August 2021

On 4 August, the Good Clinical Trials Collaborative launched a 6-week consultation on new guidance for the conduct and regulation of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Please HAVE YOUR SAY:

www.nihr.ac.uk

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Scientists are scratching their heads over the precipitous decline in daily COVID-19 infections in the UK. Officially recorded new cases more than halved in 2 weeks from a high of 54,674 on 17 July to 22,287 on 2 August:

www.nature.com

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Cambridge-headquartered AstraZeneca has completed its $39billion acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. It will prompt the creation of a rare diseases group called ‘Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease’, headquartered in Boston, USA:

www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a “Notice of Noncompliance” to pharma company Accuitis over its failure to make a clinical trial result public as required by law. This is only the second such notice the FDA has issued:

www.transparimed.org

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Solidarity, a global study led by the World Health Organization (WHO), will test three new drugs in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: the cancer drug imatinib, the antibody infliximab, and the antimalarial artesunate:

www.sciencemag.org

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Research and Markets are offering the report “Hybrid/Virtual/Decentralized Clinical Trials Market Outlook” which surveyed 109 respondents at sponsors and CROs regarding their experiences with hybrid trials and their providers:

www.researchandmarkets.com

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Phase I study data has shown CanSino Biologic’s inhaled COVID-19 vaccine stimulated neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 at a dose well below that required with intramuscular administration:

www.pharmafile.com

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A recent check-in with several biopharma and CRO companies, conducted by Life Science Strategy Group, indicates adjustment to pandemic-related challenges:

www.outsourcing-pharma.com

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Cambridge Clinical Laboratories, which is UKAS-accredited to ISO 15189, has launched a new partnership with C-19 Direct to provide Covid-19 travel tests directly to consumers:

www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk

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Research published by Ipsos MORI and the ABPI provides new insight into perceptions of the pharmaceutical sector by UK healthcare professionals, the public and Members of Parliament, and how these have been shaped by the pandemic:

www.abpi.org.uk