July/August 2025 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 9
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Migraine takes the spotlight at European Parliament
The European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA) has urged EU policymakers to include migraine in the forthcoming Neurological Health Strategy.
During a European Parliament event, MEPs, patient advocates and neurologists discussed the disorder’s impact and the need for formal recognition within EU health policy.
Migraine affects up to 15% of adults in Europe and is the leading cause of disability among young women, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study. Despite its widespread prevalence, it remains underdiagnosed, undertreated and underfunded across many health systems.
EMHA’s recently published white paper, endorsed by 60 patient organisations and sponsored by AbbVie, calls for timely diagnosis, better access to innovation and formal recognition of migraine as a neurological disease.
Elena Ruiz de la Torre, Executive Director of EMHA said: “This meeting is a crucial step in ensuring that migraine is finally recognised as a serious, systemic health issue in EU policy.”
Participants called for standardised training for healthcare professionals, workforce planning and gender-responsive policies that reflect the disorder’s disproportionate impact on working-age women.
The event also strengthened national advocacy efforts. Dr Magdalena Wysocka, founder of the Polish Migraine Association said: “EU-level action is vital to ensure dignity, recognition and equitable care for all migraine patients.”
EMHA urged the European Parliament and the SANT Committee to ensure migraine is a priority in the final Neurological Health Strategy.
Tagomics secures £860k grant for colorectal cancer test
Tagomics has been awarded £860k in funding from Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst programme to develop a novel diagnostic test for colorectal cancer. The grant forms part of a £1.2M project, with additional funding contributed by Tagomics, to customise its Interlace platform for early disease detection.
The Cambridge-based biomarker discovery and diagnostics company aims to refine its multiomic profiling technology to identify genetic and epigenetic markers associated with colorectal cancer. The approach leverages epigenetic profiling to enrich unmethylated DNA without modifying the underlying sequence, improving sensitivity and specificity in detection.
The funding will support the development of a diagnostic test designed for early colorectal cancer identification and treatment.
A pilot study, led by Dr Arash Assadsangabi, Consultant physician and Gastroenterologist at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, will profile 250 patients suspected of having colorectal cancer. The study will be conducted in collaboration with the Northern Care Alliance Research Collection biobank.
Dr Robert Neely, CSO and co-founder of Tagomics said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Biomedical Catalyst grant as part of the Innovate UK programme, recognising the potential of our multiomic workflow in novel diagnostic and therapeutic technologies.”
Following successful completion of the project, Tagomics plans to expand its platform’s capabilities in partnership with Agilent Technologies. The firms previously collaborated on the early development of the Interlace platform, integrating Tagomics’ epigenetics expertise with Agilent’s SureSelect target enrichment technology.
HOT & NOT
Birmingham based Linear Diagnostics has secured £1m funding to advance a rapid test for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), working in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Diagnostic and Technology Evaluation and the North East Innovation Lab, part of Newcastle Hospitals.
The funding, from NIHR’s Invention for Innovation programme, will support a three-year project leading to clinical sample testing and readiness for clinical trials.
NICE has published updated guidance recommending AstraZeneca’s Forxiga (dapagliflozin) as a treatment option for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a broader patient population.
The decision follows a review of additional clinical data, including real-world evidence and previous trial results, which demonstrated the drug’s efficacy in treating CKD.
CKD affects more than 7 million people in the UK, with 1 million unaware they have the condition.
A landmark reform of how medical devices are regulated in Great Britian has taken effect, as part of the MHRA’s broader transformation of the UK’s medical device regulatory framework.
The new post-market Surveillance regulations require device manufacturers to track the safety and performance of products already in use. This will help identify potential safety issues earlier and strengthen protection for patients through faster responses to incidents and emerging risks.
Levicept has presented new data from its phase 2 trial of LEVI-04 at the European Congress of Rheumatology. The first-in-class biologic, designed as a non-addictive pain treatment, showed significant and clinically meaningful improvements in knee osteoarthritis patients, including enhanced physical function beyond pain relief.
LEVI-04 is a proprietary p75 neurotrophin receptor fusion protein that provides analgesia by inhibiting NT-3 activity, modulating excess neurotrophin levels associated with osteoarthritis.
Responding to a new report from the King’s Fund on the trade-offs needed to ensure the NHS lives within its financial means, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “The findings of this report demonstrate the scale of the financial pressures facing the NHS, due to increased demand and an ageing population. Our members understand the precarious state of the public finances and are doing all they can to boost productivity.”
Slimming injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy have been associated with over 100 deaths in Britain, according to newly revealed data.
Medicine safety regulators have acknowledged that reports of side effects suggest that the drugs may have played a role. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received 111 reports of deaths linked to the treatments up to and including May 29.
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