one human trial for an autoimmune condition described as promising.
An analysis by researchers including the article's author found that women make up around 41% of participants in cardiovascular disease clinical trials generally, but only 18-20% in regenerative-medicine trials for the same condition. Self-identified non-binary people were largely absent from these studies, according to the 2021 analysis.
Researchers created chimeric mouse brains containing clusters of human brain cells, allowing human neurons to develop and integrate within a living rodent brain. The team says this hybrid model lets them observe human brain cell behavior in a functioning biological system rather than relying solely on animal models or lab dishes.
Researchers led by Stanford computer scientist James Zou built a system called Virtual Biotech, using up to 37,000 AI agents modeled like departments of a biotech company, overseen by a 'chief scientific officer' agent. After analyzing thousands of past clinical trials, the AI swarm flagged an immune-dampening protein as a target and, with human guidance, proposed a candidate treatment for lung cancer, detailed in a new Science paper.
Researchers are increasingly using wearable devices—smartwatches, wristbands, patches and rings—to collect real-time physiological data such as heart rate, blood pressure and activity in clinical trials. Specialists say advances in sensor technology and AI could enable decentralized trials where participants are monitored remotely, with dosing personalized to individual data rather than fixed protocols. Current devices already track metrics via accelerometers, gyroscopes and photoplethysmography, with future versions potentially measuring biomarkers like glutamate and cortisol.
Researchers testing an AI-designed anti-aging drug reported that it lowered participants' biological age, as measured by aging clocks, in every case in the trial. The drug's development leaned on artificial intelligence tools to identify compounds likely to slow or reverse aging markers in the body.
An editorial in Nature argues that prediction markets allowing wagers on the outcomes of clinical trials pose risks to research integrity and public trust in science. It calls for limits on such betting activity to prevent interference with ongoing trials.
Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb have both suspended clinical trials of experimental autoimmune therapies after participants died or suffered life-threatening reactions. The companies are now investigating what caused the treatments, once seen as promising, to turn dangerous.
Novartis suspended eight clinical trials testing a cell therapy for autoimmune and neurological conditions after three participants died in late August. The company has not disclosed the cause of death or which specific therapy is affected beyond confirming the pause across all related studies.