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Hello, hello. Today we talk about whether the AI overlords will commandeer cancer research (on top of everything else in this world), WuXi is looking to sell some of its operations, ostensibly because of the BIOSECURE Act, and more.
The need-to-know this morning
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Italian pharma company Recordati said it will buy from Sanofi the global rights to an approved drug to treat cold agglutinin disease, a rare autoimmune disorder, for $825 million.
Will AI replace principal investigators in cancer?
OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman claims that, one day, artificial intelligence could upend cancer research by replacing the principal investigator. But many scientists, including machine learning biologist Shantanu Singh of the Broad Institute, think AI lacks the ingenuity of a human scientist — and won’t be curing cancer any time soon.
“Is there an ability of these models to mimic what we call creativity?” Singh asked in an interview with STAT.
But Singh uses AI regularly to do his cancer research, and believes there are powerful applications for the technology in the near-term, particularly in digital pathology and complex data processing.
WuXi looks to sell assets as BIOSECURE Act looms
Chinese drugmakers WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics are looking to divest some of their operations: They’re under intense scrutiny thanks to the U.S. BIOSECURE Act, the Financial Times writes, as the legislation would ban drugmakers with U.S. government contracts from using WuXi services.
WuXi AppTec is in talks to sell its Philadelphia-based cell and gene therapy unit, and WuXi Biologics is exploring whether there’s interest in purchasing its European facilities, given the 27% drop in revenues from European customers earlier this year. WuXi’s stock declined sharply this year, and it’s struggling to attract new customers — though might hold onto its assets if its existing clients stay on board.
What causes auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia?
There’s finally new insight into why some people with schizophrenia experience auditory hallucinations, hearing voices and sounds when there are none. A new study in PLOS Biology shows that, in schizophrenia, some people experience “broken” and “noisy” motor signals when they’re preparing to speak, which causes signals to misfire in the brain. This could open up new doorways for schizophrenia treatment.
“Some patients are really resistant to drugs — maybe that’s because it’s hard to modulate the function network [with them],” the study’s lead author told STAT’s Timmy Broderick. “If our theory is right, then using a non-invasive neuromodulation technique can alleviate the hallucinations.”
Who is President Biden’s health care AI czar?
What does he do? And why do some folks believe he has one of the toughest jobs in D.C.? We talk about all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. Our colleague Mohana Ravindranath joins us to talk about Micky Tripathi, charged with coordinating how AI is used across different government agencies and more broadly across the health care industry.
We also chat about some important biotech study readouts due before the end of the year, a new, well-funded obesity company, and the successful serial CEO running it. Finally, Adam and Allison lament the fact that Elaine hasn’t yet watched the first episode of this season’s “Great British Baking Show.”
More reads
- Gilead to donate remdesivir for emergency use against Marburg disease in Rwanda, Reuters
- European VC firm Kurma closes first $154M of largest planned fund, eyes up to 20 biotech investments, FierceBiotech
- Opdivo gets FDA approval for use around lung cancer surgery, following Keytruda and Imfinzi, Endpoints