A personalised cancer vaccine given with a widely used immunotherapy cut the risk of patients dying or their skin cancer returning by 42% in a major trial. Researchers say it could mark a turning point for personalised medicine, the BBC reports.
Read more at BBC News →
Full late-stage results show adding Amgen's Imdelltra to AstraZeneca's immunotherapy Imfinzi cut the risk of death by 58% in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, a notoriously aggressive form of the disease, CNBC reports.
Read more at CNBC →
Bristol Myers Squibb reported on Friday that one patient died after receiving its investigational CAR-T therapy in a clinical trial in autoimmune disease. STAT News reporter Elaine Chen covered the disclosure, as the company tests the therapy outside cancer.
Read more at STAT →A randomised phase 2 trial led by Mayo Clinic found an investigational vaccine helped the immune system recognise and respond to the mutations that drive most pancreatic cancers. The findings, in Nature Medicine, will guide a larger trial.
Read more at Medical Xpress →
In two Phase 3 studies, a Novartis multiple sclerosis treatment cut relapse rates by a third compared with standard treatment. It does not match a rival Roche drug on efficacy, but has a cleaner safety profile, STAT reports.
Read more at STAT →An analysis found just 31% of 97 approved indications for 63 cancer treatments in Europe over four years offered high clinical benefit. Those that did came from a small number of drugmakers, mostly based in Asia.
Read more at STAT →For moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, oral icotrokinra, a peptide that blocks the interleukin-23 receptor, produced a clinical response at week 12 significantly more often than placebo, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read more at Medical Xpress →The phase 2 BESTOW trial found tegoprubart, an anti-CD40L antibody, preserved kidney function better than standard tacrolimus in immunosuppressive regimens for adults receiving their first kidney transplant. Tacrolimus is the current standard of care.
Read more at Medical Xpress →A small UCLA study found oxaloacetate was linked to major improvements in memory and thinking problems reported by breast cancer survivors after eight weeks. Participants also reported less fatigue. Side effects were mostly mild stomach issues.
Read more at Study Finds →New research on adults aged 80 or older with chronic kidney disease looks at the benefits and risks of SGLT2 inhibitors and finds advanced age does not limit their benefits. The findings are being presented at ASN Kidney Week 2026.
Read more at Medical Xpress →A review of guidelines from 1994 to 2026 in The Lancet Rheumatology finds a shift in managing non-specific low back pain toward clinical assessment, education, activity and exercise, and away from routine imaging without suspicion of serious disease.
Read more at The Hindu →
The Union government told the Supreme Court margins on hospital consumables can range from 100% to 1,000% or more. But a senior official told TOI the government lacks the data to assess margins across hospitals.
Read more at health.economictimes.indiatimes.com →From next month 137 cancer drugs in India will be cheaper, after a retired bank clerk took her case to the Supreme Court, which called the mark-ups extortion. Poorer patients have forgone treatment, sold land or fallen into debt, The Guardian reports.
Read more at The Guardian →
An ICMR-NIHR Bhubaneswar study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research found nearly one in four adults from Odisha's tribal communities has impaired kidney function, a significant but largely under-recognised health burden.
Read more at The Times of India →
After the DGHS found some private and corporate hospitals sterilising single-use medical devices and using them on more than one patient, the Centre prohibited the practice and directed states to enforce the ban.
Read more at health.economictimes.indiatimes.com →Odisha became the first state to launch a dedicated protocol for managing sickle cell disease in pregnant women, at a state-level meeting organised by NHM Odisha, the Directorate of Blood Safety and UNICEF Odisha.
Read more at Pragativadi →AIIMS Nagpur received Rs 30 crore from the National Centre for Disease Control to set up a Biosafety Level-III laboratory to detect and investigate emerging and high-risk infectious diseases. It should be operational in about a year.
Read more at The Times of India →Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu approved the plan to merge four major government hospitals in east Delhi into a single autonomous multispeciality institution modelled on AIIMS, Health Minister Pankaj Singh said, Medical Dialogues reports.
Read more at Medical Dialogues →Maharashtra moved the High Court against central food safety regulations, arguing they usurp state powers. The petition says the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 was meant to decentralise regulation through state commissioners.
Read more at health.economictimes.indiatimes.com →In an opinion paper in Oncology Reviews, AIIMS Delhi surgical oncologists Prof M D Ray and Dr Hema Siri Kottu warn that pressure to accommodate influential patients can lead to decisions that depart from standard protocols.
Read more at The Times of India →On World Polio Day, doctors in Srinagar said the threat remains because poliovirus still circulates in neighbouring countries. They stressed sustained vaccination coverage, effective surveillance and better sanitation to keep the disease away.
Read more at Kashmir News Observer →Keralam's plan to make treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disorder that weakens muscles, accessible to more patients is facing controversy, The Hindu explains. The drug Risdiplam is marketed as Evrysdi by Roche.
Read more at The Hindu →The Kerala Health Department published its first Infectious Disease Prevention Calendar, listing month-wise disease risks, symptoms and prevention. Health workers will run door-to-door awareness campaigns and school assemblies will promote it.
Read more at Outlook India →Indian American physician Dr Navin C Shah committed $525,000 for a five-year infectious disease programme at BJ Government Medical College in Pune, his alma mater, with Johns Hopkins, covering research, training, faculty exchanges and patient care.
Read more at The Times of India →India's drug regulator urged caution over non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics, warning of complications, including risks to kidney health, from taking them repeatedly, for long periods or without medical advice.
Read more at Nation Path India →
WHO announced the first clinical trial of an Ebola vaccine in the outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Director-General Tedros said participants were vaccinated with Ervebo in Bunia, Al Jazeera reports.
Read more at Al Jazeera →Kenya's Health Ministry announced the country's second Ebola death on Friday. A 65-year-old woman, a close relative of the first patient, died after developing symptoms while in quarantine, the ministry said.
Read more at Medical Xpress →The CDC reported 178 more measles cases this week across at least 43 outbreaks. Experts criticise the agency for a lack of transparency as health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr takes steps to further upend US vaccine infrastructure.
Read more at The Guardian →An outbreak of bird flu at a Utah mink farm has raised concerns among infectious disease experts about the Trump administration's handling of such viruses. A human wave is unlikely, but the lack of transparency is troubling, an expert said.
Read more at The Guardian →Researchers estimate heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities from June to August, blaming climate breakdown for two in every three deaths. Added heat cut short an extra 32,000 lives, The Guardian reports.
Read more at The Guardian →The Care Quality Commission's annual State of Care report finds children and young people are hit hardest by some of the sharpest rises in NHS waiting times in its history, amid soaring demand and falling staff numbers.
Read more at The Guardian →Since 1 October, refugees, trafficking victims and others living legally in the US no longer qualify for Medicaid under the 2025 Republican tax law, which cuts Medicaid spending by about $900 billion through 2034, KFF Health News reports.
Read more at KFF Health News →As open enrollment for 2027 begins, Affordable Care Act shoppers face premium increases, possible extra identity checks, potential delays with brokers and new limits on which immigrants can get subsidies, KFF Health News reports.
Read more at KFF Health News →SNAP enrolment dropped from 41.6 million in July 2025, before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect, to 36.5 million, pushing more people to food banks or into hunger, stakeholders told The Guardian.
Read more at The Guardian →Greece's Parliament approved a bill on 23 October banning social media for children under 15 over concerns about minors' health and safety. It takes effect on 1 January 2027. Australia passed a similar law last year.
Read more at The Hindu →Deaths linked to cocaine have reached record levels in Britain. The Guardian's data analysis suggests not millions of new users but an established market with ageing users, supporting a multibillion pound criminal industry.
Read more at The Guardian →
Bhubaneswar healthtech CureBay raised nearly Rs 100 crore, including Rs 69 crore of equity led by IvyCap Ventures and over Rs 30 crore of debt from Trifecta, Alteria and VentureSoul, to expand its rural network and AI services.
Read more at OdishaTV →
Pathos is raising a $237 million Series E led by Bristol Myers Squibb. It is expanding from oncology into neurology with Tempus AI datasets and a BMS partnership that will first focus on Alzheimer's treatments.
Read more at STAT →
Microsoft's model uses an orchestrator that runs a simulated panel of clinical experts to decide which questions to ask, and which exams and tests to order, as it works through diagnostic cases sequentially.
Read more at health.economictimes.indiatimes.com →
US AI-native health benefits platform Angle Health, which serves small and midsize employers, raised $600 million led by Vitruvian Partners, made up of a $200 million Series C and a $400 million tender offer.
Read more at Investors in Healthcare →
Jabil's 2026 digital health survey finds rising confidence in AI's potential in healthcare but falling confidence in organisations' own internal readiness to put it to use, R&D World reports on the survey findings.
Read more at R&D World →The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission said the ABHA app will be discontinued from 31 October 2026 and asked citizens to move to Aarogya Setu 2.0, which offers an integrated platform for creating and managing health accounts.
Read more at Nicobar Times →Union Health Minister J P Nadda called for stronger digital health integration and better patient care at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, which reported over 19 lakh OPD visits in 2025.
Read more at VOH Network →Quess Corp's India Healthcare GCC Outlook 2026 projects 67,000 job openings in healthcare global capability centres this year, with about 93% of demand for professionals with 3 to 12 years of experience.
Read more at health.economictimes.indiatimes.com →Nelson Advisors' weekly roundup leads with Stryker planning to invest about $400 million in Cambridge-based CMR Surgical, through a deal, alongside a regulatory infrastructure raise and a Nordic consolidation move.
Read more at Healthcare.Digital →Bengaluru healthtech startup HeyVoli raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding to build AI-powered infrastructure that addresses healthcare's interoperability problems in patient care and data management, OneIndia reports. The startup aims to streamline operations for providers.
Read more at Oneindia →Researchers from the University of Hong Kong, working with Cambridge, UC Berkeley, NUS and others, published a roadmap for the future of AI and emerging technologies in mental health care.
Read more at Mirage News →
Tom's Guide reports on a study finding Pilates is associated with a 36% lower risk of death, with yoga not far behind, adding to the evidence for regular mind-body exercise.
Read more at Tom's Guide →
A multivitamin, an immunity gummy, a hair tablet and a throat lozenge can each contain a little zinc. The Indian Express explains how four supplements could total 61 mg a day, and why adding it up matters.
Read more at The Indian Express →
A Queen Mary University of London trial of 63 patients already on medication found a small device that stimulates nerves through the ear was safe, easy to use at home and well tolerated for stubborn high blood pressure.
Read more at ScienceDaily →
Waking abruptly during deep sleep can make it harder for the brain to reach full alertness, a phenomenon called sleep inertia. The Indian Express notes alarms are not inherently harmful, but timing matters.
Read more at The Indian Express →
Children aged nine to 11 who consume more caffeine, mainly from soft drinks, tend to sleep less and show small differences in brain structure, a study finds, raising mental health concerns, The Eastleigh Voice reports.
Read more at The Eastleigh Voice →A survey of 286 US psychological service providers in Frontiers in Psychiatry finds most do not feel ready to treat functional neurological disorder, even though psychotherapy is almost always the recommended next step.
Read more at Bioengineer.org →A policy brief from the Earth-Brain-Health Commission in Nature Mental Health links environmental pressures to anxiety, depression and trauma. Urban Acres reports India's urban and disaster systems are not yet equipped to handle it.
Read more at Urban Acres →Heineken told British pubs that GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy could reduce the desire to drink alcohol, leading to fewer serves of beer and cider, The Guardian reports.
Read more at The Guardian →Mitun De Sarkar tells The Indian Express that women juggling work, children and ageing parents should prioritise strength training, balanced eating and protecting mental well-being after 40, in a conversation hosted by Faizan Khan.
Read more at The Indian Express →Healthcare and pharma roles checked today, health tech included. Every listing links to the original posting. No referral needed.
Health conferences coming up, each checked against its own page this morning. Hydrate between sessions.
It sits on your phone like an app and has never once asked for an update.
iPhone