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  • Bemarituzumab Elicits Positive Overall Survival in FGFR2b-Positive First-Line Gastric Cancer

    Bemarituzumab Elicits Positive Overall Survival in FGFR2b-Positive First-Line Gastric Cancer

    Results from the phase 3 FORTITUDE-101 clinical trial have demonstrated the effectiveness of first-line bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy, with a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b) overexpression and who are non-HER2 positive.1

    Image Credit: © Crystal light – stock.adobe.com

    “Most patients with gastric cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage, with poor prognosis, low survival rates, and limited therapeutic options,” Jay Bradner, MD, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen, said in a news release announcing the positive trial results. “These first positive top-line results of an FGFR2b-targeted monoclonal antibody from our phase 3 FORTITUDE-101 study mark a meaningful advance in the development of effective targeted therapy for gastric cancer.”1

    Trial Results

    With a major lack of effective treatment options for patients with gastric cancer, new research into possibilities is sorely needed. Investigators of FORTITUDE-101, a randomized, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study, sought to evaluate bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy (modified 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin [mFOLFOX6]) compared with placebo plus mFOLFOX6 as first-line therapy in patients with advanced G/GEJ cancer with FGFR2b overexpression. The trial enrolled 547 patients across 300 sites in 37 countries.1

    Primarily, the authors measured OS in patients with FGFR2b overexpression, defined as 2+/3+ staining in 10% or more of tumor cells by centrally performed immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing. Critical secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR). To ensure the validity of the results, patients were excluded from FORTITUDE-101 if they harbored a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) mutation.1

    As mentioned, bemarituzumab elicited a major improvement in OS in the patient population compared with placebo. Regarding safety, the most observed treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in patients with the treatment regimen were reduced visual acuity, anemia, punctate keratitis, neutropenia, nausea, corneal epithelium defect, and dry eye. The ocular events were consistent with phase 2 trial results, and although they occurred in both arms, the investigators noted they were observed with heightened severity and frequency in the phase 3 bemarituzumab arm.1,2

    Amgen noted in their news release that FORTITUDE-101 featured more comprehensive ocular-related monitoring than previous studies of bemarituzumab. More detailed results from the trial are to be presented at a future medical meeting, Amgen noted.1,2

    Impact of Gastric Cancer

    Gastric cancer constitutes a major global burden for millions, especially among patients with advanced or resectable G/GEJ cancer, who face poor outcomes. FGFR2b has emerged as a biomarker that promotes aberrant signaling when overexpressed, leading to the proliferation of tumor cells. In approximately 38% of patients with advanced G/GEJ cancer, the FGFR2b protein is found to be overexpressed.1

    The GEJ is where the esophagus meets the stomach and is where gastric cancer is most likely to start in the United States. Symptoms aren’t often clear in the beginning stages of the illness and may not occur until the cancer is more advanced. In later stages, symptoms can include extreme fatigue, vomiting blood, rapidly losing weight without trying, and having black stools.3

    Bemarituzumab, a first-in-class, afucosylated, humanized IgG1 anti-FGFR2b monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated significant potential to transform the treatment paradigm of G/GEJ cancer. Prior to this phase 3 trial, the phase 2 FIGHT study investigated bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy in patients with FGFR2b G/GEJ cancer and demonstrated improved PFS compared with placebo. Currently, investigators are working to further confirm bemarituzumab’s efficacy in a phase 3 trial of the drug in combination with chemotherapy and nivolumab in patients with first-line gastric cancer. Data from that trial is expected in the second half of 2025.1,2,4

    “Systemic chemotherapy is the standard of care for this deadly and aggressive form of gastric cancer,” Zev A. Wainberg, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said upon the publication of the FIGHT trial results. “Treatment with bemarituzumab in combination with chemotherapy can deliver a significant reduction in the risk of disease progression and death in [patients with gastric cancer] whose tumors overexpress FGFR2b.”2

    REFERENCES
    1. Amgen. Amgen announces positive topline phase 3 results for bemarituzumab in fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b) positive first-line gastric cancer. News Release. Released June 30, 2025. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.amgen.com/newsroom/press-releases/2025/06/amgen-announces-positive-topline-phase-3-results-for-bemarituzumab-in-fibroblast-growth-factor-receptor-2b-fgfr2b-positive-firstline-gastric-cancer
    2. Antrim A. Bemarituzumab, chemotherapy show potential for treatment of gastric, gastroesophageal junction cancers. Pharmacy Times. Published February 16, 2021. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/bemarituzumab-chemotherapy-show-potential-for-treatment-of-gastric-gastroesophageal-junction-cancers
    3. Mayo Clinic Staff. Stomach cancer. Mayo Clinic. Last Updated June 19, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stomach-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352438
    4. Wainberg ZA, Enzinger PC, Kang YK, et al. Bemarituzumab in patients with FGFR2b-selected gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (FIGHT): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2022;23(11):1430-1440. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00603-9

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  • Motorola and Swarovski Tease an Aug. 5 Event That May Bring Crystals to a Phone

    Motorola and Swarovski Tease an Aug. 5 Event That May Bring Crystals to a Phone

    Motorola may be ready to debut a new phone design that features crystals, as the company is teasing an Aug. 5 event that’s set to expand its partnership with Swarovski.

    Motorola has announced the upcoming event on Tuesday with a teaser video that shows the recently released Moto Buds Loop with Swarovski crystals. Those $300 open-style earbuds are the first product in the partnership, and in a brief statement accompanying the video, Motorola said that the company is “getting ready to bring the sparkle” to a phone design.

    Motorola has been particularly focused on combining fashionable colors and materials in recent years, with the $1,300 Razr Ultra including models that feature wood and Alcantara fabric finishes. The company has also featured Pantone-certified colors across its phone portfolio, from the cheaper Moto G line, the midrange Motorola Edge up to its Razr line.

    If Motorola is indeed announcing a phone that features Swarovski crystals, it would likely be coming to either the Edge line or the foldable Razr series. Internationally, Motorola’s Edge series features wood options and a larger variety of colors than the version of the Edge that’s sold in the US. The Razr would also be a likely option, since Motorola has already made a point to release it in multiple bold color choices. It’s likely the Swarovski design would just have cosmetic differences with the same function and specs as current Razr phones.

    There are other, more niche efforts to combine luxury materials with mobile phones. More recently, RedMagic released a gaming phone that features gold and silver elements. The company Vertu has also been selling high-priced phones for several years, with more recent phones costing $3,500 and up. It’s unknown how a Motorola phone featuring Swarovski crystals would cost, but the Moto Buds Loop earbuds are priced higher than Apple’s more traditional $249 AirPods Pro 2. We’ll find out more about the partnership in a few weeks.

    Watch this: Review: We Take the $1,300 Razr Ultra for a Spin


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  • Photograph in charity shop book sparks search for its owners

    Photograph in charity shop book sparks search for its owners

    When Emily Morse from Devon found a photo featuring a mystery family while flicking through a second-hand book from a charity shop, she knew what she had to do.

    Launching a mission to reunite the sweet seaside portrait of a mother, father and baby to its rightful owners, the Plymouth student turned to social media for help.

    Ms Morse posted the picture on Facebook and waited for the social media network to work its magic.

    Nicola Hellem, who was traced a while later and reunited with the snap showing the family during a trip to Cornwall, said it took a “nice person” to instigate such a search.

    Ms Morse, who discovered the picture while reading Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson, said: “I got the book about three years ago from a charity shop, it had just sat on my book shelf until then.”

    Soon enough, after she posted the photograph, a message came through from Plympton’s Nicola Hellem – whose daughter Eve had since grown from the baby in the photograph into a five-year-old girl.

    She said: “I think it was through the second comment that I found Nicola – it was very fast.

    “I messaged her on Facebook and dropped it down one night after work.”

    Ms Morse, who said she was studying a degree in speech and language therapy at Plymouth Marjon University, told John Acres at Breakfast on BBC Radio Devon she was even able to meet Ms Hellem’s daughter – the star of the photograph.

    Mrs Hellem said one of her work colleagues alerted her to the social media post.

    She said she was happy to see the photograph – which also features her husband James Hellem, adding: “I didn’t even realise it was missing.

    “When I had a tag asking if it was me, it was so lovely – it was the first picture of our family in Cornwall with our daughter who was eight months at the time.”

    Mrs Hellem, who works at St Budeaux Primary Academy in Plymouth, added: “I must have sent it off in one of my books I gave to charity when we were moving.”

    The family had moved from Abingdon in Oxfordshire to Plymouth just before the second Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, she said.

    Revealing the photograph was taken in Looe, and thanking Ms Morse, she added: “It takes a nice person to find it and want to do that.”

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  • Toure permanently appointed to first team backroom staff – Manchester City FC

    1. Toure permanently appointed to first team backroom staff  Manchester City FC
    2. Pep Guardiola hires former Celtic favourite as Man City coach  The Celtic Star
    3. Manchester City announce addition of former player to Pep Guardiola’s first-team backroom staff  OneFootball
    4. ‘Hugely impressed’ – Why Man City have made permanent Kolo Toure coaching change  Manchester Evening News

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  • Rodrygo transfer claim does not add up as Arsenal right to focus on Eberechi Eze move – Football London

    1. Rodrygo transfer claim does not add up as Arsenal right to focus on Eberechi Eze move  Football London
    2. Football gossip: Eze, Mateta, Felix, Mbeumo, Hutchinson, Garnacho, Elliott, Morton  BBC
    3. Arsenal plotting move for £68 million Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace  The Express Tribune
    4. Bayern hijack Arsenal’s transfer move for £68m star  MSN
    5. Arsenal line up Eberechi Eze bid as Viktor Gyokeres talks continue  The Independent

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  • The largest Mars rock on Earth is up for auction in NYC — it could be yours for $4 million (or more)

    The largest Mars rock on Earth is up for auction in NYC — it could be yours for $4 million (or more)

    NEW YORK CITY — Tucked away in a building on the corner of 72nd Street and York Avenue in Lenox Hill, an extraterrestrial marvel sits sturdily on a mirrored pedestal. It’s the largest Mars rock on planet Earth — and it turns out its 54-pound (25-kilogram), ashy, terracotta structure isn’t as priceless as you’d expect.

    This Mars rock is up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York City this week, which is why it’s currently on display in the Upper East Side. As of now, it’s expected to sell for between $2 million and $4 million, but it could very well sell for far more.

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  • Ancient Killer Is Rapidly Becoming Resistant to Antibiotics, Warns Study : ScienceAlert

    Ancient Killer Is Rapidly Becoming Resistant to Antibiotics, Warns Study : ScienceAlert

    In spite of having plagued humans for millennia, typhoid fever is rarely considered in developed countries today. But this ancient threat is still very much a danger in our modern world.

    According to research published in 2022, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and is rapidly replacing strains that aren’t resistant.

    Currently, antibiotics are the only way to effectively treat typhoid, which is caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi). Yet over the past three decades, the bacterium’s resistance to oral antibiotics has been growing and spreading.

    In their study, researchers sequenced the genomes of 3,489 S Typhi strains contracted from 2014 to 2019 in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, and found a rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Typhi.

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    XDR Typhi is not only impervious to frontline antibiotics, like ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, but it is also growing resistant to newer antibiotics, like fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins.

    Related: Forgotten Antibiotic From Decades Past Could Be a Superbug Killer

    Even worse, these strains are spreading globally at a rapid rate.

    While most XDR Typhi cases stem from south Asia, researchers have identified nearly 200 instances of international spread since 1990.

    salmonella typhi picture
    Salmonella Typhi. (Microbewriter/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY SA 4.0)

    Most strains have been exported to Southeast Asia, as well as East and Southern Africa, but typhoid superbugs have also been found in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

    “The speed at which highly-resistant strains of S Typhi have emerged and spread in recent years is a real cause for concern, and highlights the need to urgently expand prevention measures, particularly in countries at greatest risk,” said infectious disease specialist Jason Andrews from Stanford University at the time the results were published.

    Typhoid inoculation
    Typhoid inoculation at a rural school, San Augustine County, Texas. April, 1943. (John Vachon/United States Farm Security Administration/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

    Scientists have been warning about drug-resistant typhoid for years now. In 2016, the first XDR typhoid strain was identified in Pakistan. By 2019, it had become the dominant genotype in the nation.

    Historically, most XDR typhoid strains have been fought with third-generation antimicrobials, like quinolones, cephalosporins, and macrolides.

    But by the early 2000s, mutations that confer resistance to quinolones accounted for more than 85 percent of all cases in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Singapore. At the same time, cephalosporin resistance was also taking over.

    Today, only one oral antibiotic is left: the macrolide, azithromycin. And this medicine might not work for much longer.

    The 2022 study found mutations that confer resistance to azithromycin are now also spreading, “threatening the efficacy of all oral antimicrobials for typhoid treatment”. While these mutations have not yet been adopted by XDR S Typhi, if they are, we are in serious trouble.

    If untreated, up to 20 percent of typhoid cases can be fatal, and today, there are 11 million cases of typhoid a year.

    Future outbreaks can be prevented to some extent with typhoid conjugate vaccines, but if access to these shots is not expanded globally, the world could soon have another health crisis on its hands.

    “The recent emergence of XDR and azithromycin-resistant S Typhi creates greater urgency for rapidly expanding prevention measures, including use of typhoid conjugate vaccines in typhoid-endemic countries,” the authors write.

    “Such measures are needed in countries where antimicrobial resistance prevalence among S Typhi isolates is currently high, but given the propensity for international spread, should not be restricted to such settings.”

    South Asia might be the main hub for typhoid fever, accounting for 70 percent of all cases, but if COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that disease variants in our modern, globalized world are easily spread.

    To prevent that from happening, health experts argue nations must expand access to typhoid vaccines and invest in new antibiotic research. One recent study in India, for instance, estimates that if children are vaccinated against typhoid in urban areas, it could prevent up to 36 percent of typhoid cases and deaths.

    Pakistan is currently leading the way on this front. It was the first nation in the world to offer routine immunization for typhoid. Health experts argue more nations need to follow suit.

    Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s leading causes of death, claiming the lives of more people than HIV/ AIDS or malaria. Where available, vaccines are some of the best tools we have to prevent future catastrophe.

    We don’t have time to waste.

    The study was published in The Lancet Microbe.

    An earlier version of this article was published in June 2022.

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  • Cholera cases soar in DR Congo as outbreak hits “acute phase”-Xinhua

    KINSHASA, July 15 (Xinhua) — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a sharp resurgence of cholera, with cases reported in 17 of its 36 provinces and over 35,000 infections recorded since the beginning of the year, authorities said.

    Minister of Public Health Roger Kamba told a briefing in Kinshasa, the capital, late Monday that the country remains in the “acute phase” of the outbreak.

    ACUTE PHASE

    “Being in the acute phase means that we are still seeing the number of cases rising,” Kamba said.

    The outbreak, which has remained endemic in several eastern provinces since it first appeared in the country over half a century ago, is now spreading rapidly, especially in the capital, Kinshasa, a city of over 17 million people.

    “Cholera arrived in our country in 1973, and since then, it has never left. It has remained mostly in the eastern regions,” the minister said.

    “From time to time, the disease resurfaces as an epidemic. More often, it’s endemic — meaning there is a constant presence of cases in some areas, although they are quickly contained,” Kamba said. “However, sometimes it leads to large-scale outbreaks.”

    Tshopo province is currently the most affected, followed by Kinshasa, South Kivu, Maniema, and North Kivu. Sporadic cases have also been reported in the central provinces, raising concern among authorities.

    The national case fatality rate has reached 3 percent, with a peak of 9 percent previously recorded in Kinshasa.

    DEATH BEFORE HOSPITAL DOORSTEP

    Despite increased efforts, the health minister acknowledged that “80 percent of deaths still occur within communities before patients reach hospitals.”

    Kamba attributed the current surge to a combination of factors, including repeated flooding, lack of access to clean water, poor sanitation, and mass population movements.

    “Cholera is a disease of dirty hands. It spreads through contaminated water, improperly prepared food, and overcrowding,” he said, urging the population not to self-medicate but to seek immediate treatment at health centers when symptoms such as profuse diarrhea and vomiting appear.

    REGION IN ALARM

    The DRC is not alone in facing this disease, Kamba noted. “This is a regional situation,” he said, citing Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, and South Sudan, which are also “in the red.”

    To prevent cross-border spread, the health ministry has pledged to strengthen epidemiological surveillance at border checkpoints through the National Hygiene Program at Borders.

    In addition to cholera, the DRC is also grappling with an outbreak of mpox, though a clear downward trend has emerged, Kamba said.

    “We can say that with mpox, we’re on a better path, but it’s not over yet. We haven’t declared the end of the mpox outbreak, but its trajectory is very positive,” the minister said.

    According to the World Health Organization, the DRC Health Ministry declared a cholera outbreak on May 5, 2025, following laboratory confirmation of cases in several provinces. ■

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  • WeTransfer says files not used to train AI after backlash

    WeTransfer says files not used to train AI after backlash

    WeTransfer has confirmed it does not use files uploaded to their service to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.

    The file sharing company had received lots of criticism from customers on social media after changing its terms of service, which some interpreted as allowing it the right to use files for AI training.

    A WeTransfer spokeswoman told BBC News: “We don’t use machine learning or any form of AI to process content shared via WeTransfer, nor do we sell content or data to any third parties.”

    The firm has now updated its terms, saying it has “made the language easier to understand” to avoid confusion.

    WeTransfer said the clause was initially added to “include the possibility of using AI to improve content moderation” and to identify harmful content.

    It appears to have been changed in late June or early July, according to snapshots taken on the Internet Archive.

    The terms had said WeTransfer could use content for purposes “including to improve performance of machine learning models that enhance our content moderation process”.

    It also included the right for WeTransfer to “reproduce, distribute, modify,” or “publicly display” files uploaded to the service.

    Some users on social media interpreted this as WeTransfer giving itself the right to share or sell the files uploaded by users to AI companies.

    People working in the creative industries, including an illustrator and an actor, posted on X to say they used the service to send work and were considering changing to alternative providers.

    WeTransfer said it updated the clause on Tuesday, “as we’ve seen this passage may have caused confusion for our customers.”

    The clause in the terms of service now says: “You hereby grant us a royalty-free license to use your Content for the purposes of operating, developing, and improving the Service, all in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy.”

    The rival file-sharing platform Dropbox also had to clarify it was not using files uploaded to its service to train AI models, after social media outcry in December 2023.

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  • Siya Kolisi returns to lead new-look Springboks pack against Georgia

    Siya Kolisi returns to lead new-look Springboks pack against Georgia

    Jul 15, 2025, 08:47 AM ET

    South Africa will be led by returning captain Siya Kolisi when they take on Georgia in a Test at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, with coach Rassie Erasmus naming three debutant starters in the front row.

    Kolisi, who had been out injured for the Boks’ two Tests against Italy, both of which the World Champions won easily, will rejoin Eben Etzebeth in the pack to provide leadership for newcomers Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, and Neethling Fouche.

    The three uncapped front rankers will increase the number of newly capped players this season to seven, after Vincent Tshituka (flanker), Wiese, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (prop), and Ethan Hooker (utility back) all made their Test debuts against Italy.

    Erasmus said on the SA Rugby website: “We wanted to make sure that Siya is 100% fit before selecting him, so it’s great to have him back in the squad, while Boan, Marnus, and Neethling have been training hard and deserve their chance.

    “Marnus and Neethling played against the Barbarians, so they have an idea of what international rugby is about, while Boan has shown great potential at club level and with the squad in the last few weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing him play.”

    Erasmus added: “Building squad depth has been one of our pillars as a squad since 2018, and they are all undoubtedly ready to make the step-up.”

    Zoning into his team selection, Erasmus said: “We know how passionate and intense this Georgian side is, and they will be determined to make a strong statement, so we selected some experienced players who we would like to get more game time before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, and a few of the younger players, who have put up their hands another run, so we are pleased with the balance we have in this group.”

    While the Boks have not lost to Georgia (scoring 12 tries to 1 in two matches), and last played them in 2021, Erasmus said he would be taking them seriously as they Boks look to find their best combinations ahead of the Rugby Championship.

    He said: “Georgia are a tough outfit, and they pride themselves on their physicality and brute force in the collisions, so the set pieces, mauls, and breakdowns will be key areas.

    “They also have quality backline players to round off their team, so we need to be sharp in all the departments of our game to ensure that we continue to lift our standards, build momentum, and get the desired result.”

    Springboks team:


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