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Moderna has drawn public attention for its efforts to develop an mRNA vaccine for Covid-19, but the company is now moving its portfolio in other directions. On Tuesday, the company announced that its mRNA cancer vaccine showed strong effects in one phase. 2 clinical trial in patients with level III/IV melanoma. The company’s vaccine was used in combination with Merck’s cancer remedy Keytruda and reduced the risk of cancer death or recurrence by 44% compared to patients who won Keytruda alone. Both companies will go ahead with this mix of remedies next year with a Phase 3 clinical trial and if the same effects hold, the next step would be to work toward regulatory approvals, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel wrote in a blog post. “We are also expanding our efforts to screen for other tumor types and make an investment of resources to expand those programs,” he added.
And that’s not all. Moderna has also been participating with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to expand an mRNA-based remedy for cystic fibrosis since 2016. On Monday, the two corporations announced that their new drug candidate, VX-522, won FDA approval for their investigational new drug, meaning corporations will be able to bring VX-522 into clinical trials. This remedy for cystic fibrosis is intended for a small subset of patients who cannot be treated with the existing remedy for the disease. This partnership combines Vertex’s clinical expertise and decades of delight in cystic fibrosis drug progression with Moderna’s demonstrated leadership in mRNA technologies,” Bancel said in a statement.
A quick note for the interview: this is the latest edition of the InnovationRx newsletter for 2022, as we will be taking a break during the holidays. We’ll be back with the latest health care news on Wednesday, January 4.
Brin, who revealed more than a decade ago that he had a genetic mutation that put him at higher risk for Parkinson’s, has quietly donated millions of dollars a year to study the precise causes of the debilitating neurological disease and, over time, how to cure it.
Learn here.
Megadeal: Amgen has entered negotiations to get Horizon Therapeutics in a roughly $27. 8 billion deal, which will mean about $500 million for hedge fund billionaire John Paulson alone.
Psoriasis Remedy: Takeda announced this week that it will get NDI-034858, an oral remedy for autoimmune diseases, from Nimbus Therapeutics for a $4 billion prepayment and two historic $1 billion bills. The settlement comes some time after Nimbus announced positive phase 2a clinical effects for psoriasis.
Oligonucleotide Therapeutics: GSK announced its collaboration with Wave Life Sciences to expand oligonucleotide treatments for genetic diseases. The deal includes a $170 million advance payment to Wave, as well as subsequent invoices and royalties.
New studies suggest that older adults with hearing loss may face the threat of cognitive decline with hearing aids.
Walgreens sold AmerisourceBergen stock for $1 billion, which will be used to fund VillageMD’s acquisition of Summit Health.
U. S. employers U. S. officials want to prepare for more than 5 percent increases in fitness service charges for next year “and beyond,” according to a new report from benefits consultancy Mercer.
According to official records, around 5. 4 million people died from covid-19 during the years 2020 and 2021. But today, the World Health Organization released new estimates suggesting that number may be a significant underestimate. The WHO estimates that in 2020 and 2021, approximately 15 million people died from the disease, about 3 times the official number. This higher estimate is based on the number of excess deaths in either year. Depending on the organization. India recorded the highest number of deaths, about 4. 7 million, followed by Russia, Indonesia and the United States. Studies also show that the pandemic has had a much more devastating effect on low- and middle-income countries than official figures. suggest.
Long Covid has been linked to at least 3,544 deaths in the U. S. The U. S. has been in the U. S. so far, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which highlights the lingering impact covid-19 can have on others who achieve an infection.
Learn here.
Health officials in China have announced that, in the future, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country will leave out other people with asymptomatic infections.
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets fiscal year 2023 spending for the Department of Defense and would repeal the military mandate related to the Covid-19 vaccine. The bill is now in the Senate.
By mid-2023, the federal government will no longer pay for maximum Paxlovid treatments, which may prove expensive for some patients.
Sam Bankman-Fried denied bail and jailed until February
A lab unlocks nuclear fusion: a real breakthrough, an act of novelty, or both?
Reinventing Anna: Fake Heiress Anna “Delvey” Sorokin Set for Her Next Close-Up
Abandoned: The Human Cost of Neurotechnology Failure (Nature)
‘Out of control’: Dozens of telefitness startups have sent delicate fitness to big tech corporations (The Markup/Stat)
The COVID-19 vaccine equity plan has failed. Will next time be different? (Science)