A SMALL DOSE

6 A small dose

Study launched to investigate Covid-19 vaccine protection in young, immunosuppressed people

Astudy into how well additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine protects immunosuppressed people is set to be extended to include young people following a recent funding extension. The research project that was first launched in December of 2021 to evaluate third doses in adult patients was supported by a coalition of funders including Kidney Research UK, The Medical Research Council, Blood Cancer UK, Vasculitis UK and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and will now seek to examine the impact that the vaccines have on immunocompromised patients aged 12-17 years.

Some smaller studies have suggested that immunocompromised people within this age group mount a stronger response to Covid-19 vaccinations than older immunosuppressed adults, but they are still thought to be more vulnerable than the general population.

Dr. Michelle Willicombe, the study lead at Imperial College London said: “Information on how young, immunosuppressed people have responded to vaccination and the protection it affords them from infection is currently lacking, so we are delighted for the additional support so we can include children in MELODY to provide ongoing evidence. If we can understand more about how this group of people respond to vaccines, then this will inform future vaccination strategies and also identify those young people who are most at risk of catching Covid-19.”

Immunocompromised people have remained particularly vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus, leaving an estimated 500,000 people in the UK very much aware of their increased risk. The MELODY study was launched to provide vital insight into which patients remain vulnerable after vaccination, which will help to develop bespoke strategies for exiting the pandemic for those who continue to remain most vulnerable.

Dr. Aisling McMahon, executive director of research, innovation and policy at Kidney Research UK said: “We are starting to build a clearer picture on how vaccination has provided varying levels of protection within the immunosuppressed community, but we still have very little data on how well vaccines protect the younger members of this group. There cannot be a one size fits all approach to keeping all immunocompromised people safe and including data from this age group will allow for more effective strategies to be developed.”

Michelle and her team in London are aiming to recruit 1,000 immunocompromised transplant recipients between the ages of 12 and 17 years.

HARMFUL CHEMICALS UNDETECTABLE IN SMOKING ALTERNATIVE NOW AVAILABLE IN UAE

UAE tech company, Medad Technology, has launched an alternative to tobacco and e-cigarettes that produces no detectable carcinogenic agents, according to independent tests conducted by medical experts in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Now available in the UAE, NEB Mist uses its patented ultrasound technology to aerosolise a liquid containing pharmaceutical-grade nicotine into a mist - unlike standard electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and other reduced risk alternatives to tobacco smoking, which rely on electronic heating elements such as heated coils to create a vapour.

Mohammed Alshaiba Al Mazrouei, chief executive officer of Medad Technology said: “NEB

Insomnia medicine, QUVIVIQ, to decrease overactive wakefulness is granted approval

Idorsia Ltd announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorisation for QUVIVIQ (daridorexant), for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia characterised by symptoms present for at least three months and considerable impact on daytime functioning. Chronic insomnia disorder is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders in Europe, affecting between 6-12% of the adult population, and impacting both physical and mental health.

With this approval, QUVIVIQ becomes the first dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of insomnia. Rather than inducing sleep through broad inhibition of brain activity, QUVIVIQ blocks only the activation of orexin receptors. Consequently, QUVIVIQ decreases the wake drive, allowing sleep to occur, without altering the proportion of sleep stages.

Jean-Paul Clozel, MD and chief executive officer of Idorsia, commented: “As our first treatment authorised in the EU, the approval of QUVIVIQ marks a significant medical advancement in the management of insomnia and a big milestone for Idorsia. We expect to

Mist, the world’s first ultrasonic cavitation smoking alternative, is the only product registered under both the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive and the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency that produces no detectable carcinogens, including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.”

UK and US studies also found no signs of eight other compounds identified as the main causes of smokingrelated illness and disease.

“By eliminating the harmful, heatproduced chemicals from regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, we are reducing harm and improving the health of existing tobacco smokers, who are already consuming nicotine,” said Al Mazrouei of Medad Technology, which recently announced that it was investing U$150 million in ultrasound technology to support advances in smoking cessation and other medical treatments.

“At the same time, we fully support efforts to reduce the amount of nicotine in both tobacco and alternative products, which explains why our NEB Mist e-liquid capsules, or Sonics, contain half the nicotine dose of the average e-cigarette,” he added.

NEB Mist also has a built-in Bluetooth feature allowing users to connect to a dedicated mobile app to help monitor and reduce their nicotine intake.

“While we will always encourage the reduction of nicotine consumption, we understand that quitting tobacco smoking can be an incredibly difficult task,” said Al Mazrouei. “By providing a credible smoking experience involving considerably less harm, our NEB Mist technology is potentially a gamechanger for millions of smokers worldwide.”

make it available in the first countries before the end of the year.”

The EC decision is supported by robust Phase 3 results – published in The Lancet Neurology – which demonstrated that at the recommended dose, QUVIVIQ improved sleep onset, sleep maintenance and self-reported total sleep time in adults with chronic insomnia disorder. Patients reported feeling less mentally and physically tired, less sleepy and more energetic during the day, at months one and three compared to placebo, with a favourable safety profile. In clinical trials, the most frequently reported adverse reactions were headache and somnolence.

Professor Damien Léger, Université Paris Cité, France, commented: “QUVIVIQ, which can be used long-term, effectively improves sleep parameters and people’s ability to function better during the day, while avoiding major safety concerns, fulfilling the major medical requirements for insomnia management. This is great news for the millions of adults and elderly people across the EU living with chronic insomnia.”

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