Verve launches on mission to replace statins with CRISPR gene editing tech

Could CRISPR gene editing one day replace the need for cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins?

US biotech Verve Therapeutics thinks so after launching with backing of GV – formerly Google Ventures – to discover and develop gene editing therapies, based on technologies such as CRISPR, to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Verve has secured $58.5 million in Series A financing in a round led by GV, with Arch Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, and Biomatics Capital also on board.

Verve aims to use human genetic analysis and gene editing to create new treatments for adults at risk of coronary artery disease, the most common form of heart disease and still the leading cause of death worldwide.

The company was founded by a team of world-renowned researchers in cardiovascular genetics and pioneers of gene editing.

Sekar Kathiresan

These include Sekar Kathiresan from Massachusetts General Hospital, Kiran Musunuru, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and J. Keith Joung, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard.

Funds raised will be used to advance the biotech’s pre-clinical technology through proof-of-concept studies.

The company has a portfolio of gene editing technologies, including a collaboration with Beam Therapeutics and licence agreements with Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Verve has identified healthy adults who carry naturally occurring gene variants that dramatically lower their lifetime risk of coronary artery disease and heart attacks.

The company aims to use this knowledge to develop gene editing therapies that confer lifelong protection in adults at risk of coronary artery disease.

The company said that gene editing technologies including CRISPR nucleases and base editors could edit genes within the adult to improve lifelong lipid and metabolic status, lowering risk of coronary artery disease.

All of the therapies developed by Verve involve making edits in adult (somatic) cells, which are not passed down to offspring.

Verve has already conducted preclinical studies that have validated the potential efficacy and safety of the technology.

Burt Adelman, co-founder and chairman of the board of Verve, said: “Cholesterol-lowering treatments have been an important advance for many patients at risk of coronary artery disease.

“However, as the disease’s prevalence rises in low- and middle-income countries, the current treatment model of daily pills or monthly injections over a lifetime must evolve if we are to effectively protect millions of people from disability or death due to coronary artery disease. Imagine if a single injection could permanently and safely prevent coronary disease. That’s the singular goal that Verve will be pursuing.”

Biotech Verve launches on mission to replace statins with CRISPR gene editing tech

Doctors hail ‘phenomenal’ results from stroke implant device

An implanted device that sends electrical impulses through a nerve to the brain has produced “phenomenal” trial results in patients who have had strokes, according to a press report.

The BBC reported that the trial of the technology known as Vagus Nerve Stimulation has transformed life for patients.

Although the trial is ongoing and the BBC did not report any final results, interviews with doctors and patients suggest a potential new use for the treatment that has already been used to treat patients with epilepsy.

One patient can now use his left hand, which he had been unable to move since his stroke a year ago after treatment with the device from the company MicroTransponder.

It’s thought that stimulating the brain using electrical signals changes its chemistry, helping it to re-wire and regain function after a stroke.

Trial lead at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, Dr Anand Dixit, said the findings so far are a “great hope” for patients with stroke.

He said: “I think, when we analyse the whole results, we are hoping to see that this is a very transformative intervention.”

Patient Colin Clough added that he had “given up” on his left hand and had got used to using his right for everything.

But following the intervention he can carry out tasks using both hands, such as carrying a tray and pouring water into a cup.

As well as having the nerve stimulation device fitted, patients on the trial have physiotherapy and carry out repeated physical actions so the brain can re-learn how to use the limb affected by a stroke.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation involves implanting a matchbox-sized generator under the skin below the person’s collarbone.

Wires from the generator are linked to the left vagus nerve, which emerges directly from the brain.

However the procedure is not without its risks – trials in epilepsy have produced adverse events including cardiac arrest, bradycardia, and shortness of breath.

Doctors hail ‘phenomenal’ results from stroke implant device

‘Medicare for All’ is a job-killer for America’s largest industry

If you’re looking for work, this is the best job market in 50 years. The economy is soaring.

But Democrats running for president are pitching plans that will destroy millions of jobs, doubling the number of people out of work. New Yorkers will be among the hardest hit.

Consider Medicare for All. It will wipe out a staggering 2.5 million health insurance and health care jobs nationwide, causing the number of unemployed people in this country to jump by almost half. Here in New York, it will throw tens of thousands out of work.

New research by Stanford University doctors in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that Medicare for All would cause hospitals to lose a whopping $151 billion in payments the first year. Hospitals would be forced to eliminate as many as 1.5 million jobs overnight — scary news for the 385,000 hospital workers in the Empire State.

Meanwhile, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who’s sponsoring Medicare for All legislation in the House, admits it would cause 1 million insurance employees to get canned. She cavalierly suggests they can retire or get job ­retraining. Tell heartless Jayapal to do that herself.

Presidential aspirant Bernie Sanders brags Medicare for All would prevent Americans from having to choose between food on the table and medicine. Sorry, Bernie, but if your job is eliminated, putting food on your table will be impossible. Period.

You didn’t hear these bleak facts at last week’s House hearing on Medicare for All. Instead, Speaker Nancy Pelosi escorted in wheelchair-bound Ady Barkan, who is dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Barkan made a poignant plea for Congress to recognize health care as a right. Painful to watch — and designed to distract from the facts.

That set the tone. Dems acted more like carnival barkers than fact finders. Not one New York Democrat responded to warnings about hospitals — this city’s bread and butter — closing.

But shuttered hospitals and job losses are the reality. Right now Medicare shortchanges hospitals. Hospitals accept the low Medicare payments because they can shift their unmet costs onto patients with higher-paying private insurance. Medicare for All, however, outlaws private insurance, making that cost-shifting impossible. Everybody will be paying the low rate, and hospitals will get squeezed.

To stay open, hospitals will have to spread nurses thinner, ­reduce wages and lay off staff. That could be deadly for a patient calling for help overnight.

And bad news for this nation. Health care is America’s largest employer.

Dems are also campaigning to wipe out jobs in the oil, gas and coal industries. Every Democrat eyeing the White House is pledging to rejoin the Paris climate accord, a lopsided agreement that would hobble the US economy while barely touching the world’s largest polluter, China. Joining the accord would cost the US more than 2 million jobs by 2025, according to a division of Marsh & McLennan management consultants.

Taken together, those 2 million plus the 2.5 million jobs killed by Medicare for All total 4.5 million layoffs, almost doubling the number of out-of-work Americans. Thank you, Democrats.

Don’t they know losing a job can be a personal nightmare?

There’s more. Presidential contenders like Liz Warren also want to hike corporate tax rates and change accounting rules, making it costlier for businesses to invest in equipment and ­expand. More job killers.

When President Trump took office, there were 2 million more job seekers than openings. Now, openings outnumber ­applicants. Wages are rising, with workers at the bottom benefiting most. Female unemployment is the lowest since 1953. Credit goes largely to Trump’s deregulation, tax cuts and rules allowing companies to write off plant and equipment costs right away.

No matter how Democrats bad-mouth capitalism, the truth is wage hikes and job opportunities are moral victories. They ­enable people to become self-sufficient, raise a family and aspire to more. Presidential contender Joe Biden is campaigning to “Make America Moral Again.” Are you listening, Joe?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says one-third of all future new jobs will be in health care. That’s unless Democrats win big in 2020 and push through Medicare for All.

A jobs boom is a good thing. Don’t let Democrats destroy it.

https://nypost.com/2019/05/07/medicare-for-all-is-a-job-killer-for-americas-largest-industry/

Work with Florida on its drug import program, Trump tells Azar

Drug importation is coming to the United States — well, Florida — and President Trump is on for the ride.

A Politico report published on Monday, suggests that Trump has asked HHS secretary Alex Azar to work with Florida governor Ron DeSantis on the state’s drug import plan, citing congressman Matt Gaetz who attended an Oval Office meeting that lasted for about 45 minutes on Monday afternoon, during which the issue was reportedly discussed.

Florida’s program — which facilitates the importation of drugs from Canada for the state’s health departments — is set to come into force on July 1. It has been the subject of fierce criticism from the drug lobby and president Trump’s advisers, including Azar.
At the meeting at the White House on Monday, Azar — former president of Lilly’s US operations and BIO board member — aired his concerns about the program, suggesting that manufacturers could limit prescription drug supplies if they don’t make enough money, and questioned how to ensure the safety of imported medicines, the report said.

According to Gaetz, Trump said the drug imports would instead trigger drug companies to lower their US prices, and that the meeting had been called to facilitate the review of the program by Azar’s department, with a view to subsequently approve it.

“We’re like the Blues Brothers of drug importation,” Gaetz, a DeSantis adviser, told Politico on Monday. “We’re on a mission from God.”

Representatives from PhRMA and BIO condemned the program.

“No Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has ever approved a drug importation proposal because of the difficulty of ensuring that patients would not be put in harm’s way and that it would also save patients money. Any and all importation schemes threaten the safety of patients and are the wrong approach for America,” a PhRMA spokesperson told Endpoints News.

BIO echoed a similar sentiment.

“This dangerous proposal has been around for years, but has never been adopted because the risks far outweigh any potential benefits. Policymakers should reject this flawed and worn out idea, and instead they should pursue real reforms that promote the health and safety of patients and lower out of pocket costs for prescription medicines,” a BIO spokesperson told Endpoints News.

Lowering drug prices has bipartisan support, although drug manufacturers and PBMs blame each other for skyrocketing prices. The Trump administration has proposed various steps to curb costs — including pegging US prices to overseas rates — and various lawmakers have also made it a cornerstone issue, including Senator Chuck Grassley, the new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren.

UPDATED: Work with Florida on its drug import program, Trump tells Azar — report

LHC Group price target raised to $130 from $125 at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut raised his price target for LHC Group to $130 from $125 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the company’s Q1 results. In a post-earnings research note titled “Playoff Games Aren’t Won or Lost in Q1; Focus on Strong Margins, Guidance Raise,” Tanquilut says he does not think investors should view the Q1 revenue shortfall as a sign of fundamental softening, especially given the 10 basis point margin beat versus consensus.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2906813

Select Medical, Alternate Solutions Health Network enter joint venture

Select Medical announced a joint venture agreement with Alternate Solutions Health Network to bring home health and hospice services to its patients and families in select markets nationwide. Called Select At Home, the new collaboration will extend the recovery and care continuum post-discharge from Select Medical’s specialty hospitals.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2906829

Varian Medical acquires CyberHeart, terms not disclosed

Varian announced it has acquired CyberHeart, a privately-held company with intellectual property that covers the use of radiation in the heart and other forms of radiosurgery for cardiovascular disease. Varian’s acquisition of CyberHeart involved the transfer of IP.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2906837