Australia battling through severe flu season
Flu deaths have also risen by almost 40 per cent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
The increasing flu numbers come alongside a growing caseload of patients with Respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV.
Guest: Dr Michael Wright, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Dr Michael Wright, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Producer: Grace Stranger
Statement from a Department of Health spokesperson:
'Since launching on 1 April, the RSV mother and infant protection program has helped to protect thousands of newborn babies from RSV in Victoria.''The best protection against severe illness from RSV is through maternal vaccination during pregnancy. However, for babies whose mothers didn't receive the vaccine in time or for infants and young children at higher risk, a new monoclonal antibody nirsevimab has been made available. 'There is no shortage of nirsevimab in Victoria. Providers have been advised to order only what they need for scheduled appointments to ensure fair and efficient distribution. Order limits have been relaxed as the respiratory illness season has progressed.'The Victorian Department of Health has proactively sought to support immunisation providers with additional information and guidance, including direct engagement with GP clinic staff. Victorians can visit the Better Health Channel website for eligibility and access information on the RSV mother and infant protection program.'
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ABC News
43 minutes ago
- ABC News
Up to 200 women a month to access new Sydney virtual menopause hub
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
ASX biotechs join global race for cell therapy breakthroughs
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Melbourne-based Cell Therapies Pty Ltd, the country's largest Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) licensed cell and gene therapy manufacturer, was the commercial production partner for Novartis's Kymriah – the first CAR T-cell therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017. While the science remains complex, advances in manufacturing, engineering, and clinical design are making next-generation cell therapies more accessible and scalable, positioning them as a key pillar of future healthcare. Several ASX biotechs are positioning themselves at the forefront of cell therapies to capture a share of the global market, which accounted for ~US$6.04 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to close in on US$48bn by 2034, growing at a CAGR of almost 23%. In particular focus here is the treatment of solid tumours, which account for 90% of all cancers but have so far proven difficult to treat with cell therapies. Arovella in rare biotech club targeting CAR-iNKT therapies Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA) is the only ASX-listed biotech delving into CAR Invariant Natural Killer T-cells (iNKT) therapies, and one of only a few globally. CEO Dr Michael Baker told Stockhead iNKT cells were distinct from the more familiar natural killer, or NK cells, which along with T-cells had limitations. T-cells can't be used off-the-shelf unless they are genetically engineered. While NK cells can quickly eliminate abnormal cells such as tumour cells, iNKT cells go further. Not only do they kill like T and NK cells, but they also trigger a longer-lasting response by activating other key parts of the immune system. Because iNKT cells recognise foreign threats differently – unlike classic CAR-T cells – it has been shown in clinical trials that iNKT cells do not cause complications like graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) when administered from a healthy donor to a patient. The FDA has approved seven CAR-T therapies to date, all for blood cancers, but no iNKT treatments. While over 120 global trials are investigating CAR-NK therapies for blood and solid tumours, CAR iNKT research remains limited. Baker said most cell therapies use the patient's own cells (autologous), but this was costly, slow, and relies on compromised cells. Arovella is taking an allogeneic approach, using healthy donor cells to create off-the-shelf, frozen doses shipped to clinics as needed in a 'ready-to-use' model. Its lead therapeutic ALA-101 combines iNKT cells with a CAR that targets CD19, a protein commonly found on B-cell blood cancers like lymphoma and leukaemia. One of Arovella's next key milestones is to apply to the FDA for its first-in-human trial, enrolling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukaemia patients. The company's other key goal is also tackling solid tumours. "The first approved blood cancer targeting CAR-T products have demonstrated just how important cell therapies will be for cancer treatment," Baker said. "We look forward to using our CAR-iNKT cell platform to expand upon that work and aim to create products capable of increasing access and reducing costs. "There is a lot of great science that will continue to advance the off-the-shelf cell therapy sector. "That is why we continue to scour the globe for new IP to build into our CAR-iNKT platform, to either strengthen our CAR-iNKT cells or to broaden the cancer types that we can target.' Imugene also aims to crack solid tumours Imugene (ASX:IMU) is developing cell-based immunotherapies, including allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies, oncolytic viruses and B-cell vaccines, to address both blood cancers and solid tumours. The company's lead cell therapy candidate azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel) is an off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19, a protein commonly expressed on malignant B-cells. There are no allogeneic (off the shelf) CAR T therapies approved to date. Azer-cel is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a hard-to-treat form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In early-phase studies, azer-cel has demonstrated promising results, including high complete response rates and durable remissions in patients who have previously relapsed after autologous CAR T-cell therapies. "We are very pleased with the continued positive data coming from the azer-cel trial, which further reinforces its potential as a treatment for lymphoma patients who have failed on several previous therapies including auto CAR T," CEO and managing director Leslie Chong told Stockhead. Imugene's next-generation cell therapy platform OnCARlytics is designed to help overcome one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment, making solid tumours visible to the immune system. The approach combines Imugene's proprietary CF33 oncolytic virus, which selectively infects and destroys cancer cells, with CD19-targeting CAR T-cells. The CF33 infects tumour cells and forces them to express CD19, a marker typically found on blood cancer cells but absent on solid tumours. By introducing CD19 into the tumour environment, the therapy effectively tags the cancer, allowing CD19-specific CAR T-cells to recognise and attack the tumour. Imugene's pipeline also includes multiple immunotherapy B-cell vaccine candidates, which involve inducing the body to produce polyclonal antibodies against specific tumour-associated antigens. The company's PD1-Vaxx is designed to generate antibodies that block the PD-1 receptor, potentially mimicking the effects of checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda). The company recently announced the first patient had been dosed in Australia as part of an investigator-sponsored Phase II Neo-POLEM clinical trial, which is evaluating PD1-Vaxx's potential to improve treatment outcomes for patients with mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-high) colorectal cancer. This aggressive cancer subtype accounts for ~15% of all colorectal cancer cases. Chimeric advances cell therapy assets in solid tumours Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) has three CAR T and NK cell assets in clinical trials. It has an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial for its novel CHM CDH17 CAR T-cell therapy targeting advanced colorectal cancer and Neuroendocrine tumours of the midgut. Their second program CHM CLTX CAR T is in a phase 1B clinical trial in recurrent/progressive glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. CHM CORE-NK is a potentially best-in-class, clinically validated NK cell platform. Data from the complete phase 1A clinical trial, demonstrated safety and efficacy in blood cancers and solid tumours. Two additional Phase 1B clinical trials investigating CHM CORE-NK in combination regimens have been initiated in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). "We're excited to be actively advancing in the clinic and pushing through dose levels as we break new ground in the solid tumour CAR T-cell therapy space," CEO Dr Rebecca McQualter told Stockhead. Prescient advancing cell therapy platforms While predominately focused on PTX-100, its first-in-class compound with the ability to block an important cancer growth enzyme geranylgeranyl transferase-1 (GGT-1), Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) is also advancing its proprietary OmniCAR and CellPryme platforms. OmniCar has potential to allow CAR T therapy cells to be more targeted, safer, more effective, cost-effective and of longer duration. CellPryme is a complementary application to OmniCar split into two components. CellPryme-M produces superior cells that are more potent and last longer, aiming to double tumour control. Meanwhile, CellPryme-A acts as an adjuvant therapy, increasing the expansion of CAR T-cells and enhancing their ability to penetrate the tumour. AdAlta adopts East to West cellular immunotherapy strategy AdAlta (ASX:1AD) and venture capital firm SYNthesis BioVentures Fund (SYNBV) launched AdCella in 2024 to adopt an East to West strategy and bring cutting-edge cellular immunotherapies from Asia, particularly China, into Western markets. SYNBV was co-founded by Professor Andrew Wilks, who alongside Amplia (ASX:ATX) CEO Dr Chris Burns received the 2024 Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation for co-inventing momelotinib, an FDA-approved treatment for myelofibrosis. The strategy leverages AdAlta managing director and CEO Dr Tim Oldham's deep expertise in cellular immunotherapies and extensive operational experience in Asia to identify and advance promising Asian cellular therapies that can be transitioned into regulated western markets. Oldham was previously CEO of Cell Therapies and said he'd been fortunate to witness firsthand the rapid evolution of China's biotech sector and remarkable progress in cellular immunotherapies for cancer treatment over the past 15 years. The East to West cellular immunotherapy strategy for cancer is now a core growth priority for AdAlta and a key driver of future pipeline growth and value creation.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
AHPRA takes action against more than 50 practitioners in medicinal cannabis crackdown
The health-practitioner watchdog has put medicinal cannabis prescribers on notice, saying poor prescribing practices and surging consumer demand are leading to "significant" patient harm. AHPRA today released new guidelines urging prescribers to put patient wellbeing above profits, as medicinal cannabis prescriptions rise rapidly due to telehealth companies providing a one-stop shop for quick access to medicinal cannabis. The regulator said some businesses were using "aggressive and sometimes misleading advertising that targets vulnerable people" and online questionnaires that coached patients to say "the right thing" to justify prescribing. The ABC can reveal AHPRA has now taken action against 57 medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses over medicinal cannabis prescribing practices. "We're currently investigating a further 60 right now as we speak. And for those that choose not to meet our requirements, we will be knocking on their door in the near future," AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner said. The crackdown comes after a series of ABC investigations revealed patients with a history of psychosis had been hospitalised after being prescribed medicinal cannabis and one patient had died following inappropriate prescribing. The investigations also revealed concerns from doctors who said they were being treated like drug dealers and pressured to write medicinal cannabis scripts by the telehealth companies. While AHPRA said the majority of practitioners do the right thing, the agency uncovered half a dozen who issued more than 10,000 scripts in a six-month period, including one who issued over 17,000, or one every four minutes in a working day. Mr Untersteiner said the regulator held serious concerns for patient safety due to excessive and inappropriate prescribing. "We've seen patients present to emergency departments with medicinal-cannabis-induced psychosis, and this can particularly happen where there are patients that have pre-existing mental health conditions or substance abuse or other issues like that. "Another area that worries us is … prescribing excessive quantities or even prescribing multiple different prescriptions to a single patient so they can try which one suits them. "Again, that's completely inappropriate," he said. The new AHPRA guidelines explicitly state that except for childhood epilepsy, muscle spasms and pain associated with multiple sclerosis, cancer and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, "there is little evidence to support the use of medicinal cannabis". According to Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) data, the main conditions medicinal cannabis is being prescribed for include insomnia, chronic pain and anxiety. The guidelines state medicinal cannabis should not be prescribed as a first-line treatment and should only be used when there is an evidence-supported clinical indication and when other treatments have not worked. They also insist patients be thoroughly assessed, proper medical records be taken, and an exit strategy is developed to help patients stop taking the medication. Most medicinal cannabis products prescribed in Australia are unapproved, meaning they have not been assessed by the TGA for safety, quality, performance or effectiveness, something patients must now be informed of during consultations. The majority of cannabis products prescribed in Australia also contain THC, which causes psychoactive effects and makes them Schedule 8 medicines due to the risks of misuse, abuse and potentially addictive properties. "We don't prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them and medicinal cannabis is no different. Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need," Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Susan O'Dwyer said. AHPRA and the Medical and Nursing and Midwifery Boards said they were working with other regulators like the TGA and may investigate practitioners with high rates of prescribing even without receiving complaints. Patients and doctors are encouraged to report unsafe practices to help protect others by calling the AHPRA Notifications Hotline on 1300 361 041.
