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A 194-country analysis reveals gaps in how late childhood vaccinations are tracked

A global analysis of WHO/UNICEF data from 194 countries found wide variation in countries’ ability to record delayed childhood vaccinations, with 64% of reporting countries saying they could capture late doses in 2022. Following birth cohorts over time and adding delayed MCV1 doses raised median coverage estimates by 3.6 to 5.1 percentage points across available cohort years, though incomplete and inconsistent reporting limited confidence in some estimates.

21 Sep 2026

Mifepristone offers effective emergency contraception with fewer side effects

Emergency contraception containing mifepristone prevents more pregnancies with fewer side effects than some other common emergency contraceptive pills such as levonorgestrel, according to a new Cochrane review involving 87 trials.

20 Sep 2026

Researchers mine cobra toxins to uncover a membrane-disrupting antimicrobial peptide

Researchers combined toxin sequence mining with machine learning and deep-learning prediction tools to identify and experimentally test 14 antimicrobial peptide candidates derived from cobra cardiotoxins. Most candidates showed limited antibacterial potency, while CTX-p5 displayed moderate membrane-disrupting activity, revealing both the potential and current limitations of computationally guided venom peptide discovery.

17 Sep 2026

Study highlights drop in harmful medication use among adults with cognitive disorders

Adults 65 and older with cognitive disorders such as dementia, are more likely to suffer negative effects from drugs that treat central nervous system conditions including anxiety, sleep problems and psychosis.

17 Sep 2026

GLP-1 drugs and SGLT-2 inhibitors linked to slower kidney decline

The diabetes drugs glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor drugs may also help to slow decline in kidney function in people with type 2 diabetes and albuminuria (high protein levels in the urine), finds a large US study published by The BMJ today.

17 Sep 2026

Experts call for eating-disorder screening before GLP-1 treatment

An international multidisciplinary panel developed consensus-based recommendations for GLP-1 receptor agonist use in people with eating disorders, calling for screening, individualized monitoring, patient education, and further research into safety and potential therapeutic effects. The experts cautioned that current evidence remains limited and inconsistent, particularly outside binge eating disorder, and identified major gaps in understanding the risk of new or recurrent eating disorders during treatment.

16 Sep 2026

Targeted antibody therapy provides long-lasting relief from neuropathic pain

Pain is a natural protective mechanism that alerts the body to actual or potential injury. But when nerves themselves are damaged, they can generate abnormal pain signals even in the absence of a new injury.

16 Sep 2026

New treatment option approved in Japan for rare genetic liver disorders

A new indication for an existing drug has been approved in Japan to treat patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) types 1 and 2, a group of rare genetic liver disorders.

15 Sep 2026

Add-on drug lumateperone boosts sexual function in patients with depression

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and an inadequate response to standard antidepressants who received an add- on treatment with the drug lumateperone saw significantly improved sexual function, found a new study led by a University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher.

15 Sep 2026

US Medicare's new 'Most-Favored-Nation' pricing policy could raise international medicine prices

A new modeling study published in The Lancet suggests that US Medicare's new 'Most-Favored-Nation' pricing policy, which ties what Medicare pays for medicines to prices charged in other high-income countries, could push pharmaceutical manufacturers to raise prices or delay launches.

15 Sep 2026

Tirzepatide vs semaglutide for asthma: the difference was smaller than researchers expected

In a US multicenter electronic health record study, researchers compared tirzepatide with semaglutide in adults with asthma and type 2 diabetes, matching 8,176 patients in each treatment group. Asthma exacerbation risk was similar between treatments, while tirzepatide was associated with a lower likelihood of receiving a short-acting beta-agonist prescription.

14 Sep 2026

Common medications trigger potentially harmful prescribing cascades in older adults

A new Ontario-wide study reveals that common medications, from statins to iron supplements, are quietly setting off prescribing cascades that leave older adults unknowingly taking drugs to treat side effects of other drugs.

10 Sep 2026

Biolife granted U.S. patent for novel effervescent oral peptide delivery technology

BioLife today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent 12,667,605 B2 for its novel effervescent oral peptide delivery technology, designed to support current and future peptide therapeutics for obesity, diabetes and metabolic disease.

10 Sep 2026

Shortages of crucial cancer medications continue to impact US healthcare

Today, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)-an alliance of leading cancer centers-published updated data on the current impact of generic cancer medication shortages in the United States.

10 Sep 2026

Tizanidine looked promising early in a migraine trial, but the benefit did not last

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that low-dose tizanidine did not provide sustained reductions in headache burden over 12 weeks in people with episodic migraine, despite a transient improvement with the 1 mg dose at week 4. Exploratory analyses suggested that smoking and sex may influence tizanidine exposure, while sex-specific efficacy signals remained hypothesis-generating and require confirmation.

10 Sep 2026

Rentosertib shifts multiple proteomic aging clocks toward younger age profiles in IPF trial

Researchers applied six proteomic aging clocks to serum samples from a phase 2a trial of rentosertib in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and found treatment-associated shifts toward younger predicted biological-age profiles, particularly with the 30 mg twice-daily regimen. Additional proteomic analyses linked treatment to changes in senescence, metabolism, growth-factor signaling, and fibrosis-related pathways, although the study could not determine whether these effects reflected genuine geroprotection rather than disease modification.

10 Sep 2026

Digital companion apps help secure long-term habits during GLP-1 therapy

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications have revolutionized weight management, yet high dropout rates and rapid weight regain remain significant hurdles for many patients.

9 Sep 2026

GLP-1 treatment linked to 40% fewer asthma attacks

The diabetes and weight loss injection semaglutide can reduce asthma attacks by up to 40 per cent according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

7 Sep 2026

GLP-1 drugs looked promising for depression. The evidence tells a more complicated story

A systematic review of 43 studies found highly heterogeneous results for GLP-1 receptor agonists across animal models and human research assessing depression-, anxiety-, and stress-related outcomes. No study directly tested these drugs as a treatment for PTSD, and the available evidence does not currently support their use for depression or PTSD, although people with metabolic dysfunction may warrant further investigation.

7 Sep 2026

GLP-1 drugs appear psychiatrically safe, but one finding still raises questions

A systematic review of 11 observational studies representing more than 4.9 million patients found that GLP-1 receptor agonists were generally associated with neutral or potentially protective psychiatric outcomes, although one obesity-focused cohort reported increased risks of depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior. Direct evidence for antidepressant effects remains limited, with only one cross-sectional study using validated mood scales and no randomized trials in the final synthesis, meaning causality cannot be established

6 Sep 2026

Pharmaceutical News

A 194-country analysis reveals gaps in how late childhood vaccinations are tracked

Mifepristone offers effective emergency contraception with fewer side effects

Researchers mine cobra toxins to uncover a membrane-disrupting antimicrobial peptide

Study highlights drop in harmful medication use among adults with cognitive disorders

GLP-1 drugs and SGLT-2 inhibitors linked to slower kidney decline

Experts call for eating-disorder screening before GLP-1 treatment

Targeted antibody therapy provides long-lasting relief from neuropathic pain

New treatment option approved in Japan for rare genetic liver disorders

Add-on drug lumateperone boosts sexual function in patients with depression

US Medicare's new 'Most-Favored-Nation' pricing policy could raise international medicine prices

Tirzepatide vs semaglutide for asthma: the difference was smaller than researchers expected

Common medications trigger potentially harmful prescribing cascades in older adults

Biolife granted U.S. patent for novel effervescent oral peptide delivery technology

Shortages of crucial cancer medications continue to impact US healthcare

Tizanidine looked promising early in a migraine trial, but the benefit did not last

Rentosertib shifts multiple proteomic aging clocks toward younger age profiles in IPF trial

Digital companion apps help secure long-term habits during GLP-1 therapy

GLP-1 treatment linked to 40% fewer asthma attacks

GLP-1 drugs looked promising for depression. The evidence tells a more complicated story

GLP-1 drugs appear psychiatrically safe, but one finding still raises questions

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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