The accelerated approval (AA) pathway was established by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide earlier access to therapies for patients with serious medical conditions and unmet medical needs. Since its inception, the AA pathway has been used for novel treatments across different therapeutic areas, but most prominently in oncology, including the immune checkpoint inhibitor class. This review article describes the history of regulatory approvals for pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy agent targeting programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), and use of the AA pathway and the corresponding regulatory decisions made by the FDA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermal heating of biological samples allows to reversibly manipulate cellular processes with high temporal and spatial resolution. Manifold heating techniques in combination with live-cell imaging were developed, commonly tailored to customized applications. They include Peltier elements and microfluidics for homogenous sample heating as well as infrared lasers and radiation absorption by nanostructures for spot heating.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRuddlesden-Popper (RP) compounds of the general formula (AX)(ABX) with their unique sequence of perovskite-like (ABX) and rock-salt-like units (AX) promise applications in diverse fields such as catalysis and superconductivity. Fluorination of RP oxides often leads to dramatic changes in the material properties, caused by differences in the atomic and electronic structure. While current research focuses on fluorination of = 1 type RP oxides (ABO), = 3 RP oxyfluorides have remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe phase behavior of complex biomolecular solutions may explain different cellular processes, including the organization of cells by membraneless organelles. The early stages of phase separation are crucial to understanding the underlying mechanism and identifying biomolecules that trigger or drive the transition. Here, we analyze the early events of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of FUS by multiangle time-resolved static and dynamic light scattering.
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