FDA approves first gene therapy for bladder cancer in adults

USA – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Swiss drugmaker Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ first gene therapy for treating adult patients with bladder cancer. The therapy, Adstiladrin, is for patients with an aggressive form of the disease whose only other option is to have their bladder removed. In a clinical study, the gene therapy was 51 percent effective in total disappearance of all cancer signs.

The treatment, which is administered into the patient’s bladder once every three months, causes the body to produce a protein that fights cancer. Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States, with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) representing about 75% of all such cases. The adenovirus vector-based gene therapy is indicated for adults with high-risk non-muscle

Kenyan doctor develops drug to cure Hepatitis B

Kenyans, according to the Ministry of Health.

invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors who are unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy. Ferring expects the gene therapy to be commercially available in the United States in the second half of 2023.

KENYA – Prof. Benson Edagwa a trailblazing Kenyan scientist has developed a medication, taken once every four months, to treat chronic Hepatitis B. Existing chronic hepatitis B drugs must be taken daily for a year or longer or they will not work, however, they are not a cure. They may prevent cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Edagwa and his team chemically modified Tenofovir, one of the existing daily pills, into a formulation called NM1TFV, an injection that is given once but remains active in the body for four months. The new formulation may be a game-changer for people with the disease which affects about one million

Edagwa, a Moi University Chemistry graduate, is best known in Kenya for helping formulate a once-a-year ARV injection in 2020. They tested it on mice carrying human liver cells to support natural infection as it occurs in humans, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said in a statement. Edagwa said the drug has been licensed by UNeMed to Exavir Therapeutics Inc, a spin-off company from his laboratory and that of Dr. Gendelman.

EDAGWA, A MOI UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY GRADUATE, IS BEST KNOWN IN KENYA FOR HELPING FORMULATE A ONCE-A-YEAR ARV

INJECTION IN 2020.