💉 AstraZeneca invests in rare diseases; Novartis hopes to take the STING out; Merck bets on smart biologics
#508 | Bird flu jumps species; Ending the gender gap in wifi; Milk for diabetes
Hello, and welcome back to a relatively light week in the life sciences.
A week where the south Indian state of Kerala witnessed an outbreak of mumps with 190 cases being reported in a single day.
Also a week where researchers learned how to use AI to identify emerging Covid variants. Oh, you thought Covid was over, didn't you?
In what could be seen as a rehash of old news but actually is fresh news, Indian companies are withdrawing drugs. Over manufacturing violations in the US and over safety concerns in Rwanda.
Elsewhere, India's Entod Pharma has developed eye drops for insulin. No more painful pricks. At least once approvals come in.
Obesity drugs have proven blockbusters for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in particular. And with reports predicting that obesity drugs will continue to provide mucho moolah to drug companies, it should be no surprise that this is one field where research is going full steam. And researchers have now discovered a pill that just might outperform every single existing drug. Heavy!
And finally, in either serious research or shady shenanigans, scientists say you should skip snacks and eat snakes. Or in other words, skip pie and eat python.
Stories Of The Week
The global neuro challenge. A groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Neurology, with contributions from the WHO, revealed that in 2021, over 3 billion individuals globally were grappling with neurological conditions, marking these as the leading cause of disability and ill health worldwide. Notably, an 18% increase in the disease burden from these conditions has been observed since 1990, predominantly affecting low- and middle-income countries. This disparity is further highlighted by the vast differences in access to neurological care, with high-income nations boasting up to 70 times more specialists. The report underscores the urgency for targeted interventions to bridge the care gap and emphasises the importance of brain health across all stages of life. While some conditions like diabetic neuropathy are on the rise, others have seen significant declines due to advancements in prevention and treatment.
(WHO)
Health tech hype. India's health technology sector, bustling with about 10,000 startups, is on a wellness wave, set to triple its worth by 2028, reaching up to $21 billion of the anticipated $60 billion healthcare innovation market. This optimism, outlined in a report by Bain & Company and HealthQuad, is fueled by investors' appetite for businesses resilient to economic upheavals, notably in pharma services, biotechnology, and medtech. The sector's growth spurt is attributed to strategic moves like digital-physical hybrids, international expansion, and shrewd acquisitions. The spotlight is on enterprises that have successfully attracted substantial investments by offering solutions that blend lower risk with lucrative economics, targeting operational and supply chain efficiencies. As digital health applications become more integrated into daily life, catering to consumer demands for convenience and quality, the sector's trajectory is clear: innovate, consolidate, and partner up to navigate the booming market efficiently.
(Bain)
Save the little children. In a major leap forward for global health, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday has plummeted to a historic low of 4.9 million in 2022, heralding a victory for the countless midwives, health workers, and community champions tirelessly battling to keep our little ones alive. This remarkable achievement, spotlighted in a UN report, shines a light on the decades of dedication and the powerful arsenal of low-cost, effective health services that have turned the tide against childhood mortality. While countries like Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia, and Rwanda lead the charge with dramatic reductions in under-5 deaths, the fight is far from over. Nearly half of these young lives are lost in their first days, pointing to a desperate need for better access to quality health care. With preventable conditions like pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria still claiming too many, the call to action is clear: invest in health, empower community caregivers, and ensure every child, regardless of birthplace, has a fighting chance at life. The progress is heartening, but with millions of young lives still in the balance, the journey towards zero preventable child deaths marches on, underscored by a rallying cry for global commitment and action.
(UNICEF)
Agency Observer
Clicks and misses: The wifi wide gender gap. In an era where being offline is akin to being invisible, the digital divide in low- and middle-income countries presents a formidable challenge, particularly for women. Statistics reveal a stark reality: nearly 1.5 billion women in these regions lack internet access, and the gender gap in digital use has inflicted a $1 trillion loss on the global economy. However, the newly launched Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), a collaborative effort by USAID and the Gates Foundation, aims to address this issue with a $60.5 million investment. WiDEF seeks to empower local initiatives that provide women with affordable internet, cutting-edge technology, and the necessary training to navigate the digital world. With a focus on tapping into the untapped potential of women in the digital economy, WiDEF represents a hopeful step towards closing the gender digital divide, backed by a strong belief in the transformative power of putting digital tools into the hands of women and girls.
(WiDEF)
Breakthroughs
Bad news for diabetic vegans. A humble brown cow from Brazil's pastoral lands is stepping into the limelight as the first transgenic bovine superstar, proficient in producing human insulin right in her milk. This groundbreaking research, a collaborative moo-vement between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Universidade de São Paulo, proposes a novel approach to insulin production that could one day make diabetes management as simple as a trip to the local dairy farm. Researchers ingeniously inserted human DNA into cow embryos, resulting in a lactating cow that can produce not just milk but also a potential solution to the global insulin shortage. With a sprinkle of genetic engineering magic, they've managed to target insulin production to the cow's mammary glands, sidestepping the old-school method of 'slamming DNA' and hoping for the best. Despite a hiccup in the reproductive plans, the cow's milk revealed a surprise: not only proinsulin but also ready-to-use insulin. Let's raise a glass to these pioneering cows and the scientists who believe the future of medicine may just lie in the udderly fantastic potential of transgenic dairy farms.
(Biotechnology Journal)
A gut feeling. Amid the buzz surrounding probiotics, those tiny bacterial heroes found in your yoghurt or supplement aisle promise more than just a happy gut; they might also be tickling your serotonin sensors. Imagine, the key to a better mood could be lurking in your morning smoothie or that capsule you pop in hopes of dodging the office bug. Research suggests that certain strains of Lactobacillus could indeed be throwing a feel-good party in your gut. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all affair. What works to ease the pre-exam jitters might not cut it for deeper stressors. Our furry friends in the lab, who've been through their own mini stress-tests (think mouse-sized corporate burnout), have shown us that swapping stressed mouse poop for chill mouse poop can turn a frazzled mouse into a Zen master. This not only adds a whole new layer to the phrase "gut feeling" but also highlights the complexity of our microbiome's role in our mental wellness.
(The Conversation)
Corporate
Corporate chess moves. A quiet week it may have been but it has been quite the week in the corporate world. AstraZeneca splurged $1.05 billion to boost its rare disease division with a purchase of Amolyt Pharma. Biocon Biologics is selling its Indian branded formulations businesses to Eris Lifesciences for $150 million, a move that will bolster Eris's diabetes treatment franchise and mark its entry into oncology and critical care. Novartis paid $90 million upfront with milestone payments up to $745 million more to buy IFM Therapeutics' IFM Due subsidiary. Specific diseases covered by IFM Due's research have not been disclosed yet but the deal gives Novartis full rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of small molecules that could potentially treat conditions driven by excessive STING pathway activity. Merck & Co. has entered a collaboration with Pearl Bio, leveraging their synthetic biology platform in a deal worth up to $1 billion in milestone payments aimed at developing cancer treatments. This partnership, which includes an upfront payment from Merck, underscores Pearl Bio's potential in producing innovative, programmable biologics and bolsters Merck's oncology pipeline. And finally, Boehringer Ingelheim has secured an exclusive option on Sosei Heptares' novel schizophrenia drug, promising better efficacy and fewer side effects, with an upfront payment of €25 million for a candidate targeting the GPR52 receptor to potentially improve treatment outcomes for patients.
(AstraZeneca, Biocon, IFM, Pearl Bio, Sosei Heptares)
Bottom line
Plastic fantastic? Not so fast, says science. In a world awash with plastics, from the innocuous soda bottle to the more insidious mattress coating, a recent revelation might just make you rethink your daily interactions with these ubiquitous materials. The PlastChem Project, a collaborative effort by researchers in Norway and Switzerland, has unveiled a database that’s as eye-opening as it is alarming, cataloguing over 16,000 chemicals found in plastics, of which more than 4,200 are flagged for their health and environmental risks. Despite the comprehensive nature of this database, it also underscores a significant knowledge gap: a whopping 10,000 chemicals remain a mystery, shrouded in uncertainty regarding their potential impacts. This dive into the chemical soup of plastics not only exposes the breadth of our ignorance but also the urgent need for more research, streamlined chemical recipes, and greater regulatory oversight. As we navigate through a sea of plastic, this research is a stark reminder of the hidden dangers lurking within and the pressing need for action, lest we want our future to be as cluttered with unknown chemicals as a teenager's bedroom floor.
(The PlastChem Project)
Bird flu's big leap. At The Kable, we've been tracking bird flu with what some might call morbid paranoia for a while now. But who's laughing now? The H5N1 virus is no longer content just wreaking havoc among our feathered friends, and has decided to explore new horizons in South America, making a splash among marine mammals and causing concern among scientists. Since making landfall in 2022, it's been partying a bit too hard, leading to an alarming shindig of infections across birds, seals, sea lions, and even a few dolphins in Chile and Peru, not to mention the potential for a crash into the human scene. This strain is showing a disturbing talent for mammal-to-mammal transmission, turning seals into unwilling participants in a very morbid kind of seal clubbing, prompting a hurried gathering of health experts under PAHO's roof. As the virus dons its traveling boots, potentially hitching rides with migratory birds, and pharmaceutical companies are rolling up their sleeves to whip up vaccines, the situation could be described as "evolutionary steps" toward a human soirée we’d very much like to avoid. Amidst all this, a draft paper has spied new mutations in the virus, hinting at a plot twist in this viral saga that’s left scientists and seals alike hoping for a better script.
(Reuters)
Breathless. A new study reveals that short-term exposure to air pollution is not just an inconvenience - it's a lethal lottery, claiming over a million lives annually. Most of these premature curtain calls happen in Asia and Africa, putting a grim spotlight on urban areas where air quality seems to be managed by the philosophy of "let's not and say we did." According to researchers from Monash University, these air quality "oopsies" result in more deaths than most bad diets. With 65% of these airborne exits occurring in Asia, the study casts a cloud over the idea that fresh air is a free commodity. It turns out, our daily dose of PM2.5 is more dangerous than previously thought, especially during those surprise pollution parties thrown by cities and towns across the globe. The study, aiming to clear the fog on the impact of air pollution, suggests that aside from investing in gas masks, global and local initiatives to clean up our act could really help us breathe easy.
(The Lancet Planetary Health)
Oh and, Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.