A phase 2 clinical trial investigating EC-104, a fluocinolone acetonide extended-release intravitreal implant for the treatment of diabetic macular edema, met its primary endpoint, according to a press release from Eclipse Life Sciences.
As Healio previously reported, the BETTIS-1 trial compared two doses of fluocinolone acetonide, 0.14 mg and 0.092 mg, with Ozurdex (dexamethasone intravitreal implant, AbbVie) in patients with DME who had a previous suboptimal clinical response to intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy.
The primary endpoint, safety of both doses compared with dexamethasone implant, was

The American Academy of Dermatology and Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation issued joint clinical guidelines for hidradenitis suppurativa, a condition that affects up to 1.5% of the global population.
The guidelines, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, include 37 evidence-based recommendations for the medical management of HS in adults, adolescents and children aged 9 years and older.
“People living with HS have waited too long for a clear, evidence-based standard of care,” Haley B. Naik, MD, FAAD, co-chair of the workgroup and president of HS Foundation, told

WASHINGTON — Children were twice as likely to begin and complete the HPV vaccine series at clinics that began recommending it at ages 9 and 10 instead of ages 11 and 12, according to findings presented at IDWeek.
The HPV vaccine provides protection against 6 types of cancer. The CDC recommends HPV vaccination starting at age 11 or 12 years, but says it can be given as young as age 9 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Cancer Society recommend the vaccine for children aged 9 to 12 years.
Most practices in the United States recommend vaccination beginning at age 11 years,

WASHINGTON — A new retrospective cohort study revealed that more than half of early childhood exposures to hepatitis B virus come from household members other than the birth mother.
Researcher Karen B. Jacobson, MD, MPH, said the study shows that delaying HBV vaccination based strictly on maternal status puts infants at risk from other household members.
Last year, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to end a 34-year federal policy recommending universal HBV vaccination for all medically stable newborns within 24 hours of birth and instead recommended the birth dose be

WASHINGTON — Costs associated with antimicrobial resistance neared $1 trillion in 2021, according to data presented at IDWeek.
Hardik Dineshbhai Desai, MBBS, a scientific researcher at AB Plus Multispecialty Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, noted during a press conference that prior research has shown there were an estimated 1.14 million deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 2021, and that more than 39 million people could die from AMR by 2050.
“But deaths alone don’t move financing,” he added. “We wanted to answer a different question: What is this loss to society in the language

The FDA has approved the Zilbrysq autoinjector, a macrocyclic peptide C5 inhibitor and the first such administration option for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis.
The once-daily subcutaneous autoinjector was designed to simplify the administration of Zilbrysq (zilucoplan, UCB) and make treatment more convenient, said Kimberly Moran, PhD, senior vice president and head of U.S. rare diseases at UCB.
“While the autoinjector delivers the same therapy and follows the same once-daily, weight-based dosing schedule as the prefilled syringe, it was specifically designed to help simplify

Patients are increasingly turning to AI, social media and online searches for information about their health and medications, bringing both useful information and misinformation into the exam room.
Rather than viewing this as a barrier to evidence-based care, healthcare professionals have an opportunity to help patients navigate what they find online, identify where these tools fall short and strengthen trust in the medical community.
“We should feel reassured when our patients are bringing online information to us. If they already believed it or fully trusted it, they wouldn’t even be asking

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Investigational oral interleukin-23 inhibitor icotrokinra sustained efficacy and favorable tolerability through week 76 in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, according to data presented here.
Findings from a long-term extension of the phase 2b ANTHEM-UC trial, presented at ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that icotrokinra (Johnson & Johnson) — especially the 400 mg dose —bested placebo for clinical remission, symptomatic remission and endoscopic improvement as early

PHILADELPHIA — Several factors have led to a pediatric endocrinologist shortage in the U.S. that has caused large care gaps for children, according to a speaker at the Breakthrough T1D Clinical and Research Congress.
Tandy Aye, MD, pediatric endocrinologist at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and endowed professor of pediatric endocrinology at Stanford University School of Medicine, said there is a lack of first-year trainees interested in going into pediatric endocrinology. Data from the National Resident Matching Program showed that 8% to 20% of pediatric endocrinology fellowships were

Insurance coverage requirements and high out-of-pocket costs often delay or limit patients’ access to specialty oral blood cancer drugs, according to study results.
An analysis of nationwide claims data for these medications from 2022 showed insurers rejected initial prescription submissions for nearly two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries and more than three-quarters of those with commercial insurance.
Insurers often overturned those decisions within 90 days; however, many patients with approved prescriptions did not fill them. Fill rates declined sharply as out-of-pocket costs rose, with a