Lynne Peterson is the Senior Writer for Trends-in-Medicine.

Here is the medical news to watch for Oct. 18-24, 2021.

Covid-19: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet virtually October 20-21 to discuss booster doses for two Covid-19 vaccines, Moderna’s mRNA-1273 and Johnson & Johnson’s Ad26.COV2.S.

Gastroenterology: The hybrid American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) meeting will take place in Las Vegas and virtually Oct. 22-27. Discover what’s new in GI pharmacology, an update in Barrett’s esophagus treatment, management of reflux, management of pancreatitis, the latest in endoscopy, optimizing the microbiome, and more.

Gene therapy: The European Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ESGCT) will take place virtually Oct. 19-22. Among the topics will be AAV vectors, development of gene therapies for inner ear conditions, ophthalmic disorders, cancer, liver-inherited disease, rare diseases, and much more. Among the data to watch:

  • Phase I/II results for Avrobio’s AVR-RD-02 for Gaucher disease and phase II results for its AVR-RD-01 for Fabry disease.
  • 24-month data from the phase I/II SUNRISE-PD trial of Sio Gene Therapies’ AXO-Lenti-PD in Parkinson’s disease and phase I/II data on its AXO-AAV-GM1 in GM1 gangliosidosis.

Genetics: The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) virtual meeting will take place Oct. 18-22, covering the whole field of human genetics and genomics, with a focus on how genetics/genomics can promote health and prevent disease. You will also find a preview of the latest scientific innovations. Among the themes this year are: Bioinformatics, cancer, polygenic disorders, diversity/equity, population genetics, genetic epidemiology, and more.

Neurology: The American Neurological Association’s ANA2021 virtual meeting is continuing through Oct. 19.

Neurosurgery: The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) is continuing in person (not virtually) in Austin TX through Oct. 20.

Oncology: The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) meeting will take place virtually Oct. 21-24. There will be cutting-edge science, engaging debates, and lectures on topics such as enrollment of adolescents in clinical trials, germ cell tumors, biomarker development, and much more.

Ophthalmology

  • The virtual Dry AMD Therapeutic Development Summit will take place Oct. 19-21. There will be updates on next-generation complement inhibitor programs, novel approaches to targeting inflammasome inhibition, HtrA1 inhibitors, and the lack of predictable animal models, validated clinical meaningful endpoints, and biomarkers.
  • The FDA is expected to make a decision by Oct. 23 on Roche’s PDS (port delivery system), a permanent refillable eye implant that elutes ranibizumab, for treating neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Plastic surgery: The FDA’s General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Committee will meet virtually on Oct. 20 to review Integra LifeSciences’ SurgiMend PRS Acellular Bovine Dermal Matrix (ABDM) for soft tissue support in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.

Pulmonology

  • The American College of Chest Physicians: CHEST continues through October 20. Topics include pulmonary care, critical care, sleep medicine, and more. Watch for data on:
    • United Therapeutics and Mannkind’s Tyvaso DPI (inhaled treprostinil) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD)
    • United Therapeutics’ Orenitram (oral treprostinil) in PAH.
  • The FDA is expected to make a decision by Oct. 20 on dupilumab (Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi’s Dupixent), an anti-IL-4/13, to treat children age 6-11 with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Radiology: The hybrid American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) starts in Chicago on Oct. 24. There will also be two (yes, two) virtual components—Digital XP is close to a live virtual meeting, and onDemand is a recorded option. This means there are three different registration options. The meeting theme this year is “embracing change, advancing person-centered care.” With the rapid advances in the applications, technologies, and methodologies of radiation oncology, this is the meeting to help you keep up. Among the data to watch:

  • Phase I results for Adaptimmune’s Afami-cel (ADP-A2M4), a SPEAR T cell therapy, in solid tumors.
  • Phase II/III results for Nanobiotix’s NBTXR3, a radioenhancer made of functionalized crystalline hafnium oxide (HfO2) nanoparticles, for soft tissue sarcoma and phase I survival data in head and neck cancer.

Regulatory

  • The DIA Japan meeting will take place virtually starting Oct. 24. The theme is “New Challenges, New Solutions.” The meeting brings together experts from industry, government, academia, and patient organizations to look back at what has been learned during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • On Oct. 21-22 the FDA and the University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (M-CERSI) are jointly hosting a virtual public workshop to discuss the current state of fetal pharmacology and therapeutics and how it pertains to pediatric drug development.

Reproductive medicine: The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) hybrid meeting in Baltimore and virtually continues through Oct. 20. You’ll find the latest information on stem cell biology, endometriosis, infertility, contraception, assisted reproduction, fibroids, and more.

Sexual medicine: The Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) Fall Scientific Meeting on Oct. 21-24 will only be in person in Scottsdale, AZ. Topics will include pregnancy and infertility, genital cosmetic surgery, voiding dysfunction, genital anatomy and pain, and LGBTQ issues.

Lynne Peterson, Contributing Writer, Senior Writer for Trends-in-Medicine

Cat ID: 926

Topic ID: 79,926,497,730,316,935,926,208,221,192,151,725,225,925,240,547,207,218,220,224,315

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