On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neffy, an epinephrine nasal spray developed by ARS Pharmaceuticals, for the emergency treatment of type I allergic reactions in adults and children weighing at least 30 kg. This marks the first non-injection epinephrine product approved by the FDA.

On August 20, 2024, Scientific American reported that Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX.US) has developed a novel painkiller capable of reducing acute pain levels by approximately 50% without the risk of addiction. On July 30, 2024, Vertex announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had accepted a New Drug marketing application for the drug and granted priority review status. The drug, VX-548, is used to treat moderate to severe acute pain. If approved, VX-548 will be the first non-opioid acute pain medication to hit the market in two decades, marking a significant milestone in pain management.

Seven-year-old Canadian child Michael Piravola was diagnosed with a mutation in his AP4M1 gene at just 18 months old. By the age of two, he was diagnosed with hereditary spastic paraplegia type 50, an ultra-rare condition characterized by developmental delays, microcephaly, speech impairments, and limitations in standing and walking.

A recent study conducted by Tulane University suggests that an experimental drug, originally developed for cancer treatment, may have the potential to eliminate HIV from infected cells in the brain. Researchers at the Tulane National Primate Research Center have discovered that an anti-cancer drug significantly reduced the levels of SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) in the brain by targeting and depleting specific virus-carrying immune cells. SIV is the equivalent virus to HIV. This finding, published in the journal Brain, represents a significant advancement in the effort eliminate HIV from difficult-to-reach viral reservoirs.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are delving into the mechanisms of the human biological clock and how it keeps time. Their latest findings, published on July 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shed light on longstanding questions about the generation and maintenance of circadian rhythms.

On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by pembrolizumab monotherapy, for adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma.

A team of researchers at the Medical University of Vienna has discovered that dormant tumor cells surviving chemotherapy can be targeted through the inhibition of a specific protein called P-glycoprotein (P-gp).

Every year, over 15,500 Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer, and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. Over 1,700 (one in ten) of those diagnosed are young Australians aged under 50, and this incidence is increasing.