This week a new investment fund is starting that is focused on the modest goal of extending human life. We also look at new leadless pacemakers, using illustrated stories to make the complexity of clinical trials easier for patients to understand, and studying the common cold as a window into future COVID-19 variants. Finally, scientists at the Cleveland Clinic are looking at the possibility of using Viagra as a treatment for Alzheimer’s.
Each week we highlight five things you need to know in the life sciences industry. Here’s the latest.
A new $180 million fund focused on extending life
Last week Apollo Health Ventures announced the closing of its second fund focused on data-driven biotechnology and health tech ventures aimed at extending human health span. The new fund leverages and builds on the early success of its first and related fund that focused on therapeutics against age-related illnesses. The company plans to invest in 10 to 15 companies from a mix of internal and external opportunities. Both funds are the first of their kind to focus specifically on preventative treatments that tackle age-related illnesses.
Clinical trials begin for the first leadless pacemaker defibrillator system
Boston Scientific announced last week that it had begun a clinical trial for its mCRM™ Modular Therapy System, the first leadless pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The components of the device work in conjunction with each other to provide the benefits of both by keeping the heart from beating too fast or too slow. The trial is hoping to enroll up to 300 patients globally to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this novel device.
Illustrated stories to improve clinical trial education and diversity
According to a Harvard Business Review article, clinical trials continue to struggle with consistent underrepresentation of women, the elderly and people of color. While people of color make up about 39% of the U.S. population, these groups represent from 2% to 16% of patients in clinical trials. While approaches such as machine learning are being leveraged to identify patients and improve diversity, Eli Lilly has taken one simpler approach to lessen the gap. Eli Lilly partnered with Lifeology to create an illustrated “What are clinical trials?” deck. This deck provides a new format for introducing potential patients to clinical trials.
First delta, now omicron; what’s next?
While we wait for the science to catch up with the headlines surrounding the new omicron COVID-19 variant, it is worth thinking about what could be coming next. To understand how the virus is likely to continue evolving, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are studying how the four other coronaviruses that infect people have behaved. The researchers are using decades of blood samples to study how peoples’ immune response and the virus have adapted over time.
Viagra, the future of Alzheimer’s treatment?
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have found a potential Alzheimer’s treatment in Viagra, Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction treatment, generically known as sildenafil. Using a database screening of 7 million patients, the researchers found that Viagra users had a 69% lower occurrence rate of Alzheimer’s. The Cleveland Clinic is planning a phase 2 trial of Viagra in Alzheimer’s patients.
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