Meningococcal B Vaccine to Prevent Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection

• The FDA has approved the use of Paxlovid for children aged 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds. • AstraZeneca reported that its heart disease drug failed a pivotal trial, marking a significant setback in the company's cardiovascular development goals.

• Poison control center calls involving semaglutide drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, have surged following their approval for weight management. • Researchers indicate that the spike in reports is primarily linked to accidental dosing errors rather than intentional misuse.

• SPARK has completed internal validation across more than 1,000 clinical MRI cases involving prostate cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). • The study demonstrated consistent signal relationships that correlate with known disease states, suggesting the technology's effectiveness in identifying these conditions.

• The FDA approved five first-in-class therapies during the first half of 2026, targeting obesity, AML, kidney disease, hearing loss, and bladder cancer. • On April 14, Travere Therapeutics received approval for sparsentan (Filspari), the first treatment specifically approved for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare kidney disease.

• Public health officials have issued an alert regarding a multistate rise in cyclosporiasis, a parasitic gastrointestinal illness, with over 450 reported cases across 18 states. • Michigan is the most heavily impacted region, accounting for more than 300 of the total cases, though officials warn the actual number is likely higher due to underreporting.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that new cancer cases will nearly double by 2050, with the disease currently claiming over 26,000 lives daily worldwide. • Separate research indicates that ketogenic therapy may improve both physical health and cognitive performance in patients with serious mental illnesses.

• The first patients have been enrolled in a record-breaking clinical trial for two potential Ebola drugs in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. • The research program was launched with unprecedented speed, beginning just six weeks after the WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency on May 17.

• Island Pharmaceuticals plans to deploy the antiviral drug galidesivir to Uganda to treat patients during the current Ebola outbreak. • The company acquired galidesivir last year and is seeking FDA approval for Marburg virus disease via the "animal rule," which allows sign-off based on animal data for life-threatening conditions.

• Researchers have developed an experimental HIV vaccine that demonstrated strong protection in preclinical primate studies. • The vaccine works by teaching the immune system to outsmart the virus, marking a significant scientific advance toward a preventive treatment.

• Dr. Daniel Pilch of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and co-founder of TAXIS Pharmaceuticals has detailed the effectiveness of a new drug, TXA079, designed to combat MRSA. • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is highlighted as a critical danger due to its resistance to common antibiotics, making it difficult to treat.

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda declared Ebola outbreaks on May 15, 2026, following lab-confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo virus. • Infections were specifically identified in northeastern DRC and Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.