Jessica Davis Pluess

Novartis bets on ageing as next frontier in drug development Swiss pharma giant Novartis is diving into research on ageing to tap the growing market for drugs that help keep older adults healthy.

Ageing is a major risk for many diseases but big pharma has invested very little in trying to understand what happens as we age. But this is changing as shown by the case of Novartis. #drugdiscovery #longevity #health #pharmaceuticals www.swissinfo.ch/eng/healthca...

Chinese biotechs eye Swiss collaboration as relations with US sour With growing uncertainty in the US, Chinese companies are swooping in to present themselves as stable, open partners to the Swiss biotech sector.

With growing uncertainty in US financial markets and research funding, Chinese companies are swooping in to present themselves as stable, open partners to the Swiss #biotech sector. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/global-t...

The Basel researcher whose work triggered a longevity revolution Basel-based scientist Michael Hall's discovery of the gene Target of Rapamycin has fuelled one of the fastest growing trends – longevity.

No one would be talking about the potential of rapamycin for longevity if it weren't for the groundbreaking discovery by Michael Hall, a molecular biologist at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch, over 30 years ago. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/aging-so...

An analysis of US net cancer drug launch prices and clinical efficacy and certainty of evidence from 2008 to 2022 Abstract. Over the last 15 years, cancer drug prices have increased substantially in the United States (US), with question marks on whether this can be jus

Rant mode [ON]

Over the last 15 years, US cancer drug prices have doubled-from ~$100k to $200k per year. What do patients get for this extra $100k? Nada. Not better outcomes. Not more robust evidence. Just higher bills 🧵

academic.oup.com/healthaffair...

Longevity clinics: modern-day snake oil or the key to healthy ageing? Scientists have yet to find the elixir of life but this hasn't stopped longevity clinics from selling treatments, pills and gadgets that claim to slow ageing.

Huge advances in the science of #aging and tech have helped fuel a new #longevity movement. Clinics are popping up all over Switzerland and beyond offering diagnostic tests, novel therapies, and a world of promises. Are they just hype or the key to healthy aging? www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multinat...

US tariffs pressure Swiss pharma powerhouse Looming US pharma tariffs could challenge the status quo in pharmaceutical hubs like Switzerland as investment shifts to the US.

European pharma hubs are getting the jitters as US tariffs loom large over the industry and more companies announce plans for big investments in the US. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multinat...

Why Switzerland pays more for cancer care than Sweden More money is spent on cancer in Switzerland per capita than any other country in Europe, but this doesn’t translate to higher survival rates.

People often mix up Switzerland and Sweden. But when it comes to cancer prevention and care there are some interesting differences. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multinat...

Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey to Researchers (Gift Article) Scientists on overseas projects must say whether they work with communist governments and help combat “Christian persecution.”

Trump administration asks researchers working overseas on HIV and other diseases to disclose ties to those regarded as hostile, including “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties."

W/ @SherylNYT.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/h...

How Foreign Aid Cuts Are Setting the Stage for Disease Outbreaks (Gift Article) Organizations funded by the United States helped keep dangerous pathogens in check around the world. Now many safeguards are gone, and Americans may pay the price.

Organizations funded by the United States helped keep dangerous pathogens in check around the world. Now many safeguards are gone, and Americans may pay the price.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/h...

Explainer: Why US health funding cuts are rattling Swiss science The Trump administration has upended funding by the National Institutes of Health. What does it mean for biomedical research in Switzerland?

Some 99% of NIH direct funding goes to US institutions but the NIH is still really important to scientists all over the world. Here’s why with perspective from Switzerland. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/science/...

Five ways health authorities hope to end medicine shortages Authorities in many countries are scrambling for solutions to mounting shortages of medicine. Will any of them work?

Acute drug shortages may have eased in some countries since the end of the Covid pandemic but the underlying problems are still there and could get worse if tariffs disrupt global supply chains. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multinat...

‘It’s tectonic:’ U.S. foreign aid freeze deals a blow to research around the globe Dismantling of USAID could disrupt clinical trials and wipe away U.S. “soft power” in developing countries, scientists warn

What's happening at #USAID is causing so much damage. The great reporters at @science.org explore some of that damage. www.science.org/content/arti...

Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump’s USAID Order The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.

The Trump administration's stop-work order on USAID left thousands of volunteers around the world w/ experimental drugs + medical devices in their bodies – cut off from care by researchers running clinical trials, in violation of the fundamental principles of research www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

Swiss regulator and media clash over weight-loss drugs Swissmedic has taken legal action against media for alleged unauthorised advertising of weight-loss drugs. Swiss media say this is censorship.

Advertising of prescription drugs isn‘t allowed in Switzerland. But when does editorial content about the latest weight-loss drugs cross the line? #pharma #weightloss #medicine www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multinat...

Cancer burden is shifting from men to women and old to young Cancer deaths overall are falling, but the burden is shifting toward younger adults and women, the American Cancer Society reports.

Deaths from cancer continue to fall in the United States, the American Cancer Society reported, but within that encouraging trend is a disturbing shift in the cancer burden from older to younger adults and from men to women.

This father built a gene therapy for his son. Now comes the harder part: saving others' children, too Terry Pirovolakis built a gene therapy to save his son from an ultra-rare disease. Now he has become the first stop and last hope for other desperate parents.

Terry Pirovolakis built a gene therapy to save his son from a rare disease. He has become the first stop and last hope for other desperate parents.