Genomics News

• Epstein-Barr Virus Transcription Factor Implicated in Seven Autoimmune Diseases
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Large Spleen Helps Explain Deep-diving Skills of Southeast Asian 'Sea Nomads' An age-old nomadic community of Southeast Asian boat-dwellers who get their food from the sea appear to have evolved enlarged spleens that may help explain their extreme diving prowess, a new study suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Treatment Shows Sustained Benefit in Larger Group of Beta Thalassemia Patients New results for Bluebird Bio Inc.'s LentiGlobin treatment for beta thalassemia continue to look promising.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• New Approach Identifies Infectious Causes of Chronic Meningitis
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Gates Backs Gene Technologies in Fight to End Malaria Gene-editing technologies that alter mosquitoes' DNA could prove critical in the fight against malaria, Bill Gates said on Wednesday, and ethical concerns should not block progress in such gene-modifying research.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• GE Rides Gene Therapy Wave With Ready-made Viral Drug Factories General Electric is raising its bet on biotechnology with the launch of prefabricated manufacturing units for producing virus-based gene and cell therapies, novel anti-cancer treatments and vaccines.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• AACR 2018BLU-667: New Hope for NSCLC and Medullary Thyroid Cancer RET mutations and rearrangements have been identified across several solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and for the first time, a new potent inhibitor shows activity in humans.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• AACR 2018Crizotinib: New Standard for ALK+ Myofibroblastic Tumor With 100% disease control rates in patients with ALK+ inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor -- a very rare type of soft tissue sarcoma -- crizotinib should be the standard of care, say experts.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• GSK Slims Portfolio With Sale of Rare Disease Gene Therapy Drugs GlaxoSmithKline is divesting its rare disease gene therapy drugs to Orchard Therapeutics, it said on Thursday, as Chief Executive Emma Walmsley makes good on her promise to prune the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals portfolio.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• FDA Chief Highlights Cost as Obstacle to Cancer Treatment Gottlieb argued that technology can speed development of drugs and also make them more affordable.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• ACC 2018No Limb-Ischemia Wound-Healing Gains From Gene Therapy: STOP-PAD Although the novel treatment didn't improve ulcers or other wounds from critical limb ischemia, the study highlights the microvasculature's important role in peripheral artery disease.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• 'Landmark' Study Revises Molecular Classification of DLBCL Researchers uncover four genetic subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with striking differences in 5-year overall survival, providing a potential path toward precision medicine treatment strategies.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• Lonza's Virus Factory Shows Gene Therapy's Texas-sized Promise Swiss drugmaker-for-hire Lonza is betting that trillions of customized viruses made at a giant factory in Texas will be the lucrative raw materials of a medical revolution.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• ADAAArray of Markers Collectively Predicts MDD Treatment Response Patterns of response to treatment are found in clinical, neuroimaging, and inflammatory markers in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), suggest new data from the PREDICT and iSPOT trials.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• Tumor Sequencing Useful for Lynch-syndrome Screening
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Novartis Bets Big on Gene Therapy With $8.7 Bln AveXis Deal Swiss drugmaker Novartis is moving further into gene therapy by buying AveXis for $8.7 billion, adding a rare-disease treatment that could reap billions in sales.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Genetic Determinants Influence Leisure-time Physical Activity
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• Respiratory-Muscle Genetics May Underlie Some Sudden Infant Deaths Genetic impairment of respiratory muscles via the SCN4A gene may be linked to certain cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a new study.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018
• New Gene Test Reduces Skin Reactions to Carbamazepine A new gene variant test to guide treatment decisions led to reductions in the incidence of cutaneous adverse reactions to carbamazepine, a new study shows.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2018
• Whole-genome Sequencing May Not Lead to More Downstream Spending Whole-genome sequencing does not increase downstream healthcare spending outside of the sequencing costs, hint results of a pilot study.
  Reuters Health Information, April 2018