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Researchers are the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer are unraveling a crucial thread that explains why cancer so often becomes resistant to treatment. In a breakthrough finding in 2003, Max S. Wicha, M.D., and colleagues discovered that a small number of cells within a tumor - the cancer stem cells - were responsible for fueling the growth and spread of cancer. Kill the stem cells, and you could master the cancer.

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announces the launch of the new online portal fertility.com. Fertility.com is the entrance to access two unique and bespoke portals:

• Fertility.com/hcp; developed for fertility Healthcare Professionals (HCPs)
• Fertility.com/support; created for women, men and couples who are looking for information about fertility and/or are undergoing fertility treatment

A regimen of low-dose aspirin potentially may reduce plaques in the brain, which will reduce Alzheimer's disease pathology and protect memory, according to neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center, who published the results of their study today in the July issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) at a price of US$ 137.00 per share. The tender offer is being made pursuant to the previously announced merger agreement dated as of 18 June 2018 among Foundation Medicine, Inc., Roche Holdings, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Roche Holding Ltd, and 062018 Merger Subsidiary, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Roche Holdings, Inc.

Bolstering the notion that RNA should be considered an important drug-discovery target, scientists at Scripps Research have found that several existing, FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs may work, in part, by binding tightly to RNA, the regulators of the basic activities of life within cells. The research offers another approach for tackling diseases that have been considered "undruggable," including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and certain cancers.

Novartis and the European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA) announced initial findings from the largest global migraine patient study to date, involving over 11,000 people from 31 countries. Migraine is a neurological disease which can vary in severity with symptoms ranging from head pain, nausea, vomiting to sensitivity to light.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that the results of two open-label extension (OLE) studies of AimovigTM (erenumab-aooe) in patients with chronic and episodic migraine, respectively, will be presented at the 60th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society (AHS) in San Francisco. Results from a one-year study in chronic migraine patients reinforced the established safety and efficacy profile of Aimovig in long-term use.

26 - 27 September, London, UK.
Immuno-Oncology is a fast-paced field with massive potential to deliver successful and durable cancer therapies. SMi's Immuno-Oncology Conference will focus on a few key areas of the field with representation of the whole industry, under each area. These areas will be drawn together to look towards the future of Immuno-oncology and how the field can progress.

A genetically modified poliovirus therapy developed at Duke Cancer Institute shows significantly improved long-term survival for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, with a three-year survival rate of 21 percent in a phase 1 clinical trial. Comparatively, just 4 percent of patients at Duke with the same type of recurring brain tumors were alive at three years when undergoing the previously available standard treatment.

Novartis announced today the publication of global Clear about Psoriasis survey data in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology[1]. The publication highlights that despite clear or almost clear skin being more achievable than ever before, patients may face a long journey to attain this reality[1].

Given the choice of taking a pill or injecting oneself with a needle, most of us would opt to regulate a chronic health condition by swallowing a pill. But for millions of people living with type 1 diabetes, a painful needle prick once or twice daily is the only option for delivering the insulin that their bodies cannot produce on their own.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Epidiolex (cannabidiol) [CBD] oral solution for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, in patients two years of age and older. This is the first FDA-approved drug that contains a purified drug substance derived from marijuana. It is also the first FDA approval of a drug for the treatment of patients with Dravet syndrome.

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) and Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Roche to acquire the outstanding shares of FMI's common stock not already owned by Roche and its affiliates at a price of US$ 137.00 per share in cash. This corresponds to a total transaction value of US$ 2.4 billion on a fully diluted basis, and a total company value of US$ 5.3 billion on a fully diluted basis.

Alzheimer's disease could be better treated, thanks to a breakthrough discovery of the properties of the metals in the brain involved in the progression of the neurodegenerative condition, by an international research collaboration including the University of Warwick. Dr Joanna Collingwood, from Warwick's School of Engineering, was part of a research team which characterised iron species associated with the formation of amyloid protein plaques in the human brain - abnormal clusters of proteins in the brain.

Today, the agency withdrew the draft guidance, "Statistical Approaches to Evaluate Analytical Similarity," issued in September 2017. The draft guidance, if finalized as written, was intended to provide advice for sponsors developing biosimilar products regarding the evaluation of analytical similarity between a proposed biosimilar product and a reference product. After considering public comments that the agency received about the draft guidance, the FDA determined it would withdraw the draft guidance as it gives further consideration to the scientific and regulatory issues involved.

For the first time in the world, researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have demonstrated that probiotics, dietary supplements with health-promoting bacteria, can be used to affect the human skeleton. Among older women who received probiotics, bone loss was halved compared to women who received only a placebo. The research opens the door to a new way to prevent fractures among the elderly.

Obesity is an increasing global health problem associated with several comorbidities and a high risk of mortality. A wide spectrum of interventions has been proposed for weight management in clinical settings, but most are effective only in the short term, since it is common for patients with obesity to gradually regain the weight lost. This unfavourable outcome continues to stimulate researchers to search for an effective long-lasting treatment for obesity.

Among women in China, rates of breast cancer rose around 3.5% each year between 2000 and 2013. In comparison, breast cancer among American women decreased by about 0.4% a year over the same timeframe. China's rapid urbanisation and development of multiple 'megacities' - a city with 10 million or more inhabitants - reveals higher rates of breast cancer in urban areas, and in more densely-populated areas.

It's called the 'kiss of death'. Triple negative breast cancer has no targeted drug therapy and, as such, the only hope for these patients is chemotherapy. Triple negative breast cancer is aggressive and deadly. Patients are currently treated by chemotherapy but there is no guarantee of success - and unfortunately, for those that chemotherapy does not work, the survival rate remains only 12 months.

Kallyope, Inc and Novo Nordisk A/S today announced that they have entered into a research collaboration and option agreement to discover novel peptide therapeutics to treat obesity and diabetes. Kallyope will receive an upfront payment and research support for activities conducted in the collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk has an option to license exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise up to six products discovered in the collaboration.