FLORENCE, 11 Sep (APM) - A new rapid saliva test for Covid-19 inflection is to be launched with hopes it may be used in schools, Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday.
A result is possible after just three minutes regardless of whether a person is positive or not. 'Daily Tampon' was created by a Lecco-based company in partnership with the University of Sannio, the paper said.
Experts hope that this type of test, once shown to be reliable, could be very useful in areas such as schools. Eleonora Lalle, a biologist at the virology laboratory of the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases highlighted how a saliva test is easier to do, less invasive than a swab but equally effective in ascertaining whether a person is infectious or not.
Dompé Farmaceutici returned to profit in 2019 after rare disease eye drug Oxervate drove strong sales growth, Milano Finanza reported on Saturday.
Control of the company was transferred to the family-owned Dompé Holdings two years ago, the paper said. The holding company recently published its annual results showing it received a €20 million dividend from the pharma business.
Dompé Farmaceutici made a profit of €124 million last year compared to a loss of €5.8 million in 2018. Sales increased from €278.1 million to €443.6 million with €226 million coming from Italy, €191 million from the U.S. and €21.7 million from other parts of the world.
According to the paper, the strong sales growth was largely as a result of Oxervate (cenegermin) which is used to treat the rare eye disease neurotrophic keratitis
Dompé Holdings also operates as an investment vehicle, the paper noted. Among the stakes owned is one in the Siena-based biotech Philogen. The holding company also had a shareholding in Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) but sold it to Novartis for €164 million, the paper said.
Italy's health minister has stressed that the pause in AstraZeneca's vaccines trial announced this week shows the rigour of the process to have a safe and effective product, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday.
Roberto Speranza said: "The precautionary suspension of the experimentation by AstraZeneca demonstrates the seriousness of the strict verification protocols."
He insisted that research into new vaccines will go on and underlined how Italy plans to step up investment in front line R&D in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. He stressed that a successful product will need to be developed as quickly as possible.
But Speranza warned that no vaccine will ever be authorised unless it can be shown to be completely safe. "Within this framework, along with the European Commission, we are investing in the main vaccine candidates that are being tested according to the highest standards of safety and efficacy," he said.
Medicines agency AIFA has called for the start of the flu vaccination campaign to be brought forward, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Saturday.
The agency urged the health system to take into account the exceptional situation created by the pandemic and show flexibility in the flu vaccine programme.
"Given the current epidemiological situation related to the circulation of Sars-CoV-2, it is recommended that flu vaccination campaigns are brought forward to start from the beginning of October and all eligible subjects should be offered vaccination at any time during the flu season, even if they show up late for vaccination, AIFA announced this week.
The list of flu vaccines that have been authorised for the coming season has been published in the Official Gazette, the paper said.
AIFA noted that protection induced by flu vaccines begins about two weeks after vaccination and lasts for a period of between six and eight months and then decreases. "For this reason, since the viral strains in circulation may mutate, flu vaccination should be done at the beginning of each new flu season," the agency said.
Immunisation cover against measles increased in 2019 after a period when it had been falling, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday.
Just under 94.5% of the population is now protected against the disease, a 1.3% rise over 2018. Nine regions have achieved more than 95% cover which is the official target for immunisation programmes and only one had less than 90%.
It was one of the figures in the official report on vaccination rates for children and adolescents. Polio vaccination, which is considered to be the benchmark for inoculation, had more than 95% immunisation cover despite a 0.08% fall.
Anti-pneumococcal immunisation cover increased 0.11% to 92.1% in 2019.
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