Type I interferon (IFN) is a strong immune activator found in high concentrations in the majority of patients with lupus, an autoimmune disease. In Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers report positive results from the first placebo-controlled long-term trial of anifrolumab, a human monoclonal antibody that targets the type I IFN receptor, in lupus patients.

Type I interferon (IFN) is a strong immune activator found in high concentrations in the majority of patients with lupus, an autoimmune disease. In Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers report positive results from the first placebo-controlled long-term trial of anifrolumab, a human monoclonal antibody that targets the type I IFN receptor, in lupus patients.

AstraZeneca and 4baseCare will work with the oncologist community to support a large number of patients by providing these services locally and also at a low cost, ultimately increasing the chances of identifying optimal treatment options thereby improving clinical outcomes, the startup said.

Washington [US], July 16 (ANI): Strong protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus with vaccination is short-lived and dependable protection against reinfection requires up-to-date boosters with vaccines that are adapted to address changes in the virus that occur as part of its natural evolution over time, says a new study.

Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine because it couldn’t find any takers for it either at home or abroad. Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, […]

NEW DELHI April 20 2022 PRNewswire -- India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre a collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioners Office AIIMS New Delhi and AIIMS Jodhpur launched Skill For Scale an e-learning initiative designed to equip nurses with hands-on practical knowledge and skills to practice latest patient care for managing non-communicable diseases This program certified by AIIMS Jodhpur and endorsed by Directorate General of Health Services DGHS will allow nurses from across the country to register for free learn at their own pace Nurses being the backbone of the healthcare system in India play a very critical role in enablingpatient to understand a disease and its complications In its first phase the program is focusing on Diabetes management prevention and awareness based on a world-class comprehensive curriculum created from diverse resources available within the NCD domain following the NPCDCS guidelines The program content and modules are created by the team of experts from AIIMS Jodhpur and an advisory board with representation from AIIMS Delhi ICMR DGHS Indian Nursing Council INC and AstraZeneca These modules will equip nurses to provide standardized and quality counselling care and support services to the people to prevent and manage Diabetes Subsequently these trainings will be extended to other areas of NCDs in the subsequent phases like Hypertension Cardiovascular and Oncology With a multi-phased approach the Skill for Scale program is aimed to upskill 5000 nurses across the country within this year by converting the current theoretical and practical modules into easy interactive e-learning techniques Explaining the need of such an upskilling program Dr Sanjeev Misra Director AIIMS Jodhpur said Non-communicable disease burden is increasing significantly in India and is already accounting for more than 60 of deaths in India It is also estimated that 1 in 4 people have a risk of dying from an NCD before the age of 70 This burden of NCD is expected to increase further over the coming years but the number of doctors with specializations available to treat these increasing numbers is very limited making it critical to upskill the existing healthcare practitioners in managing non-communicable diseases Through this initiative we are trying to bridge the knowledge gap that exists at the point of care for patients The curriculum of this program is carefully designed to enable nurses to deliver specialized care essential support services and standardized counselling for patients living with an increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases in India This e-learning mobile compatible program is pegged at two levels - basic and advanced and includes a training of 20-24 hours to be completed at ones own pace The course can be completed in a span of 2 months further to which each student will be awarded a completion certificate from AIIMS Jodhpur Skill for Scale program is in line with our continuous efforts and commitments to address the growing burden of NCDs on our healthcare systems At AstraZeneca we stand by our global initiatives and industry collaborations focusing on creating awareness and upskilling key stakeholders to make healthier choices The Governments recognition of this program will go a long way to deliver accurate health information and ensure safe essential health services We will continue to focus on upskilling the health workforce and bring impactful solutions locally and globally said Dr Anil Kukreja VP Medical Affairs and Regulatory AstraZeneca India By the end of the training nurses will be able to recognize risk factors causes pathophysiology screening methods diagnostic tests and management of diabetes They will gain an understanding to initiate timely action for confirmatory diagnosis and appropriate treatment make timely referrals of complicated cases follow standard treatment protocols counsel and interact on the importance of early screening of diabetes educate community on adoption of healthy lifestyle and assist them to overcome barriers myths and misconceptions Explaining on the importance of industry support on critical healthcare programs Cecilia Oskarsson Swedish Trade Commissioner to India said ISHIC was created to address the healthcare challenges in the country through key pillars technology protocol process and capability building We are deeply encouraged to see the support these programs have garnered from the government key industry organisations which is absolutely crucial to be able to implement such programs at a national level and encourage wider use to be able to deliver benefits to the end patient and create an impact on the burden of healthcare We will continue to evolve these programs to be able to bring about holistic benefit to patients in their journey of managing non-communicable diseases The initiative will be implemented under the direction of an Advisory Committee led by Prof Suresh K Sharma Professor Principal College of Nursing AIIMS Jodhpur The advisory committee comprises of key dignitaries from AIIMS Delhi AIIMS Jodhpur Directorate General of Health Services DGHS Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR Indian Nursing Council INC AstraZeneca India and Business Sweden This committee will be responsible to outline and review of the entire schedule of interventions governing the overall framework planning and on-ground conduct of the initiative continuous evaluation of the project and development of a model for possible replication across the country ABOUT INDIA-SWEDEN HEALTHCARE INNOVATION CENTRE The India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is a tripartite collaboration between AIIMS Delhi AIIMS Jodhpur and the Swedish Trade Commissioners office The platform is envisioned to develop an ecosystem of open innovation that start-ups and the healthcare delivery stakeholders can use to collaborate and address current and future challenges in the healthcare sector in India This platform will enable development and scale up of solutions through frugal innovation for affordable and accessible healthcare in line with the objectives of the Government of India The Innovation Centre is an initiative under the MOU of Health between India and Sweden and works under strategic guidance from Government of Indias Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR Government of Swedens Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and Embassy of Sweden in India It also has a strong network of ecosystem partners - Atal Innovation Mission Invest India AGNII Start-up India and knowledge partners AstraZeneca the A-Catalyst Network and NASSCOM PWR PWR

New Delhi Mar 29 PTI An ICMR study to examine the effect of Covaxins booster dose has shown an increase in the levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday International data available on booster doses of AstraZeneca and Covishield suggests a three- to four-fold increase in antibody levels after their administration Pawar said in a written reply A study has been conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR to examine the effect of booster dose of Covaxin which shows increase in the levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after the booster dose Pawar stated As per the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization NTAGI precaution dose is administered to healthcare workers frontline workers and people aged 60 years and above since January 102022 she said As on March 24 2022 221 crore precaution doses against COVID-19 have been administered PTI PLB PLB CJ CJ

New Delhi Dec 31 PTI Serum Institute of India SII CEO Adar Poonawala on Friday said it has applied to Indian authorities for full market authorisation of Covishield stating supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine have exceeded 125 crore doses SII had partnered with the developer of Covishield AstraZeneca for the supply of the vaccine to the Indian government which had in January this year granted emergency use authorisation in the country Supplies of the COVISHIELD vaccine in India have exceeded 125 billion doses The government of India now has enough data for full market authorisation and therefore SerumInstIndia has applied to the CDSCOINDIAINF DCGI andMoHFWINDIA for this permission Poonawala said in a tweet tagging the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation CDSCO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare PTI RKL DRR

New Delhi Dec 17 PTI Drug firm AstraZeneca on Friday said that a preclinical study has concluded that its antibody combination Evusheld for the prevention of coronavirus infection has been found to have retained neutralising activity against the Omicron variant The study was done independently by investigators at the US Food and Drug Administration USFDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research The work was supported by US government research funds Evusheld tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab is a long-acting antibody combination for the prevention of COVID-19 In the study Evushelds Inhibitory Concentration 50 IC50 a measure of neutralising potency of an antibody was 171 ngml and 277 ngml in two confirmatory tests which is within the range of neutralising titres found in someone who has been previously infected with COVID-19 This study shows Evusheld retains neutralisation activity against the Omicron variant By combining two potent antibodies with different and complementary activities against the virus Evusheld was designed to evade potential resistance with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants Mene Pangalos Executive Vice President BioPharmaceuticals RD AstraZeneca said in a statement Evusheld is the first long-acting antibody to receive emergency use authorisation in the US for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in addition to authorisations in other countries and the drug firm is now working with regulators on applications for the use of Evusheld in treating COVID-19 he added The Omicron variant was not in circulation during the Evusheld clinical trials The company is continuing to collect further data to better understand the implications of this observation in clinical practice Additional analyses to evaluate Evusheld against the Omicron variant are being conducted by AstraZeneca and third-party laboratories with data anticipated very soon the drug maker notedPTI MSS ANS ANS

Beijing [China], December 15 (ANI): China as it tries to promote its vaccines have been questioned on its efficacy.