Northeast Ohio Medical University

MONDAY, March 10, 2025 -- For patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use is associated with a reduced risk for developing hematologic cancers compared with insulin and metformin use, according to a research letter published online March 6 in JAMA Network Open . Omer S. Ashruf, from Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to compare the risks for hematologic cancers in patients with T2D treated with a GLP-1 RA versus metformin and insulin. The study included patients with T2D prescribed a GLP-1 RA, insulin, or metformin between April 30, 2005, and Oct. 31, 2023 (51,617; 611,115; and 938,602 patients, respectively). Groups were independently matched using a nearest neighbor greedy matching algorithm; 47,716 patients were included in the GLP-1 RA-insulin analysis and 50,590 were included in the GLP-1 RA-metformin analysis. The researchers found that GLP-1 RA use was associated with significantly lower risks for of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) compared with metformin (hazard ratios, 0.61 and 0.67, respectively). No significant difference was seen in the risk for any other hematologic cancer. GLP-1 RA use was associated with significantly lower risks for myeloid leukemia, lymphoid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, MDS, MPN, monoclonal gammopathy, multiple myeloma, and amyloidosis compared with insulin (hazard ratios, 0.39, 0.45, 0.42, 0.19, 0.50, 0.68, 0.49, and 0.52, respectively). GLP-1 RA use was associated with a 54 percent lower risk than that seen with insulin across all hematologic cancers. "The findings of this cohort study suggest that GLP-1 RAs are associated with reduced risk of developing several hematologic cancers, particularly MDS and MPN, in patients with T2D," the authors write. One author disclosed ties to Celegene, BMS, and Carobou. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

SECAUCUS, N.J. and CLEVELAND, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of select assets of University Hospitals, one of the nation's leading nonprofit health systems and academic medical centers. Financial terms were not disclosed. With the acquisition, Quest broadens access to its industry-leading and innovative test menu, network of convenient patient access sites and broad health plan coverage in Ohio. For University Hospitals' providers and patients using Quest for lab services, Quest's laboratories in Twinsburg, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will perform the testing. University Hospitals will continue to provide all inpatient and select outpatient testing from its hospital-based labs. About Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics works across the healthcare ecosystem to create a healthier world, one life at a time. We provide diagnostic insights from the results of our laboratory testing to empower people, physicians and organizations to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from one of the world's largest databases of de-identifiable clinical lab results, Quest's diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our more than 50,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives and create a healthier world. www.QuestDiagnostics.com. About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of more than 20 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Oxford University, Taiwain University and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.

Regeneron, maker of the blockbuster ophthalmology medicine Eylea, has acquired an ocular biotech, the large biopharma confirmed to Endpoints News on Thursday. The London-area biotech, named Oxular, was bought last month, according to board member and recently departed CEO Mark Gaffney. He posted about the deal on LinkedIn on Thursday afternoon. Gaffney is now CEO of inflammation and fibrosis biotech Calluna Pharma. Regeneron had not previously announced the deal, a company spokesperson confirmed in an email. The New York-based drugmaker plans to disclose more details in its next quarterly filing, the spokesperson added. “This was a targeted acquisition that provides us with a potential best-in-class delivery device for our future ocular gene therapies, with the goal of accelerating the time it will take to reach clinical readiness,” the Regeneron spokesperson wrote. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Regeneron’s clinical-stage gene therapy pipeline currently revolves around a hearing loss program. Oxular could help with its expansion. Regeneron also inked a retinal gene therapy pact with German biotech ViGeneron in April 2022. Ophthalmology has long been a cornerstone of Regeneron’s business. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.53 billion in sales of Eylea and its high-dose counterpart (marketed as Eylea HD ) in the most recent quarter. Oxular was developing a biodegradable polymer system and a semi-automated ocular administration device to help extend the duration of eye disease treatments to about 12 months. It had been in Phase 2 development and was exploring treatments for diabetic macular edema, retinoblastoma, uveal melanoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Regeneron declined to comment on whether it would continue advancing any of Oxular’s pipeline programs, including OXU-001, OXU-003, OXU-004 and OXU-005. The startup last disclosed a $37 million funding round in March 2021. It was backed by Dutch investor Forbion, IP Group, NeoMed and V-Bio Ventures. Regeneron hasn’t been as acquisitive, or doled out the same price tags, as some of its pharma peers in recent years. In early 2024, it bought the R&D unit from 2seventy bio . In 2023, it acquired hearing loss gene therapy maker Decibel Therapeutics, and in 2022, it snagged Checkmate Pharmaceuticals .