10: Making Life Sciences More Sustainable, Curing Postnatal Depression, And Rare Penguin Sighting In Antarctica.

The life sciences industry has the sole purpose of providing life-changing therapies to patients around the world. Today, many companies are moving towards sustainable practices to deliver value to their patients, and create significant impact.

Regarding sustainability, net zero has gained traction, with many businesses aiming to contribute to achieving this. A net zero approach strikes a balance between the amount of green-house gases emitted and eliminated from the atmosphere.

Recent research by McKinsey found that between 2019 and 2022 the number of life sciences companies which have committed to reducing emissions has increased from 7 to 104.

Life sciences companies mainly focus their decarbonization journey on the following three areas:

1- Ambition and investments. This includes outlining the ambition level and considering risks, benefits and costs in line with SBTI requirements.

2- Road map and launch of execution. This involves initial planning surrounding lower-carbon sourcing, green operations, and circular business models.

3- Sustaining change. The final stage entails defining the correct governance and processes to support delivery.

The FDA has approved ZURZUVAE (zuranolone), the first and only oral treatment approved for women experiencing postpartum depression.

The approval comes after the NEST clinical development program, which involved two studies in adult women with postpartum depression. Both studies showed a significant reduction of the total score from baseline in the 17-item Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD-17, a standard measure of depression severity.

Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, a principal investigator in the ZURZUVAE clinical development program, said: "Today marks a groundbreaking day for the treatment of PPD, as with ZURZUVAE, we now have an oral treatment option that can provide rapid improvements in depressive symptoms in as early as three days for women with postpartum depression."

A gentoo penguin with unusually dark feathers has been spotted in Antarctica. The bird is the second gentoo penguin to be documented with melanism, which causes the overproduction of darker pigments in birds' skin and feathers.

In humans, melanin provides pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. Although melanism can make animals look different to other members of the same species, it can be passed down to offspring as an evolutionary benefit.

Mr Nigro and colleagues explained, "The unusual coloration of the penguin was identified as melanism, a genetic condition that causes an excess of melanin pigment in feathers. This particular individual appeared to be in good health and exhibited normal behavior" in their paper published in Polar Biology.

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