Trending News Today: Olaparib Plus Bevacizumab Effective as First-Line Advanced Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Olaparib (Lynparza, AstraZeneca) with bevacizumab met the primary endpoint of a phase 3 study as first-line maintenance therapy for women with advanced ovarian cancer, AstraZeneca announced. According to the press release, the PAOLA-1 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of olaparib added to bevacizumab compared with bevacizumab alone in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who had a complete or partial response to first-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and bevacizumab. Overall, the results showed that treatment with olaparib in the intent-to-treat population demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival.

Opioid injection use is increasing in rural areas, which is an emerging risk factor HIV transmission, and these communities often lack the infrastructure and resources to prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, a viewpoint published in JAMA noted that the CDC pinpointed 220 counties across 26 states, the majority of which are rural, that were considered vulnerable to an outbreak. Interventions such as needle and exchange programs, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and antiretroviral therapy access are needed in these areas, the article reported.

US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is looking into data accuracy issues related to the gene therapy Zolgensma, Reuters reported. According to the article, Grassley has asked Novartis to provide details on the data manipulation related to Zolgensma, including the date when it determined that it had issued manipulated data to the FDA, as well as the number of employees terminated in relation to the issue. Novartis previously admitted that it knew about the data discrepancies while seeking approval for Zolgensma for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, but delayed notifying the FDA, the article reported.