Heart attacks and strokes are among the leading causes of death globally, with millions suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) every year. There are more than seven million people in the UK alone, with about 100,000 patients experiencing heart attacks annually. However, a group of researchers at University College London (UCL) estimate that one 'polypill' taken daily day could eliminate a majority of these cases dramatically lowering death tolls.

The proposed polypill, a combination of a statin and three blood pressure-lowering drugs, has been under study for over two decades. Experts argue that introducing this pill universally for individuals aged 50 and above could be more effective than the current NHS Health Check, which assesses risk factors every five years for those aged between 40 and 74.

Studies have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of the polypill in preventing CVD. A groundbreaking 2019 study in The Lancet found that five years' use of the polypill cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by a third. In addition, previous modelling analyses have estimated that if given universally to people over 55, the polypill might be able to prevent 80% of heart attacks and strokes.

Today, the NHS Health Check follows a risk-based model in which patients are tested for CVD risk factors and treated with drugs accordingly. Yet, as per UCL's study, this system has serious flaws:

Low Uptake: Just 40% of those eligible for the NHS Health Check choose to have it, leaving a considerable number of at-risk patients undiagnosed and untreated.

Ineffective Prediction of Risk: The majority of heart attacks and strokes happen to people at average risk levels, thus making it challenging to identify the need for intervention effectively.

Limited Effectiveness: Even at maximum take-up, the NHS Health Check programme is predicted to have fewer health impacts compared to a polypill initiative applied to the whole population.

Simplicity and Affordability of the Polypill Strategy

One of the big benefits of the polypill is that it is so easy. In contrast to the existing screening-based model, the polypill scheme would not involve complicated medical tests or lengthy risk assessments. Instead, people reaching 50 would just have to fill out a few questions to determine possible side effects before they were prescribed.

Professor Aroon Hingorani of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science, one of the strongest proponents of this scheme, says:

"Finally, the time is now to do much better on prevention. A population approach would prevent a lot more heart attacks and strokes than is done today with a strategy of trying to target a smaller group only."

Aside from the possible health implications, the polypill is also an economic solution. The drugs used are off-patent, thus cheap to produce and distribute. With the vast economic cost of managing CVD-related illnesses, a preventive model could result in substantial cost-saving for the NHS in the future.

The polypill has been proven to be effective by numerous international trials. In 2019, a randomised trial in rural Iran discovered that participants who took the polypill for five years had a 34% reduced risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to non-participants.

Likewise, modelling research has indicated that even if only 8% of people aged over 50 took up the polypill regimen, it would still be more beneficial to their health than the NHS Health Check programme.

Is This a Case of Over-Medicalisation?

One of the main objections to the polypill strategy is the suggestion that it might result in the unnecessary medicalisation of a significant proportion of the population. But, it is argued, it should be considered as a preventative measure, not as mass medication.

Professor Sir Nicholas Wald of UCL's Institute of Health Informatics explains:

"Instead of being a 'medicalisation' of a significant proportion of the population, a polypill programme is a prevention measure to prevent an individual from becoming a patient."

He compares it with public health measures like water fluoridation or compulsory seatbelts—interventions that have been shown to have a significant impact in reducing public health danger at low individual cost.

With the evidence in favour of the polypill's effectiveness and viability overwhelming, experts are calling on the NHS to act now. It is their belief that substituting the NHS Health Check with a polypill-based prevention program could be the UK government's flagship policy under its pledge to put disease prevention ahead of cure.

As Professor Hingorani points out, "The status quo is not a justifiable option." With CVD still a major cause of death globally, taking a population-wide polypill approach could be a turning point for preventative medicine, potentially saving thousands of lives annually. The question now is whether the NHS will take up this call and establish a policy with the potential to transform the prevention of cardiovascular disease on a national level.

Eli Lilly has launched an early access program that will allow a limited number of patients with severe obesity to receive its experimental weight loss drug retatrutide before it receives approval. The program is only open to a limited number of eligible patients.

According to the company, adults aged 18 years and older may qualify if they have refractory obesity, meaning they have not achieved adequate weight loss despite receiving the highest approved doses of currently available obesity medications.

Patients must also have at least two obesity-related health conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obstructive sleep apnea.

They must also be patients who were unable to enroll in an ongoing clinical trial related to retatrutide or a similar investigational medicine.

The expanded access, also known as a 'compassionate use' program, is intended for patients with serious medical conditions who have exhausted approved or existing treatment options.

"Retatrutide is currently an investigational medicine and has not yet been approved by regulatory authorities," Eli Lilly said, adding that the drug should only be accessed through authorised clinical trials or its expanded access program.

Also read: UK Woman Spends £4,000 On Wegovy, Mounjaro, But Loses Less Than 14 Pounds In 15 Months

What Is Retatrutide?

Retatrutide is one of Eli Lilly's next-generation obesity treatments which is currently under development.

Unlike its currently approved GLP-1 drugs, retatrutide activates three hormone receptors: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.

Researchers believe that this triple-action approach could help people lose shed excess weight by reducing appetite as well as increasing their energy expenditure at the same time.

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Promising Results

The drug has piqued significant interests from patients after its late-stage clinical trials showed some of the highest weight loss outcomes seen with an obesity medication.

In the drug's Phase 3 studies, adults without diabetes who received the highest dose lost more than 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks.

More recently, Eli Lilly reported that overweight or obese adults living with type 2 diabetes achieved an average weight loss of 20.8%, further proving the drug's efficacy in different patient groups.

Also read: Using Compounded GLP-1 Drugs? Here's What Doctors Want You to Know

The company plans to submit retatrutide for approval to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first quarter of 2027.

The early access announcement comes as Eli Lilly continues to build its portfolio of weight loss medications.

The company recently released additional Phase 3 data on retatrutide while announcing its plans to obtain regulatory approval in 2027.

Beyond retatrutide, Lilly is also advancing orforglipron, an investigational oral GLP-1 pill, alongside expanding access to its approved obesity medicine Zepbound.

What Patients Should Know

Health experts note that expanded access programs are not the same as regulatory approval. They are meant for select patients who could not participate in the clinical trials and thus have limited treatment options.

Patients are also advised not to seek investigational medicines through unofficial online sellers or unregulated sources, as retatrutide has not yet been approved by the FDA.

The drug's safety and quality can only be ensured through authorised clinical studies or Eli Lilly's official expanded access program.

Moderna has launched the first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of its investigational vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), the strain behind the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The biotechnology company said Health Canada has authorized the study, which will evaluate its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1469, in healthy adult volunteers at three clinical sites across Canada.

The trial comes as the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak continues to worsen, with 3,748 confirmed cases and 1,657 deaths reported across 49 health zones in five provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data as of August 1.

The epidemic is now the second-largest and fastest-spreading Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak on record.

What is mRNA-1469?

Also read: Russia's New Ebola Vaccine To Protect Against Rare Bundibugyo Strain, Says Health Minister

mRNA-1469 is an investigational vaccine developed using Moderna's messenger RNA (mRNA) platform—the same technology used in its COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine builds on the company's broader research into filoviruses, the family of viruses that includes Ebola.

"Vaccinating the first participants with mRNA-1469 marks an important milestone in advancing a vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which no approved vaccine currently exists," said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.

The Phase 1 Trial

The Phase 1 study is being conducted at three clinical sites in Canada and is expected to enroll around 80 healthy adult volunteers.

Researchers will assess whether mRNA-1469 is safe and well tolerated, and whether it generates immune responses strong enough to justify further clinical development.

Read More:Uganda Declared Ebola-Free As Congo Outbreak Grows To 3,262 Cases, 1,437 Deaths

mRNA-1469 is one of four initial Bundibugyo vaccine candidates being supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). CEPI has committed up to US$50 million to fund preclinical testing and the Phase 1 trial.

The partnership also supports manufacturing additional clinical trial doses in parallel with early-stage testing, enabling Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials to begin rapidly if the Phase 1 results are positive.

If the vaccine is eventually approved, Moderna has committed to making at least 500,000 doses available at access pricing for low- and middle-income countries under its agreement with CEPI.

Second Human Trial for Bundibugyo Ebola Vaccine

Moderna's study follows the launch of the University of Oxford–Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine trial in July, making it the second human clinical trial targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.

Unlike the Zaire strain of Ebola, there are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments specifically for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, making vaccine development a global public health priority.

Treatment Research Also Accelerating

Alongside vaccine development, WHO says clinical studies of experimental treatments and preventive medicines are progressing rapidly against the Bundibugyo strain.

The agency noted that research protocols prepared before the outbreak began have significantly accelerated the launch of clinical trials.

"If you compare this outbreak to previous Ebola outbreaks, we have been able to start trials more quickly," said Vasee Moorthy, acting head of WHO's R&D Blueprint Programme. He added that preclinical data for several candidates has shown encouraging results.

Ongoing Clinical Studies in DR Congo

WHO-backed treatment trial: A WHO-sponsored clinical trial is underway at three Ebola treatment centers in Ituri province in partnership with medical charities ALIMA and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

More than 50 patients enrolled: Over 50 confirmed Ebola patients have been enrolled and randomly assigned to receive experimental treatment options, according to WHO.

Preventive antiviral study: A separate prophylaxis study led by DR Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) and international partners has enrolled more than 25 high-risk contacts in Ituri province, Reuters reported.

Researchers are also evaluating whether a 10-day course of Gilead Sciences' oral antiviral drug Obeldesivir can prevent Ebola disease in people exposed to the virus.

Cancer recurrence remains one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment. Dormant tumour cells are capable of surviving treatment and therapy and can reactivate months or even years later.

Now, researchers say that a new generation of experimental drugs designed to target these dormant cancer cells could offer a promising strategy to prevent the disease from recurring.

The findings come as scientists have been increasingly focusing on tumour dormancy, a state in which cancer cells stop actively multiplying but remain hidden in the body. They become resistant to chemotherapy and other conventional cancer treatments.

The research suggests that targeting the biological pathways controlling dormancy may help stop these cells from getting reactivated and forming new tumours or metastases.

According to researchers, dormant cancer cells are one of the key reasons why some patients experience relapse long after completing treatment.

"Dormant tumour cells are a major driver of cancer recurrence and metastasis," the researchers noted, stating that therapies aimed at controlling or eliminating these cells could change how cancer is treated and managed in the future.

About The Experimental Drugs

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Unlike traditional cancer treatments that mainly attack rapidly dividing cells, these new experimental drugs target the molecular signals that allow dormant cancer cells to survive and go unnoticed in the body.

Researchers are investigating several approaches, including blocking pathways that trigger dormant cells to become active again, disrupting the cells' survival mechanisms, and making them more vulnerable to conventional cancer therapies.

Some experimental treatments are also being tested alongside immunotherapy to improve the body's ability to detect and destroy these hidden cells on time.

Scientists say this approach could be especially important for cancers known to recur years after treatment, including breast, lung and certain gastrointestinal cancers.

Why Do Some Cancers Return?

Also read: NHS Breast Cancer Screening Misses 95% Of High-Risk Young Women In UK: Why Personalized Care Could Be Key

Cancer recurrence can happen when a small number of cells survive surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. These cells may remain inactive for long periods of time before starting to grow again, eventually leading to a relapse or metastatic diseas.

Researchers believe that the environment of the tumour, immune responses, inflammation and changes in cellular structure and metabolism all play a role in determining whether dormant cancer cells remain inactive or become aggressive again.

While the findings encourage advanced pathways for cancer treatments, experts caution that most drugs that target tumour dormancy are still in the experimental or early clinical trial stage.

Rather than only treating visible tumours, future therapies may also focus on preventing hidden cancer cells from ever becoming active again, potentially reducing the risk of relapse years after successful treatment.

More studies are needed to determine whether they can really reduce cancer recurrence and improve long-term survival in patients.

Viagra May Prevent Cancer From Spreading

The promising research comes after a new study found that Viagra, best known as a treatment for erectile dysfunction, may also help stop cancer from spreading.

Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel found that sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, may enhance a newly identified cholesterol-regulating mechanism that could be used to curb cancer metastasis.

The study, published in Cancer Research, showed that sildenafil limits cancer cells' ability to use cholesterol, an essential component of cell membranes.

Cholesterol is especially important for cancer cells that break away from the primary tumor, travel through the body, and invade distant organs. When their access to cholesterol is reduced, these cells have greater difficulty forming metastases.