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At present, a hospital in Barcelona goes rogue with its personal CAR-T therapies, we be taught extra about Wegovy’s anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and extra. Oh! One other factor: Be a part of STAT’s Adam Feuerstein and a panel of specialists at present for a deep-dive dialogue into precision most cancers medicines.
Spanish hospital crafts its personal CAR-T remedy
It’s no small process to scale CAR-T, and the know-how continues to be inaccessible for the overwhelming majority of most cancers sufferers who want it. So, a hospital in Spain is taking issues into its personal arms, brewing its personal CAR-T therapy.
As STAT’s Andrew Joseph explains, a particular European coverage permits the specialists at Hospital Clínic of Barcelona to develop the therapy and safe regulatory approval. It’s reimbursed by the nationwide well being system like different approved drugs. And it prices about $97,000 — roughly a 3rd of the record costs of CAR-T medicines made by biopharma firms.
“It’s usually not what we do, tutorial establishments,” Julio Delano, a hematologist on the hospital, instructed STAT. “It’s simply that we see there are such a lot of sufferers within the European Union who don’t have entry to CAR-T cell merchandise, so many.”
This may increasingly encourage envy amongst U.S. physicians who technically may craft their very own experimental medicines — however run into roadblocks in terms of getting a pharma firm desirous about licensing the designs. Drugmakers are leery about whether or not they can revenue on pricey, sophisticated medicines — so a whole lot of good science isn’t making it to sufferers.
“There’s a rising pressure across the restricted entry that we’re seeing for cell and gene therapies popping out of biotech,” mentioned Crystal Mackall, a pediatric oncologist at Stanford College, who’s spearheading efforts to give you new fashions for creating these kind of therapies. “It’s extremely tempting to say, ‘Nicely, why don’t you simply let me make it for my sufferers?’”
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Does Wegovy use the mind to cut back irritation?
GLP-1 medication have been recognized to cut back irritation, however till now, it’s been unclear how this occurs. A brand new examine in mice means that the drugs targets sure receptors within the mind that mediate irritation. The anti-inflammatory impact was seen even earlier than mice misplaced weight, the Cell Metabolism examine confirmed. This implies that the discount in irritation isn’t merely the results of weight discount — however that different elements are at play.
If researchers can pinpoint what particularly these medication goal within the mind to cut back irritation, new medication could possibly be developed to focus on these areas. And this class of medication would possibly in the end be prescribed for his or her anti-inflammatory powers, versus their skills to manage blood sugar or weight.
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Prime Drugs vs. Myeloid Therapeutics
Gene modifying startup Prime Drugs is ensnared in a multimillion-dollar dispute with Myeloid Therapeutics, a startup cofounded by Pulitzer-winning most cancers biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.
At concern is a deal the 2 firms signed in March 2022.
Underneath the settlement, Prime paid Myeloid $45 million upfront for the rights to its know-how and promised extra funds, choices, and royalties because the collaboration progressed. Myeloid alleges Prime broke the settlement by failing to pay a further $17.5 million for reaching an undisclosed milestone. Prime countered that Myeloid failed to achieve the milestone and broke the phrases of the settlement. And now the 2 have filed competing arbitration claims.
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The worst-performing CEOs of 2023
Yesterday, STAT’s Adam Feuerstein lauded biopharma’s top-performing CEOs. At present, he provides us the underside of the heap.
Worst Biopharma CEO this yr? Albert Bourla of Pfizer.
Regardless of the Covid windfall of pandemic years previous, Bourla bears duty for a sequence of strategic missteps, monetary miscalculations, and scientific setbacks, Adam writes. Pfizer is now in disaster, and its shares have dropped 50% this yr to their lowest stage in additional than a decade.
Past Bourla, Adam’s compiled an inventory of the “blockheads and scoundrels” of the biopharma C-suite.
Learn extra.
Extra reads
- IndiaMART is working with Novo Nordisk to halt unlawful Wegovy gross sales, Reuters
- Novo Nordisk Basis units up new vaccine initiative for respiratory ailments with $260 million, FierceBiotech
- Level Biopharma’s intently watched prostate most cancers radiopharmaceutical examine disappoints, Lilly once more extends provide, Endpoints