Stephanie DeMarco

United States

Managing Editor at DDNews

Articles

2025 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences announced | Drug Discovery News

2 weeks ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Allison Whitten |Stephanie DeMarco |Dika Ojiakor

Advances in GLP-1 research for diabetes and obesity, multiple sclerosis discoveries, and DNA editing are awarded in this year’s prestigious prize.
Overcoming delivery hurdles, IL-12 tackles ovarian cancer

4 weeks ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

A targeted interleukin-12 gene therapy plus chemotherapy increased survival in advanced ovarian cancer, setting the stage for a new first-line drug. Credit: iStock.com/koto_fejaA targeted interleukin-12 gene therapy plus chemotherapy increased survival in advanced ovarian cancer, setting the stage for a new first-line drug. | 7 min readStephanie DeMarco, PhDRegister for free to listen to this articleDeep within the abdomen, on either side of the uterus, sit the ovaries.
Armoring up CAR T cells to fight solid tumors

1 month ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

Whether facing down a virus-infected cell or a cancerous one, T cells fight off threats to keep the body healthy. To make these T cells even more effective, particularly in treating blood cancers, scientists created chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that recognize these cancerous cells by the CD19 marker on their cell surface. So far, the FDA has approved seven different CAR T cell therapies for hematological cancers.
A new drug-device combination for non-hormonal contraception

1 month ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

After working on drugs for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis — both conditions that disproportionately affect women — Sabrina Johnson, now the Chief Executive Officer and President of Daré Bioscience, realized that she wanted to work for a company that developed products specifically for women’s health. But when she went looking for those places, “I was very, very disappointed,” she said.
Editorial: Of snakes and science communication

1 month ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

A close encounter with a venomous critter sparked insight for communicating science in times of stress. Credit: iStock.com/Alexander WongA close encounter with a venomous critter sparked insight for communicating science in times of stress. | 3 min readStephanie DeMarco, PhDRegister for free to listen to this articleI like to think that I’m a pretty good communicator.
Amgen drug blocks immune chitchat that drives Sjögren’s disease

2 months ago | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

From dry eyes to what feels like a mouth full of cotton, people with Sjögren’s syndrome deal with irritating and painful symptoms every day. While there are some medications that can treat the symptoms of this autoimmune condition — such as eye drops and steroids — none of these drugs treat the underlying immunological cause of the disease.
News News, Articles | Drug Discovery News

Nov 7, 2024 | drugdiscoverynews.com | Maggie Chen |RJ Mackenzie |Stephanie DeMarco |Allison Whitten

Fatty acids restore normalcy to the vaginal microbiomeDoctors have been treating bacterial vaginosis with the same antibiotic for decades. This fatty acid could change that. Accelerating drug discovery with a nickel-based catalystThe new complex is inexpensive to produce, and its unique architecture makes chemical reactions integral to drug discovery more stable and efficient.
On the cusp of a CAR T cell cure for lupus

Nov 4, 2024 | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

The first sign that something wasn’t right started with her hands. As a seemingly healthy 19-year-old college student, Dina Thachet noticed painful swelling in her fingers that seemed to have come out of nowhere. “It was February in Chicago, so the doctors at the student center chalked it up to, ‘It's cold. Put on an extra pair of gloves,’” she said. The seemingly random symptoms didn’t stop. Her hair started falling out, and she had malaise. “Within two days, I lost 13 pounds.
No oxygen? No problem for these cancer-aiding bacteria

Sep 22, 2024 | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

Humans can’t survive a lack of oxygen, but Fusobacterium nucleatum thrive without it. These anaerobic bacteria typically live peacefully in the mouth, but a little over a decade ago, scientists found that F. nucleatum can invade colorectal cancer tumors where they drive chemotherapy resistance, enhance the risk of relapse, and increase mortality rates (1,2).
Predicting protection for maternal GBS vaccines

Sep 3, 2024 | drugdiscoverynews.com | Stephanie DeMarco

Maternal vaccines protect not only the pregnant person from infections but also the developing fetus. Pregnant people typically receive shots for the flu; tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap); and COVID-19 (1). Just last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first maternal vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Like Tdap or the flu, Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria can cause deadly infections in infants, but there is currently no preventative vaccine.