A recent study found that the FDA's customary Friday drug safety alerts could prevent more deaths and drug complications if they occurred on other weekdays.
Four studies Becker's has reported on in the last 30 days:
1. The American Gastroenterological Association released a statement regarding the controversial study in The New England Journal of Medicine, saying its conclusions are not necessarily applicable to colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.
2. Biotechnology company Abivax enrolled its first patient in a phase 3 trial of Obefazimod, a treatment for severe ulcerative colitis. The trial will consist of 1,200 ulcerative colitis patients across 36 countries and 600 research centers to study 25mg and 50mg doses of Obefazimod. It will include two induction studies and one maintenance study in a double-blind, placebo controlled experiment that will feature regulation from the FDA.
3. Artificial intelligence is able to detect diabetic retinopathy more effectively than ophthalmologists and specialists, according to research conducted by seven MDs and PhDs. The study reviewed 521 patients and 999 eyes from 10 different eye care centers in the U.S.
4. The FDA is most likely to release drug safety alerts on Friday, the day of the week when most people pay less attention to the news. Researchers found that moving FDA Friday alerts to other weekdays would reduce drug-related side effects by nine to 12 percent, complications by six to 15 percent and deaths by 22 to 36 percent.