–Bayer’s Chief Executive Werner Baumann said the pharmaceutical giant
is expanding production capacities for its malaria drug Resochin after
indications that the drug could slow down the spread of the novel
coronavirus and therefore lead to a milder course of the disease,
Handelsblatt reports.
–In an interview with the German business newspaper, Mr. Baumann said
further clinical studies would be necessary to clarify the risk-benefit
ratio of the drug but the company’s production plants in Europe would
be adjusted to produce it.
–So far, the drug is manufactured only at one plant in Pakistan, Handelsblatt reports.
Full story (in German): https://bit.ly/39yPrvK
https://www.marketscreener.com/BAYER-AG-436063/news/Bayer-Equips-Plants-for-Malaria-Drug-That-Could-Help-Fight-Covid-19-Handelsblatt-30294287/
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Bayer: glyphosate settlement talks delayed by coronavirus
Talks between Bayer AG and plaintiff lawyers to settle claims that the German company’s glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer have been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, Bayer’s Chief Executive told daily Handelsblatt.
“This is about currently not being able to meet in person for talks.
All this of course slows down the negotiations,” CEO Werner Baumann told
the newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.
Court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg told Reuters last month that the talks were slowed by the pandemic.
In the Handelsblatt interview, CEO Baumann reiterated remarks he made at the end of February that he was under no time pressure to strike a settlement deal and that he would not submit to a schedule or deadline.
Court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg told Reuters last month that the talks were slowed by the pandemic.
In the Handelsblatt interview, CEO Baumann reiterated remarks he made at the end of February that he was under no time pressure to strike a settlement deal and that he would not submit to a schedule or deadline.
https://www.marketscreener.com/BAYER-AG-436063/news/Bayer-says-glyphosate-settlement-talks-delayed-by-coronavirus-Handelsblatt-30294364/
Why is New Orleans coronavirus death rate 7 times New York’s? Obesity a factor
The coronavirus has been a far deadlier threat in New Orleans than
the rest of the United States, with a per-capita death rate much higher
than in New York City. Doctors, public health officials and available
data say the Big Easy’s high levels of obesity and related ailments may
be part of the problem.
“We’re just sicker,” said Rebekah Gee, who until January was the
Health Secretary for Louisiana and now heads up Louisiana State
University’s healthcare services division. “We already had tremendous
healthcare disparities before this pandemic – one can only imagine they
are being amplified now.”
Along with New York and Seattle, New Orleans has emerged as one of the early U.S. hotspots for the coronavirus, making it a national test case for how to control and treat the disease. Chief among the concerns raised by doctors working in the Louisiana city is the death rate, which is seven times that of New York and ten times that of Seattle, based on publicly reported data.
New Orleans residents suffer from obesity, diabetes and hypertension at rates higher than the national average, conditions that doctors and public health officials say can make patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Some 97% of those killed by COVID-19 in Louisiana had a preexisting condition, according to the state health department. Diabetes was seen in 40% of the deaths, obesity in 25%, chronic kidney disease in 23% and cardiac problems in 21%.
New Orleans, which so far has reported more than 270 coronavirus deaths, could be a harbinger for the potential toll the pandemic could take in other parts of the South and Midwest that also have high rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
A host of other factors could contribute to New Orleans’ high death rate for coronavirus, ranging from access to healthcare and hospital quality, to the prevalence of other conditions including lung disease, health officials say.
But they also add that it is clear that obesity-related conditions are playing a role in the deaths. That could be a warning sign for the United States at large, where chronic obesity is more common than in other developed countries, they said.
Hospitals are reporting cases across the generations -mothers and daughters, fathers and sons – being intubated and cared for in the same intensive care units (ICUs), said Tracey Moffatt, the chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health, the largest healthcare provider in Louisiana. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in New Orleans and Louisiana plays into that, she said.
Those family members often suffered from the same medical conditions before becoming sick, leaving them similarly vulnerable to the coronavirus despite their age gaps.
“We had a case where a mom was already in the ICU and the daughter,
who was obese, came in,” she said. “The daughter asked staff to wheel
her by her mom’s room so she could say goodbye before she herself was
intubated. We knew the mother was going to pass away.”
Both patients suffered from obesity.
The CDC report was based on a sample of under 6% of reported coronavirus infections, but doctors in Louisiana said it was consistent with what they are seeing, and it is in line with what other countries like Italy and China have faced.
Those percentages, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, an emergency department doctor and the top public health official in New Orleans, are likely similar in cities across the United States.
“What we worry about here is that we have more people in our
communities with those conditions,” he said. “We’re more vulnerable than
other communities, and the number of deaths we’ve seen illustrates
that.”
The New Orleans metropolitan statistical area ranks among the worst in the United States for the percentage of residents with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, a Reuters analysis of CDC data shows. An estimated 39% have high blood pressure, 36% are obese and about 15% have diabetes.
Nationally, the median is 32% with high blood pressure, 31% obese and 11% with diabetes.
“The burden of disease in Louisiana and the Deep South is higher than in rest of the country,” said Gee. “Invariably that means that the South is going to be hard hit by this.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-new-orleans/why-is-new-orleans-coronavirus-death-rate-seven-times-new-yorks-obesity-is-a-factor-idUSKBN21K1B0
Along with New York and Seattle, New Orleans has emerged as one of the early U.S. hotspots for the coronavirus, making it a national test case for how to control and treat the disease. Chief among the concerns raised by doctors working in the Louisiana city is the death rate, which is seven times that of New York and ten times that of Seattle, based on publicly reported data.
New Orleans residents suffer from obesity, diabetes and hypertension at rates higher than the national average, conditions that doctors and public health officials say can make patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Some 97% of those killed by COVID-19 in Louisiana had a preexisting condition, according to the state health department. Diabetes was seen in 40% of the deaths, obesity in 25%, chronic kidney disease in 23% and cardiac problems in 21%.
New Orleans, which so far has reported more than 270 coronavirus deaths, could be a harbinger for the potential toll the pandemic could take in other parts of the South and Midwest that also have high rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
A host of other factors could contribute to New Orleans’ high death rate for coronavirus, ranging from access to healthcare and hospital quality, to the prevalence of other conditions including lung disease, health officials say.
But they also add that it is clear that obesity-related conditions are playing a role in the deaths. That could be a warning sign for the United States at large, where chronic obesity is more common than in other developed countries, they said.
Hospitals are reporting cases across the generations -mothers and daughters, fathers and sons – being intubated and cared for in the same intensive care units (ICUs), said Tracey Moffatt, the chief nursing officer at Ochsner Health, the largest healthcare provider in Louisiana. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in New Orleans and Louisiana plays into that, she said.
Those family members often suffered from the same medical conditions before becoming sick, leaving them similarly vulnerable to the coronavirus despite their age gaps.
Both patients suffered from obesity.
‘MORE VULNERABLE’
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released for the first time this week a report showing that 78% of COVID-19 patients in ICUs in the United States had an underlying health condition, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic lung disease.The CDC report was based on a sample of under 6% of reported coronavirus infections, but doctors in Louisiana said it was consistent with what they are seeing, and it is in line with what other countries like Italy and China have faced.
Those percentages, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, an emergency department doctor and the top public health official in New Orleans, are likely similar in cities across the United States.
The New Orleans metropolitan statistical area ranks among the worst in the United States for the percentage of residents with diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, a Reuters analysis of CDC data shows. An estimated 39% have high blood pressure, 36% are obese and about 15% have diabetes.
Nationally, the median is 32% with high blood pressure, 31% obese and 11% with diabetes.
“The burden of disease in Louisiana and the Deep South is higher than in rest of the country,” said Gee. “Invariably that means that the South is going to be hard hit by this.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-new-orleans/why-is-new-orleans-coronavirus-death-rate-seven-times-new-yorks-obesity-is-a-factor-idUSKBN21K1B0
IBM ‘Watson Assistant for Citizens’ to Provide Responses to COVID-19 Questions
Engagements with government agencies, healthcare
organizations and academic institutions around the world including in
Arkansas, California, Georgia, New York, Texas, Czech Republic, Greece,
Poland, Spain and UK
With COVID-19 affecting 206 countries, areas and territories, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is helping government agencies, healthcare organizations and academic institutions throughout the world use AI to put critical data and information into the hands of their citizens.
With a flood of information requests from citizens, wait times in
many areas to receive answers can exceed two hours. Available for no
charge for at least 90 days and available to our client’s citizens
online or by phone, IBM Watson Assistant for Citizens on the IBM public cloud brings together Watson Assistant, Natural Language Processing capabilities from IBM Research, and state-of-art enterprise AI search capabilities with Watson Discovery, to understand and respond to common questions about COVID-19.
“While helping government agencies and healthcare institutions use AI to get critical information out to their citizens remains a high priority right now, the current environment has made it clear that every business in every industry should find ways to digitally engage with their clients and employees,” said Rob Thomas, general manager, IBM Data & AI. “With today’s news, IBM is taking years of experience in helping thousands of global businesses and institutions use Natural Language Processing and other advanced AI technologies to better meet the demands of their constituents, and now applying it to the COVID-19 crisis. AI has the power to be your assistant during this uncertain time.”
Watson Assistant for Citizens leverages currently available data from external sources, including guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and local sources such as links to school closings, news and documents on a state website. IBM already is delivering this service across the United States, as well as engaging with organizations globally in Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK and more.
Here are examples where IBM is engaging with government and healthcare agencies on Watson Assistant for Citizens:
“The AI solution from IBM will be a great resource for the county’s residents and will help alleviate call center volume to allow county employees to dedicate efforts elsewhere,” said Brian Pokorny, Director of Information Technologies, County of Otsego, New York.
Using information provided by clients, Watson Assistant for Citizens automates responses to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 that come in via phone call or text, such as “What are symptoms?”, “How do I clean my home properly?” and “How do I protect myself?”
State and local government agencies, hospitals or other healthcare organizations can choose to customize the solution to address questions specific to their area or region, including “What are cases in my neighborhood?”, “How long are schools shut down?” and “Where can I get tested?”
IBM is offering Watson Assistant for Citizens for no charge for at least 90 days and will assist with initial set up, which can typically be done in a few days. The initial solution is available in English and Spanish and can be tailored to 13 languages.
The offer includes access to 15 pre-trained COVID-19 “intents” or queries. “Intents” are purposes or goals that are expressed in a customer’s input, such as answering a question. By recognizing the intent expressed in a customer’s input, the Watson Assistant service can choose the correct dialog flow for responding to it.
Clients can also work with IBM to customize the offering on top of the base model and intents to include information related specifically to a city or region for specific information that is pertinent to those citizens or constituents, as well as integrate with client’s back-end ERP systems.
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/ibm-offers-and-quot-watson-assistant-for-citizens-and-quot-to-provide-responses-to-covid-19-questions/
With COVID-19 affecting 206 countries, areas and territories, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is helping government agencies, healthcare organizations and academic institutions throughout the world use AI to put critical data and information into the hands of their citizens.
“While helping government agencies and healthcare institutions use AI to get critical information out to their citizens remains a high priority right now, the current environment has made it clear that every business in every industry should find ways to digitally engage with their clients and employees,” said Rob Thomas, general manager, IBM Data & AI. “With today’s news, IBM is taking years of experience in helping thousands of global businesses and institutions use Natural Language Processing and other advanced AI technologies to better meet the demands of their constituents, and now applying it to the COVID-19 crisis. AI has the power to be your assistant during this uncertain time.”
Watson Assistant for Citizens leverages currently available data from external sources, including guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and local sources such as links to school closings, news and documents on a state website. IBM already is delivering this service across the United States, as well as engaging with organizations globally in Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK and more.
Here are examples where IBM is engaging with government and healthcare agencies on Watson Assistant for Citizens:
- ARKANSAS: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – In 9 days, deployed a virtual agent so citizens can get their questions answered quickly about testing, symptoms or resources. Information is automatically sent to a mobile COVID-19 triage clinic electronically to help speed response. Average registration time has been reduced by fifty percent for those using the agent.
- CALIFORNIA: City of Lancaster in Los Angeles County – COVID-19 information for citizens on common questions such as symptoms and recommended procedures to follow in case of infection.
- GEORGIA: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – The “COVID-19 Pediatric Assessment Tool” walks parents through a series of questions and results in suggested next steps that a parent should take. Recommendations on next steps are made according to the healthcare system’s established protocols.
- NEW YORK: County of Otsego – COVID-19-related information will be available within the next few days for citizens to help them quickly get their health and non-health related questions answered regarding the pandemic. Otsego County’s COVID-19 virtual agent will be able to answer citizen’s questions like: “How do I apply for unemployment?”
- TEXAS: City of Austin – COVID-19-related information will soon be available for citizens with interactive conversation on where to get testing and other information.
- CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Ministry of Health – COVID-19 virtual agent called “Anežka” advises citizens about prevention, treatment and other related topics on the coronavirus.
- GREECE: Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance – COVID-19-related information for citizens and interactive conversation on preventive and precautionary measures issued by the Greek Government.
- POLAND: Polish Ministry of Health – COVID-19 information for Polish citizens on common questions such as symptoms and recommended procedures to follow in case of infection.
- SPAIN: Andalusian Government – A virtual agent to help respond to citizen’s queries about COVID-19 is available through the app “Salud Responde” and the Public Agency for Health Emergencies (EPES) website, built also in collaboration with the Andalusian Health Service (SAS).
- UK: National Health Service Wales: Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board – CERi, an English and Welsh speaking virtual assistant, will soon go live to support healthcare workers and the general public in Wales who need information or have questions on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 along with general information about the virus.
“The AI solution from IBM will be a great resource for the county’s residents and will help alleviate call center volume to allow county employees to dedicate efforts elsewhere,” said Brian Pokorny, Director of Information Technologies, County of Otsego, New York.
Using information provided by clients, Watson Assistant for Citizens automates responses to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 that come in via phone call or text, such as “What are symptoms?”, “How do I clean my home properly?” and “How do I protect myself?”
State and local government agencies, hospitals or other healthcare organizations can choose to customize the solution to address questions specific to their area or region, including “What are cases in my neighborhood?”, “How long are schools shut down?” and “Where can I get tested?”
IBM is offering Watson Assistant for Citizens for no charge for at least 90 days and will assist with initial set up, which can typically be done in a few days. The initial solution is available in English and Spanish and can be tailored to 13 languages.
The offer includes access to 15 pre-trained COVID-19 “intents” or queries. “Intents” are purposes or goals that are expressed in a customer’s input, such as answering a question. By recognizing the intent expressed in a customer’s input, the Watson Assistant service can choose the correct dialog flow for responding to it.
Clients can also work with IBM to customize the offering on top of the base model and intents to include information related specifically to a city or region for specific information that is pertinent to those citizens or constituents, as well as integrate with client’s back-end ERP systems.
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/ibm-offers-and-quot-watson-assistant-for-citizens-and-quot-to-provide-responses-to-covid-19-questions/
Vaccine ‘ultimate game changer’ as deaths cross 5,000
The first ‘human trial’ testing a potential
coronavirus vaccine is “on track” with public distribution still
projected in 12 to 18 months.
That’s according to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said the vaccine, being developed with Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), will be the “ultimate game changer” in the fight against the pandemic.
Total deaths in the U.S. related to coronavirus
have reached 5,138, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins
University, with 216,722 cases reported across the nation.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3557682-vaccine-ultimate-game-changer-deaths-cross-5000Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Novartis Scraps Sale of Sandoz Assets to Aurobindo
Novartis AG said Thursday that it has canceled the divestment of the
U.S. generic oral solids and dermatology businesses of its subsidiary
Sandoz to Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc.
The Swiss drug maker said the decision was taken mutually after they didn’t receive approval for the deal from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission “within anticipated timelines.”
The Sandoz assets will continue to operate as part of Sandoz’s U.S. business, Novartis said.
https://www.marketscreener.com/NOVARTIS-9364983/news/Novartis-Scraps-Sale-of-Sandoz-Assets-to-Aurobindo-30293308/
The Swiss drug maker said the decision was taken mutually after they didn’t receive approval for the deal from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission “within anticipated timelines.”
The Sandoz assets will continue to operate as part of Sandoz’s U.S. business, Novartis said.
https://www.marketscreener.com/NOVARTIS-9364983/news/Novartis-Scraps-Sale-of-Sandoz-Assets-to-Aurobindo-30293308/
10 Biotech Winners And Losers In Q1
The quarter was brutal to say the least for most asset classes amid
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The S&P 500 Index was down
about 20% for the quarter.
Amid the market mayhem, some health care stocks defied the downturn, thanks to announcements concerning development of drug/vaccine/diagnostic tests for new coronavirus.
Focusing on biotechs (leaving out diagnostics stocks), here the top five winners and losers for the quarter.
After ending 2019 in penny stock territory, shares of this gene therapy company began to gain ground after the company announced Fast Track Designation for its immunogene therapy in combination with AstraZeneca’s AZN 2.04% Tagrisso for treating lung cancer. The momentum accelerated after it signed an exclusive agreement to license a diabetes gene therapy from the University of Pittsburgh.
After topping $7 in late February, the stock came off the highs amid the COVID-19 sell-off and managed to end the quarter with huge gains.
Vaxart Inc VXRT 2.26%: (+405.71%)
Vaxart is a COVID-19 play and much of the quarter’s gains were achieved on the back of the experimental oral vaccine candidate it’s developing in partnership with Emergent Biosolutions Inc EBS 5.91%.
Ibio Inc IBIO 2.7%: (+324%)
Ibio, which develops human therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering, joined the fray for a COVID-19 vaccine, which explains the surge in the stock.
Novavax, Inc. NVAX 3.31% (+241.2%)
Novavax was the beneficiary of dual catalysts: a COVID-19 vaccine in development and positive late-stage readout for its flu vaccine.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc TRIL 12.62%: (+192.23%)
This immuno-oncology company did not have much developments to justify its gain for the quarter.
Following a jump of about 63% in a single session in late February, the company issued a statement that said “it is not aware of any material, undisclosed information related to the company that would account for the recent increase in the market price and level of trading volume of its common shares.”
This cardiovascular-diseases-focused biopharma was cruising along fine until COVID-19 sell-off started in March. The real punch came from an adverse clinical readout.
Novan Inc NOVN 1.05%: (-84.97%)
Novan, which leverages on nitric oxide’s naturally occurring anti-microbial and immunomodulatory mechanisms of action to treat various diseases, fell steeply at the start of the year. The trigger was a late-stage readout of its SB206 in molluscum contagiosum, which showed that the pipeline asset did not achieve statistically significant results for the primary endpoint.
The stock did not recover from this onslaught.
Acasti Pharma Inc ACST 13.04%: (-84.49%)
Acasti also succumbed to a negative clinical readout for its lead prescription drug candidate CaPre, which did not achieve statistical significance for the primary endpoint of a late-stage study that evaluated it for treating elevated levels of triglycerides.
The company is now seeking FDA guidance for unblinding data from another Phase 3 study, and therefore expects a delay in reporting of topline results until the third quarter.
Salarius Pharmaceuticals Inc SLRX 4.11%: (-81.98%)
This oncology-focused biotech gradually declined through the quarter, with some steep sell-off materializing amid its presentation at the BIO CEO & Investor conference in mid-February.
Amarin Corporation plc AMRN 24.5%: (-81.34%)
Amarin shares, which ran up ahead and after the late-December FDA verdict on its application seeking label expansion for its fish oil pill, pulled back in January. The weakness intensified through the market meltdown. A negative court ruling sent the stock reeling this week.
https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/20/04/15720001/10-biotech-winners-and-losers-in-q1
Amid the market mayhem, some health care stocks defied the downturn, thanks to announcements concerning development of drug/vaccine/diagnostic tests for new coronavirus.
Focusing on biotechs (leaving out diagnostics stocks), here the top five winners and losers for the quarter.
The Winners
Genprex Inc GNPX 9.09%: (+656.25%)After ending 2019 in penny stock territory, shares of this gene therapy company began to gain ground after the company announced Fast Track Designation for its immunogene therapy in combination with AstraZeneca’s AZN 2.04% Tagrisso for treating lung cancer. The momentum accelerated after it signed an exclusive agreement to license a diabetes gene therapy from the University of Pittsburgh.
After topping $7 in late February, the stock came off the highs amid the COVID-19 sell-off and managed to end the quarter with huge gains.
Vaxart Inc VXRT 2.26%: (+405.71%)
Vaxart is a COVID-19 play and much of the quarter’s gains were achieved on the back of the experimental oral vaccine candidate it’s developing in partnership with Emergent Biosolutions Inc EBS 5.91%.
Ibio Inc IBIO 2.7%: (+324%)
Ibio, which develops human therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering, joined the fray for a COVID-19 vaccine, which explains the surge in the stock.
Novavax, Inc. NVAX 3.31% (+241.2%)
Novavax was the beneficiary of dual catalysts: a COVID-19 vaccine in development and positive late-stage readout for its flu vaccine.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc TRIL 12.62%: (+192.23%)
This immuno-oncology company did not have much developments to justify its gain for the quarter.
Following a jump of about 63% in a single session in late February, the company issued a statement that said “it is not aware of any material, undisclosed information related to the company that would account for the recent increase in the market price and level of trading volume of its common shares.”
The Losers
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc MIST 2.72%: (-88.51%)This cardiovascular-diseases-focused biopharma was cruising along fine until COVID-19 sell-off started in March. The real punch came from an adverse clinical readout.
Novan Inc NOVN 1.05%: (-84.97%)
Novan, which leverages on nitric oxide’s naturally occurring anti-microbial and immunomodulatory mechanisms of action to treat various diseases, fell steeply at the start of the year. The trigger was a late-stage readout of its SB206 in molluscum contagiosum, which showed that the pipeline asset did not achieve statistically significant results for the primary endpoint.
The stock did not recover from this onslaught.
Acasti Pharma Inc ACST 13.04%: (-84.49%)
Acasti also succumbed to a negative clinical readout for its lead prescription drug candidate CaPre, which did not achieve statistical significance for the primary endpoint of a late-stage study that evaluated it for treating elevated levels of triglycerides.
The company is now seeking FDA guidance for unblinding data from another Phase 3 study, and therefore expects a delay in reporting of topline results until the third quarter.
Salarius Pharmaceuticals Inc SLRX 4.11%: (-81.98%)
This oncology-focused biotech gradually declined through the quarter, with some steep sell-off materializing amid its presentation at the BIO CEO & Investor conference in mid-February.
Amarin Corporation plc AMRN 24.5%: (-81.34%)
Amarin shares, which ran up ahead and after the late-December FDA verdict on its application seeking label expansion for its fish oil pill, pulled back in January. The weakness intensified through the market meltdown. A negative court ruling sent the stock reeling this week.
https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/20/04/15720001/10-biotech-winners-and-losers-in-q1
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