Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy Linked To Better Liver Cancer Outcomes
Fox News: Immunotherapy Before Surgery Killed Off Liver Tumors In One-Third Of Patients, Study Finds
Liver tumors died off in a third of patients enrolled in a study who received immunotherapy treatment before surgery, according to Mount Sinai researchers in New York City. The study was recently published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Liver cancer is one of the deadliest and most common cancers, the study’s senior author and associate professor of medicine (hematology and medical oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Thomas Marron, told Fox News in an interview. (McGorry, 1/27)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech industry news —
AP: Two Powerful Drugs Now Adding To US Overdose Crisis
Emerging reports show that two little-known drugs are making lethal new contributions to America’s drug overdose crisis. Para-fluorofentanyl and metonitazene are being seen more often by medical examiners looking into overdose deaths, according to a government report published Thursday. They often are taken with — or mixed with — illicit fentanyl, the drug mainly responsible for the more than 100,000 U.S. overdose deaths in the last year. (Stobbe, 1/27)
Stat: U.S. International Trade Commission Will Investigate AbbVie Claims That Rival Stole Secrets
The U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate whether two companies misappropriated trade secrets in connection with plans to eventually market a biosimilar version of Humira, a best-selling biologic medicine sold by AbbVie (ABBV) for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments. The decision follows a complaint filed last month by AbbVie, which is bracing for a clutch of biosimilar competitors next year and which hopes to thwart Alvotech and its partner, Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), from selling a version of Humira even sooner. Alvotech is awaiting regulatory approval for its drug after pandemic travel restrictions delayed plant inspections by the Food and Drug Administration. (Silverman, 1/27)
Stat: Biogen Sells Stake In Samsung Venture For $2.3 Billion
Biogen is selling its stake in a pharmaceutical joint venture with the South Korean conglomerate Samsung for $2.3 billion, the company said Thursday, bolstering the drugmaker’s balance sheet. Under the agreement, Samsung Biologics is acquiring Biogen’s ownership in Samsung Bioepis, which manufactures off-patent versions of biologic medicines called biosimilars. Biogen will get $1 billion in cash once the deal closes, followed by $1.25 billion paid out over two years. The joint venture, founded in 2012, has six approved biosimilars and five more in development. (Garde and Feuerstein, 1/27)
Stat: As Biotech Stocks Plummet, An Industry Is Being Reshaped By The Fallout
Biotech investors, once the envy of Wall Street, have slipped into despondency. After a double-digit decline in 2021, the sector has fallen another 20% in the new year, erasing billions in value and leading even the most seasoned investors to question whether biotech has further to fall. “I’m 51 and I had retirement in my head. I just went through a life-changing two years and got very wealthy,” said the principal of a mid-sized biotech fund, speaking on condition of anonymity to be candid. Now, “my screens have been red in biotech for nine months … There’s nowhere to hide.” (Feuerstein, Garde and Herper, 1/28)
In news about research animals —
NPR: All NIH Chimps Currently Eligible To Go To A Sanctuary Have Moved There
The vast majority of the 85 or so government-supported chimps remaining at research facilities have chronic, progressive health problems such as heart disease or diabetes that make the animals too fragile and ill to ever move, say officials at the National Institutes of Health. Nine of these remaining chimps are probably healthy enough to relocate to Chimp Haven, but they're currently ineligible to go because each is part of a socially bonded pair with another, sicker chimp. When the sicker chimps die, however, their companions will be reassessed and may make the move. (Greenfieldboyce, 1/27)
