Latest headlines
COVID-19: Cross protection by encephalitis vaccine a factor for lesser mortality
A significant discrepancy in mortality among even geographically close regions could be explained by a cross protection induced by Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine (JEV) and/or Tick-Borne Encephalitis Vaccine (TEV) according to Dr Shojiro Katoh, President, Edogawa Hospital. He along with his international team of researchers of Edogawa Evolutionary Lab of Science (EELS), have published their opinion in Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine, a peer reviewed journal (http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/aaem/index.php/AAEM/article/view/683).
COVID-19 care: EUA for Philips remote monitoring devices
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Philips Medizin Systeme Boeblingen GmbH's IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850, IntelliVue 4-Slot Module Rack FMX-4 and IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85, intended to be used by healthcare professionals in the hospital environment for remote monitoring of adult, pediatric and neonate patients having or suspected of having COVID-19 to reduce healthcare provider exposure. The IntelliVue Patient Monitors are not intended for home use. The remote monitoring capabilities of the Philips IntelliVue Patient Monitors reduce the amount of contact by healthcare providers with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic who are in isolation rooms, thereby reducing the healthcare providers' risk of exposure to the virus.
FDA approves new drug to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
As part of Project Orbis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tukysa (tucatinib) in combination with chemotherapy (trastuzumab and capecitabine) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced forms of HER2-positive breast cancer that can’t be removed with surgery, or has spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, and who have received one or more prior treatments. The FDA collaborated with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Health Canada, Health Sciences Authority (HSA, Singapore) and Swissmedic (SMC, Switzerland) on this review. This is the first Project Orbis partnership between the FDA, HSA and Swissmedic. While the FDA approved Tukysa today, the application is still under review at the other agencies. Detailed information can be found on the FDA website.
Making European standards available to help address COVID-19
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, and CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, agreed to make freely available a series of European standards (ENs) formedical devices and personal protective equipment used in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. "This exceptional decision is motivated by the need to tackle the severe shortage of protective masks and medical equipment experienced all around Europe due to the exponential growth of the COVID-19 emergency", the committees state. "The standards will enable a quicker and smoother access to market of new fundamental medical and protection equipment." The standards are available for free download from the websites of CEN national members.
