Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because our shortest person has dashed off to a local educational institution in a hurry and the mascots are bounding about our sandlot. As for us, we are up to the usual. We are brewing cups of stimulation — our choice this morning is chocolate cappuccino —and foraging for items of interest. We are also preparing to host a conversation about biosimilars today. Tune in, if you can. It begins at 1 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, we have collected a few items of interest that are displayed down below. We hope you have a smashing day and, as always, please do keep in touch. We treasure your tips and insights. …
The benefits and risks of an Eli Lilly treatment for Alzheimer’s were confirmed in detailed scientific disclosures Monday, paving the way for its full approval but leaving physicians with lingering questions about the medicine’s impact on patients as a new era in Alzheimer’s therapy unfolds, STAT says. The drug, called donanemab, showed a 35% slowing of disease progression relative to placebo in a clinical trial that enrolled 1,700 patients with early-stage disease. But the positive outcome was tempered by a serious type of brain swelling and bleeding called ARIA — 37% of the participants treated with donanemab experienced ARIA-related side effects. Three patients died.
Pfizer and venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering agreed to invest $100 million to discover and develop 10 new potential drugs targeting diseases with few or no treatment options, STAT says. Flagship, which has stakes in several other biotech companies including Moderna, will invest $50 million in the Pfizer partnership. Its drug discovery initiative, called Pioneering Medicines, will lead the research for new drug molecules. Pfizer, which would gain access to Pioneering’s research platform and pre-clinical study resources, would provide funding for the development of each of the selected drugs and have an option to acquire them.