University of Essex

MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2024 -- A new set of skin cancer risk factors can improve detection of suspicious skin lesions, according to a study published online Sept. 6 in Scientific Reports . Shafiqul Islam, Ph.D., from the University of Essex in Colchester, England, and colleagues examined artificial intelligence (AI) models that use patient metadata consisting of 23 attributes for suspicious skin lesion detection. Performance of a new set of most important risk factors, known as C4C risk factors , was compared to that of the 7-point checklist (7PCL) and the Williams risk factors that predict lifetime melanoma risk. The proposed AI framework identified seven new skin cancer risk factors: lesion pink, lesion size, lesion color, lesion inflamed, lesion shape, lesion age, and natural hair color. The researchers found that when evaluating metadata from 53,601 skin lesions collected from different skin cancer diagnostic clinics, this proposed framework achieved sensitivity of 80.46 ± 2.50 percent and specificity of 62.09 ± 1.90 percent for detecting suspicious skin lesions compared with 68.09 ± 2.10 percent sensitivity and 61.07 ± 0.90 percent specificity for 7PCL and 66.32 ± 1.90 percent sensitivity and 61.71 ± 0.6 percent specificity for the Williams risk factors. The best performance was achieved by combining the C4C risk factors with 7PCL and Williams risk factors, with 85.24 ± 2.20 percent sensitivity and 61.12 ± 0.90 percent specificity. "In our current and future research, we are extending our investigation through the fusion of the newly identified skin risk factors and weighted risk score together with lesion images using deep learning models, which we believe will further boost the performance of skin cancer detection in a cost-effective manner," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

医药领域BD交易仍然十分活跃，交易形式多样，包括授权协议、合作开发、股权合作、许可+股权混合、并购交易、许可选择、许可回转等等。 随着交易/项目的推进，涉及到的争议或潜在争议也逐渐凸显，除了被许可方终止协议/退货的常见现象之外，里程碑成为了一场BD交易中易产生履约纠纷的部分。 近日，诺华被Calypso Biotech公司指控故意拖延IL-15项目的研发，使其无法收到里程碑付款。 在2024年1月8日，诺华宣布2.5亿美元收购了Calypso Biotech，按照并购协议，如果所有开发里程碑都达到了，Calypso的股东将再可获得1.75亿美元。 不过，依据诺华对其收购所获得管线CALY-002的推进情况看来，Calypso的股东们认为短期内看不到里程碑款项的希望。 CALY-002是Calypso管线上唯一的一个项目，据该公司称，其是一种同类最佳的抑制白细胞介素-15 (IL-15)的人源化单克隆抗体。Calypso Biotech被收购时，CALY-002处于临床Ⅰb期阶段，开发了两个适应症乳糜泻和嗜酸性食管炎。 生变的里程碑付款 在一场BD交易中，支付条款通常包括首付款、里程碑付款及销售分成等。首付款为签订协议那一刻（或约定日期）立刻到账的款项，通常是一次性且不可退还的。 相比实实在在能拿到的首付款，里程碑付款在BD交易中的不确定性就比较大了。里程碑付款将取决于被许可方是否完成相应里程碑事件，如取得临床批件、关键临床受试者给药、取得上市批准等等。 如果在最初的合作协议中对“约定的里程碑事件”界定不清，不够明确，在后续的履约环节中，许可方和被许可方就可能因此产生分歧。 如Esperion和第一三共“因一项与临床数据相关的里程碑付款”产生的纠纷。 2019年1月，第一三共与Esperion达成合作协议，第一三共以1.5亿美元和最高9亿美元里程碑的代价，获得后者Nexletol和Nexletol复方制剂在欧洲等地区的独家商业化权益。协议规定，在某些情况下（label expansion），第一三共将向Esperion支付里程碑款项。 2022年12月，Nexletol扩展适应症的III期临床CLEAR Outcomes达到主要终点MACE-4目标，基于此临床结果，Esperion认为按照合作协议，其将收到第一三共的3亿美元里程碑付款。但是第一三共认为CLEAR试验数据不足以触发里程碑事件，拒绝付款。 分歧的焦点在于两家公司在协议条款中对试验终点的界定，终点是概指所有心血管事件风险，还是特指心脏病发作风险。 第一三共认为如果触发的里程碑付款，MACE-4风险至少降低15%，而在CLEAR Outcomes临床中，这一数据为12.98%，差了２％。 注：MACE-4包含心脏病发作在内的脑中风、心血管死亡以及冠状动脉血运重建四种心血管发作风险。 不过，Esperion认为达到了协议中的终点目标，Nexletol将心脏病发作风险率降低了27%。 因为拒绝支付里程碑付款，Esperion也对第一三共提起了诉讼，并且最近Esperion也把将欧洲销售分成权益转卖给了OMERS Life Sciences公司。 此外，约定的里程碑金额也可能因为其他原因被调整，如复宏汉霖与Essex之间的license-out交易，因为临床开发成本增加的原因，致使复宏汉霖应收到的研发里程碑款付款+销售里程碑合计减少了1100万美元。 首付款可能也有条件？ 虽然相比里程碑付款，首付款几乎是板上钉钉，通常不予退还。但是追讨首付款的也不是没有。 有被许可方出于风控和利益保护，对首付款的支付条件加以限制，如根据进程支付（分期支付），以及当许可方有重大过失、故意违约、欺诈、违反保密义务时，许可方需退还部分或全部首付款。 2021年8月，恒瑞医药与大连万春布林医药签订合作协议，恒瑞医药以股权投资和授权许可方式获得大连万春GEF-H1激活剂普那布林在大中华地区的联合开发权益以及独家商业化权益。协议签订后，恒瑞支付了2亿元的首付款，但后续普那布林在美国和我国递交的新药上市申请接连被否。 为追讨这笔首付款，恒瑞选择与万春对簿公堂。2023年9月，恒瑞向中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会(CIETAC)提起仲裁程序，指控万春违反协议，要求全额退还首付款，并就未支付的预付款每日支付0.05%的违约金以及与仲裁有关的所有费用和费用。 恒瑞选择据理要回这笔首付款，不排除也在这笔交易条款中添加限制条件的可能，比如普那布林上市失败，万春需返还首付款等约定内容。 总结 总的来说，BD交易对于授权方和被授权方都是一项挑战，在里程碑付款的履约中，被许可方确实处于一个相对被动的位置，如果在协议中没有约定有效约束机制，被许可方是否有能力且有意愿投入足够的精力和资源推进研发，将决定了许可方能否收到相应的里程碑付款。 参考出处： https://endpts.com/acquired-biotech-accuses-novartis-of-letting-il-15-asset-wither-on-the-vine/ https://www.calypsobiotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Press_Release_Calypso-Novartis_2024.01.08_for_site.pdf https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04593251?term=CALY-002&limit=25&page=1&rank=1国内生物医药公司BD交易中常见的法律问题 本周好文推荐 如需转载请联系佰傲谷并在醒目位置注明出处 · · · · · · · ·

One-sided relationships with YouTubers are more emotionally fulfilling than talking to casual friends, a new study suggests. One-sided relationships with YouTubers are more emotionally fulfilling than talking to casual friends, a new study suggests. The University of Essex research discovered people feel watching online stars like Zoella, KSI and PewDiePie can cheer them up more than weak-tie acquaintances -- like neighbours or co-workers. Dr Veronica Lamarche, from the Department of Psychology, also found people feel liked, respected and understood by fictional characters. The study suggests watching online celebrities offer positive reinforcement -- despite them not being able to respond. Dr Lamarche hopes the research -- published in Scientific Reports -- will shine a light on the role these relationships, known as parasocial, play in society, as social media evolves. "Parasocial relationships are an important part of our psychological toolbox when it comes to feeling like we have people out there who are able to validate and support us in times of need, even if we can never actually meet with them in reality," said Dr Lamarche. "This isn't a last resort for very young or lonely among us -- in our studies, people of all ages reported feeling like they had a strong connection to at least one fictional character, celebrity or online personality that they've never met." Across three studies more than 1080 people were studied to judge how they perceived parasocial relationships. Most participants -- 52% -- said they have a strong parasocial relationship, with 36% saying they felt close to a Youtuber. It looked at people with an average age of 36 in Britain and America and found they believe "one-sided" friendships can fulfil emotional needs in ways that mirror traditional relationships. These imagined relationships with someone they have never met or a fictional character were seen as more effective at fulfilling their emotional needs than acquaintances or similar weak ties. However strong two-sided relationships -- such as a romantic relationship or very close friendship -- were consistently seen as the most effective connection for fulfilling emotional needs. Dr Lamarche added: "People naturally believe their closest relationships are the best way of fulfilling their emotional needs. "However, when people were asked to think about a recent time where a close other had hurt their feelings, some people became even more confident that their parasocial ties would be able to respond to their needs."