Eli Lilly and Company announced that its subsidiary, Elanco Animal Health, has filed a registration statement with the SEC for an initial public offering, or IPO, of common stock. The offering is expected to represent an ownership stake of less than 20% in Elanco. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. The company expects to complete the IPO process before the end of 2018. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley will act as the joint book-running managers for the proposed IPO.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Obesity may also impact flu transmission, not just severity of illness
Obesity increases a person’s risk for severe complications from influenza, including hospitalization and even death. It may also play a role in how flu spreads, according to a new study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. The findings suggest that obese adults infected with flu shed the virus for a longer time than adults who are not obese, potentially increasing the opportunity for the infection to spread to others.
“This is the first real evidence that obesity might impact more than just disease severity,” said senior study author Aubree Gordon, MPH, PhD, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “It might directly impact transmission as well.”
Analyzing data collected from approximately 1,800 people in 320 households in Managua, Nicaragua, researchers investigated the effect of obesity on the duration of viral shedding over three influenza seasons from 2015 to 2017. Obese adults with flu symptoms and laboratory-confirmed influenza shed influenza A virus for 42 percent longer than adults with flu who were not obese. Among obese individuals infected with flu who were only mildly ill or had no symptoms, the difference was even greater: These obese adults shed influenza A virus for 104 percent longer than non-obese adults with flu.
The duration of viral shedding was determined by tests of nose and throat samples, which detected the presence of influenza virus RNA but did not indicate whether the viruses were infectious. Additional research, now underway, will help determine if the flu virus shed for longer periods by obese individuals is indeed infectious and can spread the illness to others, Dr. Gordon said.
In addition, the differences seen in the duration of viral shedding were limited to influenza A viruses, one of two types of flu viruses that can cause epidemics in humans. Researchers found no association with obesity and the duration of shedding of influenza B virus, which typically causes less serious illness in adults and does not cause pandemics. Obesity also did not appear to impact the duration of viral shedding among children included in the study.
Obesity can alter the body’s immune response and lead to chronic inflammation, which increases with age, in addition to making breathing more difficult and increasing the need for oxygen. These factors may help explain how obesity could affect influenza risk, severity, and transmission potential, the study authors noted.
With rates of obesity rising around the world, the new findings, if supported by future studies, suggest that obesity may play an increasingly important role in flu transmission. In a related editorial commentary that appears with the new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, PhD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, noted several potential public health implications, including increased opportunities for influenza to spread in some populations.
“It is therefore even more important to develop effective strategies to prevent and control influenza, especially in the overweight and obese population, which could be challenging because of the poor vaccine responses in this population,” wrote Dr. Schultz-Cherry, who was not involved with the study. “With increasing focus on the development of a universal influenza vaccine, improved protection from influenza is on the horizon. The question remains whether these approaches will not only protect this target population, but also reduce viral shedding duration.”
Fast Facts
- Researchers investigated the effect of obesity on length of time individuals infected with influenza shed the virus.
- Obese adults with flu symptoms shed influenza A virus for 42 percent longer than adults with flu who were not obese. Infected obese adults with mild or no symptoms shed the virus 104 percent longer.
- The findings suggest that obesity may play an important role in the transmission of influenza, in addition to obesity’s known impact on flu severity.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Infectious Diseases Society of America. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Hannah E Maier, Roger Lopez, Nery Sanchez, Sophia Ng, Lionel Gresh, Sergio Ojeda, Raquel Burger-Calderon, Guillermina Kuan, Eva Harris, Angel Balmaseda, Aubree Gordon. Obesity Increases the Duration of Influenza A Virus Shedding in Adults. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2018; DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy370
Regeneron Pharma (REGN) PT Raised to $440 at Oppenheimer on Q2 Report
‘Eylea Static Decreasing, 2H18 Product Launches’. Oppenheimer raised its price target on Regeneron Pharma (NASDAQ: REGN) to $440.00 (from $410.00).
Antihypertensive Therapy Reduces Alzheimer’s, Dementia Risk
Antihypertensive therapy to lower elevated blood pressure (BP) decreases the risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older adults, and the benefits may be gained by several different drug classes, new research shows.
Debate continues about whether treating elevated BP or using a specific antihypertensive medication in late life will reduce the risk for dementia, said study investigator Jie Ding, PhD, from the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland.
The findings were presented here at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2018.
To investigate, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis of individual patient data from six long-term prospective cohort studies: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study; Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study; Framingham Heart Study; Honolulu-Asia Aging Study; Rotterdam Study; and 3-C study.
They assessed associations of different classes of BP-lowering drugs to incident dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in 31,090 dementia-free community-dwelling participants aged 55 years and older with baseline data on BP and use of BP-lowering drugs who were followed for up to 22 years.
They examined five major drug classes: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers (BBs), calcium channel blockers, and diuretics.
Within-study Cox proportional hazards analyses were adjusted for propensity scores to control for risk factors. Analyses were stratified by high baseline BP (systolic BP ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mm Hg) and normal baseline BP irrespective of medication use, and APOE ԑ4 carrier status.
During follow-up, 3728 study participants developed dementia and 1741 developed AD.
In adults with high baseline BP, those using any BP-lowering drug, regardless of drug class, had a reduced risk for developing all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79 – 0.98) and Alzheimer’s disease (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74 – 0.99) compared with those not using BP medication, Ding reported.
HRs for incident dementia were similarly reduced among APOE ԑ4 carriers (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64 – 0.93), which mainly reflected the associations with ACEIs (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.57 – 0.98), ARBs (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47 – 0.91), BBs (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.58 – 0.95), and diuretics (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.59 – 0.94).
No significant associations were noted among APOE ԑ4 noncarriers or in participants with normal baseline BP.
Growing Evidence
Keith Fargo, PhD, director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, told Medscape Medical News that this analysis is“interesting, especially comparing it to the SPRINT MIND study,” which was also reported here at AAIC 2018.
As reported by Medscape Medical News, SPRINT MIND showed that aggressive lowering of systolic blood pressure to 120 mm Hg significantly reduces the risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
“What’s nice about this meta-analysis,” said Fargo, “is the size, 31,000 people, and that it looked at dementia and found a statistical difference for those who were treated vs those who were not in terms of the number of people who developed dementia. So this analysis adds to the overall story especially given that SPRINT MIND is a little bit incomplete at this point,” said Fargo.
It’s also interesting, he noted, that this meta-analysis looked not only at dementia but also Alzheimer’s disease specifically and found a benefit of BP lowering. “This is intriguing,” said Fargo, “and suggests that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease may be slowed through treatment of high blood pressure, which I think is good news.”
The study had no commercial funding. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2018. Abstract 25142. Presented July 24, 2018.
Health Insurance Innovations target raised to $62 from $55 at Canaccord
Canaccord analyst Richard Close maintained a Buy rating on Health Insurance Innovations and raised his price target to $62 from $55, saying revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth is likely to accelerate in 2019. Close said he has taken a conservative stance with the firm’s estimates as not to get too far ahead of the company, but overall he is encouraged with the growth opportunity and bias that estimates move higher as 2018 progresses.
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