09/10/2025  |  WHO

https://www.who.int/news/item/10-09-2025-who-announces-development-of-guidelines-on-multiplex-testing 

WHO is convening a Guideline Development Group (GDG) for the development of evidence-based recommendations on multiplex testing which will establish critical principles for integrated testing and address latest evidence specific to HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 

Access to timely and accurate diagnostic testing is essential for the prevention, detection, and management of HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. As global health systems increasingly adopt integrated, people-centred service delivery models, multiplex testing has emerged as a promising strategy to improve efficiency, expand testing coverage across diseases, and enhance cost-effectiveness. Multiplex testing is a process that uses one sample and a single assay or platform to detect multiple infections at the same time. 

This is the first guideline to incorporate latest evidence and implementation that explicitly addresses multiplex testing. While the guideline will focus largely on application to HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs, it will provide critical principles for integration that drive public health impact and chart the course for further multi-disease testing approaches.  

The GDG will meet in virtual meetings, including a meeting planned for 4-5 November 2025. The objective of these meetings will be to provide recommendations and guidance on multiplex testing by providers as well as self-testers, create key principles and address issues of integration and how to prioritize limited resources while achieving public health impact. 

Guideline Development Group composition  
In accordance with…

09/11/2025 | Eduardo Sant'Anna | THN1

https://www.tnh1.com.br/variedades/quando-a-vacina-contra-o-cancer-da-russia-chega-ao-brasil-checamos/ 

Last week, Russia returned to the spotlight after announcing progress on a colorectal cancer vaccine. The head of the Federal Agency for Medicine and Biology (FMBA), Veronika Skvortsova, stated that the vaccine would be "ready for use" after preclinical tests were considered positive.

The announcement was made during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, but experts from various countries are urging caution. This is because, so far, no studies have been published in scientific journals, which prevents the international medical community from evaluating the data, methodology, and results presented by the Russian government.

What Russia Says
According to Skvortsova, the research lasted "several years," with the last three dedicated to mandatory preclinical testing. Now, the vaccine is reportedly ready to move on to human clinical trials, although a start date has not yet been set.

Brazilian Experts' Position
In Brazil, the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC) is monitoring the case but warns that there is still no solid scientific basis to consider the vaccine effective and safe.

In a statement, the organization emphasized:

• Without scientific publications, there is no way to confirm the vaccine's efficacy or safety.
• Human clinical trials have not yet begun, and there is no clarity on when they will begin.
• Other cancer vaccines are already in advanced stages in countries like the United States and Germany, following international transparency protocols on platforms like clinicaltrials.gov.
• Scientific rigor is essential; any therapy must…

09/12/2025 | Medicina S/A

https://medicinasa.com.br/ia-unisom/ 

Inside the body, a cluster of mutant blood cells can develop slowly. This cluster, present in 1 in 5 older adults, can increase the chances of developing leukemia and heart disease, often without warning signs. To better understand this hidden risk, researchers at Mayo Clinic have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to help investigators discover how it contributes to disease risk and progression.

In a study published in the journal Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics, the tool showed promising results in the early identification of this condition, known as clonal hematopoiesis of undetermined intent, or CHIP.

When blood cells mutate

CHIP begins in the bone marrow, where blood stem cells produce the cells responsible for keeping organs functioning, oxygen circulating, and the immune system strong. But if one of these cells acquires a mutation in a gene linked to blood cancer, it can multiply abnormally, forming a cluster of mutant cells that gradually multiplies.

This can cause CHIP, an asymptomatic condition that researchers associate with higher mortality rates, especially from heart disease. Because its effects vary, CHIP is difficult to track and often goes unnoticed for years.

CHIP increases the risk of developing leukemia by more than 10 times and heart disease by up to four times, even in healthy adults. Identifying it early can help guide proactive monitoring or preventive care.

A new tool for early detection

The new tool, called UNISOM—short for UNIfied SOmatic calling and Machine learning—was developed by Ph. Shulan Tian, under the leadership of Ph. Eric Klee, senior co-author of the study and associate director of research and innovation Everett J. and Jane M. Hauck Midwest.

UNISOM helps clinicians identify…

09/10/2025 | Natasha Pinelli | Butantan Portal

https://butantan.gov.br/noticias/cada-segundo-conta-os-bastidores-de-como-o-butantan-traz-a-cepa-atualizada-da-vacina-da-gripe-para-o-brasil-apos-anuncio-da-oms 

From import authorization in just 48 hours to careful transport in dry ice, learn about the process that ensures the population is protected against the disease

Just like in a professional kitchen, where every movement must be carefully timed so that a dish is served perfectly, the production of Butantan's flu vaccine requires precision and synchronization to reach Brazilians' arms at the right time.

This pace intensifies at the end of September, when the World Health Organization (WHO) announces the three strains that will make up the next season's vaccine in the Southern Hemisphere, after a detailed analysis of the types of influenza viruses that are circulating in the region and have the greatest potential for causing serious illness. 

If any of these strains (a version of the virus modified in the laboratory for safe vaccine production) are not available in the Institute's stock, dozens of professionals work in a coordinated manner to ensure that, in about 48 hours, the material is duly authorized to continue its journey to the institution.

Part of this process begins even before the agency's official announcement, with the scheduling of deliveries of special pathogen-free eggs, which will serve as the basis for the multiplication of the strains indicated for the vaccine. But it is when the WHO releases its recommendations that a real race against time begins. 

Below, learn about the decisive moments in this journey with no room for error, which is essential for the annual production…

09/10/2025 | Ceza Xavier | Vermelho

https://vermelho.org.br/2025/09/10/cuba-e-china-ampliam-parceria-em-biotecnologia-com-novo-instituto-de-pesquisa/ 

Inauguration in Beijing strengthens strategic cooperation in immunotherapy and paves the way for a digital hospital in Havana

The inauguration of the Biopharmaceutical Research Institute, the result of a joint venture between Cuba and China, was described by Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz as a milestone for joint research between the two countries. The initiative aims to develop innovative immunotherapies against cancer and neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, combining Chinese technology and Cuban scientific expertise.

During a visit to the facilities, Martínez Díaz revealed that Cuba has received approximately US$200 million in support from China. The funds were used mainly to purchase raw materials for the production of medicines on the island and to finance research and development projects.

Shared production and continuous innovation

According to the deputy prime minister, more than ten production units in China—some Chinese-owned and others joint ventures—already manufacture genetic products used in Cuba's basic line of medicines. In addition, new areas of cooperation have been opened in solid waste management, telecommunications, and telemedicine, with plans to install Cuba's first digital hospital in the next phase of the partnership.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also visited the facilities in Beijing, praised Biotech Pharmaceutical's performance.

“This is a company that never stops, that is constantly innovating, that always achieves results,” he said.

Growth…