Media Monitoring: 9th April – 16th April

Drug-resistant bacteria increasing risk of UTIs becoming fatal

AMR is becoming prevalent in common illnesses such as UTIs – a major concern, particularly for the elderly
Half of women and one in 20 men will be affected in their lifetimes

AMR Industry Alliance 2021 Survey – Progress Report

The paper provides an excellent summary of AMRIA’s work on tackling AMR
AMRIA have committed to four key commitments in relation to the fight against AMR: research and science, access, appropriate use, and manufacturing

NHS Health and Race Observatory appoint advisor to lead review into genetic testing race inequalities

Dr Veline L’Esperance has been appointed as a Clinical Advisor focusing on ethnic and racial inequalities relating to genomics and precision medicine
Dr L’Esperance will oversee a new review which addresses genetic testing and diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia in patients from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities
Across the UK, the condition can affect up to one in 250 people but, more widely, there could be up to 220,000 affected individuals in Britain. Without treatment, it can cause early heart attacks along with a higher risk of heart disease

Dengue detection tech through smartphones shows pathway for low-cost diagnostics

University of Reading researchers used a smartphone-test kit (Cygnus) for dengue fever detection with strong results – 82% sensitivity compared to 72% achieved with LFTs
The results were just as good as lab-based diagnostic testing, giving hope that this low-cost tech which can be used anywhere could be utilised to detect other diseases
The test kit makes a number of measurements which allows it to identify which of the 4 different types of dengue caused the infection

Experts claim many online STI tests are not up to scratch – putting patients at risk

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tested many online kits and found that only a few providers met certified standards
Problems ranged from incorrect labelling to incorrect or non-existent advice when using the product and post-diagnosis
Most of the tests came from private, non-NHS affiliated companies

Genetic testing for babies in Wales gives renewed hope

Wales became the first UK nation to offer genetic testing to seriously ill babies two years ago
A test which reads a baby’s DNA code, offered to those who are seriously ill, has led to a diagnosis 40% of the time
Experts hope that this will be extended to all children suspected of having a genetic illness

North East Innovation Lab receives investment of £1.4m to continue vital work to protect health

The North East Innovation Lab has received an investment of £1.4 million to continue work on assessing and evaluating the next generation of diagnostic tests
The investment has come from the Academic Health Sciences Network North East and North Cumbria and NHS England’s Accelerated Access Collaborative
Since launching in January 2021, the team has been in contact with over 70 organisations across the globe, from the UK to the USA and Australia, and has 36 projects in place with 17 companies

BioIVT Appoints Jennifer Murphy as Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Operations

BioIVT, a leading provider of biospecimens, research models and services for drug and diagnostic development, today announced that it has appointed Jennifer Murphy as Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Operations
In her new role, Jennifer will be responsible for building and growing the global commercial programs for all BioIVT’s product lines and services