
A plane crashed on a doctors' hostel in India. Those who survived began treating the injured
AHMEDABAD, India — Navin Chaudhary had just begun eating his meal when a loud bang startled him. He turned back to see a massive fire taking over the dining area where he and other trainee doctors had assembled for lunch.
The blaze approaching him, he rushed toward a window and jumped.

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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Death toll rises to 36 following an explosion and fire at a southern India pharmaceutical factory
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — The death toll from Monday's massive explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical factory in India's southern state of Telangana has risen to at least 36 while about three dozen were left injured, authorities said Tuesday. The fire department recovered the charred bodies of 34 workers from the accident site in an industrial area about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the state capital Hyderabad, the state's fire services director G.V. Narayana Rao told The Associated Press. Two other workers succumbed to burns and were pronounced dead in hospital, Rao said, adding that debris of the gutted pharmaceutical unit of Sigachi Industries was still being removed to find out if any more workers were trapped. Nearly three dozen injured workers were admitted to hospitals, he said. 'The whole structure of the factory has collapsed. Fire has been doused, and we hope to finish removing the debris in the next few hours,' Rao said. The explosion and subsequent fire was reported on Monday in the factory's spray dryer unit, which is used to process raw material into fine powder for making drugs, Rao said. The state's Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha said there were 108 workers inside the factory at the time of the explosion. 'As bodies were badly burnt and mutilated, a special medical team has been deployed to conduct DNA tests', said Narasimha, adding the state government has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the incident. Witnesses said they heard the explosion from a couple of kilometers away from the site. India is home to some of the world's top pharmaceutical companies, playing a pivotal role in the global supply of generic medicines and vaccines. The country's robust manufacturing and cost-effective production have made it a hub for pharma giants. Industrial accidents, particularly involving chemical reactors, aren't uncommon in such factories, underlining the need for authorities to implement stringent safety protocols and regulatory oversight in a sector critical to public health. Sigachi Industries Limited is an Indian company dealing with active pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and vitamin-mineral blends, according to the company's website. It has five manufacturing facilities across India and subsidiaries in the U.S and the United Arab Emirates.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
PHC Announces Exclusive Distribution of MaxCyte® ExPERT™ Platform in Japan
-- Enabling Scalable, Non-Viral Cell Engineering for Research, Biomanufacturing, and Therapeutic Development -- TOKYO, July 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Biomedical Division of PHC Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Nobuaki Nakamura; hereafter referred to as "PHCbi"), a subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, hereafter referred to as "PHCHD") announces it has signed an exclusive agreement with MaxCyte, Inc. to distribute the MaxCyte ExPERT platform(*1) in Japan. In Singapore, SciMed (Asia) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of PHCHD, separately entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with MaxCyte and launched the ExPERT platform in the country in June. MaxCyte is a leading, cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell therapeutics. Under this partnership, PHCbi will offer sales and service support for MaxCyte's instruments, consumables, and solutions, providing researchers and manufacturers with access to a clinically proven, non-viral cell engineering platform. MaxCyte's ExPERT instrument portfolio is the next generation of leading, clinically and commercially validated electroporation technology for complex and scalable cell engineering. By enabling high transfection efficiency and cell viability, seamless scalability and enhanced functionality, the ExPERT platform delivers the high-end performance essential to enabling the next wave of biological and cellular therapeutics. PHCbi will distribute and support the full range of MaxCyte platforms covered under this agreement, including the ExPERT ATx®, ExPERT STx®, ExPERT GTx® and ExPERT VLx® as well as related consumables such as processing assemblies and electroporation buffers. These platforms are used by researchers worldwide and have been referenced in more than 70 clinical programs as of Q1 2025. Chikara Takauo, Director of PHC Corporation and General Manager of PHCbi, commented: "We are pleased to add the MaxCyte's ExPERT instruments to our cell culture technology portfolio. Guided by our vision of 'contributing to the evolution and progress of therapeutic modalities,' we are committed to expanding new solutions that address the challenges of QCD (Quality, Cost, and Delivery) in cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing processes. The addition of MaxCyte's ExPERT portoflio allows us to better support scientists and cell therapy developers by providing them with a powerful, non-viral tool to advance their cell-based research and development processes and ultimately accelerate the adoption of CGT." The addition of MaxCyte's ExPERT platform complements PHCbi's ongoing efforts to further enhance the efficiency of CGT development and manufacturing processes while improving cell quality and safety. PHCbi recently introduced the LiCellMoTM live-cell metabolic analyzer(*2) for research use, incorporating PHC's core In-Line Monitoring technology. In addition, PHCbi is developing the LiCellGrowTM cell expansion system, which is being designed to optimize the cell culture environment by automatically exchanging culture medium based on the metabolic state of cells. Together with the MaxCyte's platform, these solutions reflect PHCbi's commitment to delivering comprehensive support for researchers and developers working in areas such as regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, and bioproduction as well as accelerating cell-based innovation in Japan and Singapore. PHCbi will showcase the ExPERT Platform at the 7th Regenerative Medicine EXPO Tokyo 2025 in Japan, which will be held at Japan's Tokyo Big Sight from July 9 to July 11, 2025. 7th Regenerative Medicine EXPO Tokyo 2025Dates: July 9 (Wed.) - 11 (Fri.), 2025Venue: Tokyo Big Sight Japan, West Exhibition Halls (PHCbi Booth No.: W5-30)Official Website: INTERPHEX Week Tokyo / Regenerative Medicine Expo Tokyo (*1) Product information: MaxCyte's instruments are not classified as a medical device. (*2) Product information: Live Cell Metabolic Analyzer | PHCbi About the Biomedical Division of PHC CorporationEstablished in 1969, PHC Corporation is a Japanese subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523), a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures, sells, and services solutions across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, life sciences and diagnostics. The Biomedical Division supports the life sciences industry helping researchers and healthcare providers in around 110 countries and regions through its PHCbi-branded laboratory and equipment and services including CO2 incubators and ultra-low temperature About PHC Holdings Corporation (PHC Group)PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523) is a global healthcare company with a mission of contributing to the health of society through healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people. Its subsidiaries (referred to collectively as PHC Group) include PHC Corporation, Ascensia Diabetes Care, Epredia, LSI Medience Corporation, Wemex and Mediford. Together, these companies develop, manufacture, sell and service solutions across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, diagnostics and life sciences. PHC Group's consolidated net sales in FY2024 were JPY 361.6 billion with global distribution of products and services in more than 125 About SciMed (Asia) Pte LtdSciMed (Asia) Pte Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, is an established and leading provider of products and services for biomedical, life sciences, healthcare, drug discovery, pharmaceutical, laboratories, industrial tests, and agricultural markets. SciMed has become the wholly owned subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation in 2023, advancing sales and marketing in life sciences business across Southeast Asia, India, and About MaxCyte, MaxCyte, we are committed to building better cells together. As a leading cell-engineering company, we are driving the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell therapies. Our best-in-class Flow Electroporation™ technology and SeQure DX™ gene editing risk assessment services enable precise, efficient and scalable cell engineering. Supported by expert scientific, technical and regulatory guidance, our platform empowers researchers from around the world to engineer diverse cell types and payloads, accelerating the development of safe and effective treatments for human health. For more than 25 years, we've been advancing cell engineering, shaping the future of medicine. Learn more at and follow us on X and LinkedIn. View source version on Contacts Contact for media inquiries:Investor Relations & Corporate Communications DepartmentPHC Holdings CorporationTEL: +81-3-6778-5311E-mail: phc-pr@ Contact for product and service:Marketing Department, Biomedical Division PHC CorporationE-mail: Sign in to access your portfolio


Medscape
2 hours ago
- Medscape
13 Cancers in One Blood Test — but 75% False Alarms
A prospective cohort study led by Yang Shao, PhD, president and CEO of Geneseeq Technology Inc. and professor at Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, published in Nature Medicine , on a blood test capable of simultaneously detecting 13 types of cancer. The test demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity and was able to identify early-stage cancers that often go unnoticed during routine screenings. Traditional cancer screening methods are often invasive, expensive, and time-consuming, which can reduce patient adherence. In addition, several cancers — such as pancreatic cancer — are typically asymptomatic in their early stages and progress rapidly, with no established screening protocols currently available. This prompted the development of less invasive approaches, such as multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests that can detect a cancer signal from circulating cell-free DNA. These simple blood tests analyze plasma cell-free DNA using genetic and fragmentomic-based features from whole genome sequencing to simultaneously detect multiple cancer types. Although promising, current MCED tests still have relatively low sensitivity, typically less than 60%. Experts, including those from the American Cancer Society, cautioned that widespread use could create a false sense of reassurance and potentially deter patients from following up with standard screenings. Researchers have developed an MCED blood test that detects 13 cancers: breast, cervical, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, gastric, liver, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, biliary tract, and lymphoma. These cancers account for 66.6% of all new cases and 74% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The test uses two main classifiers: the detection-of-cancer classifier, tasked with confirming the presence of cancer, and the tissue-of-origin classifier, responsible for pinpointing the primary site of malignancy by analyzing and integrating feature frameworks, including copy number variations, fragment size coverage, fragment size distribution, nucleosome footprint, and fragment-based methylation. To develop the test, researchers analyzed 6553 blood samples, 3076 from patients with cancer and 3477 from healthy individuals, divided into a training dataset of 4807 samples and an internal validation dataset of 1746 samples. Independent validation was performed using a prospectively enrolled cohort of 1465 participants in an age-matched fashion, comprising 732 patients with cancer and 733 non-cancer individuals between April and November 2021. In the third ongoing phase, 3724 asymptomatic adults aged 45-75 years in the Jinling cohort underwent both complete physical examinations and the MCED test in June 2023. Positive Results In independent validation, the MCED test showed an overall sensitivity of 87.4% and specificity of 97.8%. The sensitivity was particularly high for certain cancer types, such as 100% for liver and biliary tract cancer, 94.5% for lung cancer, and 82.3% for colorectal cancer. Even cancers that are difficult to diagnose early, such as pancreatic and ovarian cancers, showed a sensitivity of 76.9% for pancreatic cancer and 90.5% for ovarian cancer. Breast cancer had the lowest sensitivity at 63.8%. The test was effective in detecting early-stage disease, with a sensitivity of 79.3% for stage I and 86.9% for stage II cancer. This increased to 92.4% for stage III and 97.1% for stage IV. When considering the top two tissue origin predictions, the accuracy increased to 90.7% for the internal set and 91.7% for the independent set. It performed best in identifying cancers of the colon-rectum, lungs, and liver but was less accurate for pancreatic and stomach cancers, correctly identifying the origin in 50% or fewer cases. In a prospective screening cohort of asymptomatic individuals, the MCED test identified 23 of 43 cancer cases within 1 year, with an overall sensitivity of 53.5%. When limited to the 13 cancers that the test was designed to detect, the sensitivity increased to 62.1%. Most of these cases (93%) were early-stage cancers (stage 0, I, or II). The specificity remained high at 98.1%, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 25% and a negative predictive value of 99.4%. Notably, 8 of the 23 positive patients who received a positive MCED result had their cancers undetected through physical examination, and 4 had cancers for which there is currently no recommended screening, highlighting the potential of the MCED test to effectively detect cancers that would otherwise have gone undetected. 'Our study demonstrated high sensitivity, highlighting our classifier's ability to detect cancer cases, even in populations with lower disease prevalence. This underscores the capacity of our classifier to effectively detect incident cancer cases under real-world screening conditions, facilitated by comprehensive physical examinations,' the authors concluded. These findings suggest that the MCED test could be a valuable complement to existing screening methods, particularly for cancers without routine early detection tools. The ability to detect early-stage pancreatic and ovarian cancers is particularly promising. However, broader validation across diverse populations, cost-effectiveness analyses, and studies on the psychological impact of screening outcomes are critical before widespread clinical implementation. One key limitation was that the PPV achieved was 25% for the MCED test, which was lower than the 38% reported in the PATHFINDER study published in 2023. 'The PATHFINDER trial enrolled participants with a higher cancer prevalence and utilized the MCED test results to trigger diagnostic workup, systematically investigating participants with positive test results, thus inherently enriching their cohort for cancer diagnoses within the workup pathway. Conversely, the Jinling study adopted a standardized comprehensive physical examination for all participants as the primary screening modality, independent of MCED test outcomes and within the context of lower cancer prevalence,' the researchers noted. However, the absolute number of false positives in the Jinling study was low (20 of 3724 participants, or 0.54%). False-positive results can lead to unnecessary anxiety, further invasive diagnostic procedures, and potentially inappropriate treatment for patients. The researchers emphasized the need to improve the sensitivity of the MCED test for very early-stage cancers while reducing false positives.