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Today, a hospital in Barcelona goes rogue with its own CAR-T treatments, we learn more about Wegovy’s anti-inflammatory mechanisms, and more. Oh! Another thing: Join STAT’s Adam Feuerstein and a panel of experts today for a deep-dive discussion into precision cancer medicines.
Spanish hospital crafts its own CAR-T therapy
It’s no small task to scale CAR-T, and the technology is still inaccessible for the vast majority of cancer patients who need it. So, a hospital in Spain is taking matters into its own hands, brewing its own CAR-T treatment.
As STAT’s Andrew Joseph explains, a special European policy allows the experts at Hospital Clínic of Barcelona to develop the treatment and secure regulatory approval. It’s reimbursed by the national health system like other authorized medications. And it costs about $97,000 — roughly a third of the list prices of CAR-T medicines made by biopharma companies.
“It’s normally not what we do, academic institutions,” Julio Delano, a hematologist at the hospital, told STAT. “It’s just that we see there are so many patients in the European Union who don’t have access to CAR-T cell products, so many.”
This may inspire envy among U.S. physicians who technically could craft their own experimental medicines — but run into roadblocks when it comes to getting a pharma company interested in licensing the designs. Drugmakers are leery about whether they can profit on costly, complicated medicines — so a lot of good science isn’t making it to patients.
“There is a growing tension around the limited access that we’re seeing for cell and gene therapies coming out of biotech,” said Crystal Mackall, a pediatric oncologist at Stanford University, who is spearheading efforts to come up with new models for developing these types of therapies. “It’s incredibly tempting to say, ‘Well, why don’t you just let me make it for my patients?’”
Does Wegovy use the brain to reduce inflammation?
GLP-1 drugs have been known to reduce inflammation, but until now, it’s been unclear how this happens. A new study in mice suggests that the medicine targets certain receptors in the brain that mediate inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect was seen even before mice lost weight, the Cell Metabolism study showed. This suggests that the reduction in inflammation isn’t merely the result of weight reduction — but that other factors are at play.
If researchers can pinpoint what specifically these drugs target in the brain to reduce inflammation, new drugs could be developed to target these regions. And this class of drugs might ultimately be prescribed for their anti-inflammatory powers, as opposed to their abilities to regulate blood sugar or weight.
Prime Medicine vs. Myeloid Therapeutics
Gene editing startup Prime Medicine is ensnared in a multimillion-dollar dispute with Myeloid Therapeutics, a startup cofounded by Pulitzer-winning cancer biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.
At issue is a deal the two companies signed in March 2022.
Under the agreement, Prime paid Myeloid $45 million upfront for the rights to its technology and promised additional payments, options, and royalties as the collaboration progressed. Myeloid alleges Prime broke the agreement by failing to pay an additional $17.5 million for reaching an undisclosed milestone. Prime countered that Myeloid failed to reach the milestone and broke the terms of the agreement. And now the two have filed competing arbitration claims.
The worst-performing CEOs of 2023
Yesterday, STAT’s Adam Feuerstein lauded biopharma’s top-performing CEOs. Today, he gives us the bottom of the heap.
Worst Biopharma CEO this year? Albert Bourla of Pfizer.
Despite the Covid windfall of pandemic years past, Bourla bears responsibility for a series of strategic missteps, financial miscalculations, and scientific setbacks, Adam writes. Pfizer is now in crisis, and its shares have dropped 50% this year to their lowest level in more than a decade.
Beyond Bourla, Adam’s compiled a list of the “blockheads and scoundrels” of the biopharma C-suite.
More reads
- IndiaMART is working with Novo Nordisk to halt illegal Wegovy sales, Reuters
- Novo Nordisk Foundation sets up new vaccine initiative for respiratory diseases with $260 million, FierceBiotech
- Point Biopharma’s closely watched prostate cancer radiopharmaceutical study disappoints, Lilly again extends offer, Endpoints