AIM ImmunoTech (NYSEMKT:AIM) has filed
a provisional patent application for the use of its experimental drug
Ampligen as a potential early-onset therapy for the treatment of
COVID-19 induced chronic fatigue, which shows similarities to Myalgic
Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3582287-aim-immunotech-files-provisional-patent-for-use-of-ampligen-in-covidminus-19
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Exelixis launches late-stage study of Cabometyx combo in lung cancer
Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) initiates a
Phase 3 clinical trial, CONTACT-01, evaluating the combination of
Cabometyx (cabozantinib) and Roche’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab) in
patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who have been
previously treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor nd platinum-based
chemo.
The primary endpoint of the 350-subject study is overall survival.
The company plans two additional Phase 3s, in
metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and renal cell
carcinoma, under its clinical trial collaboration with Roche.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3582292-exelixis-launches-late-stage-study-of-cabometyx-combo-in-lung-cancerTwist Bio expands offering of synthetic coronavirus controls
Twist Bioscience (TWST -3.3%) has added four new synthetic SARS-CoV-2 controls to its offering that include new variants of the coronavirus.
It launched its first two controls in March.
Controls are used in the development and validation of diagnostic tests.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3582295-twist-bio-expands-offering-of-synthetic-coronavirus-controlsWhite House, GOP push relief talks to late July – CNBC
The Trump administration and Republican negotiators are not planning
to hold formal talks on a fourth COVID-19 stimulus package until after
Congress returns from recess in late July, CNBC reports, citing senior
administration officials and senior GOP aides.
The two houses are scheduled to return to D.C. on
July 21, some 10 days before some of the programs in the CARES Act, such
as enhanced unemployment insurance, are set to end.
GOP lawmakers and the administrators now have some
positive data on unemployment and data showing that a good chunk of
previous stimulus funds remain unspent.
“We want to be careful at this point, seeing how
much money is in the economy,” Mnuchin testified to the Senate committee
on Small Business on Wednesday. “A lot of the money is still not in
it.”
The administration estimates that more than half
of funds from the last three stimulus programs remains “unobligated,” or
not yet spent.
President Trump has said there will be another round of stimulus.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3582297-white-house-gop-push-relief-talks-to-late-july-cnbcModerna moves forward with Phase 3 study of COVID-19 vaccine
The company has finalized its Phase 3 study protocol, and the trial of mRNA-1273 on about 30K subjects is expected to begin next month.
The primary endpoint of the randomized, placebo-controlled trial will be prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 disease.
Collaborating with Lonza, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) remains on track to be able to deliver about 500M doses per year, and maybe up to 1B doses per year beginning in 2021.
Shares are down 0.95% premarket. Updating at 8:11 AM ET: Shares have now moved into the green, up 2.4% premarket.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3582229-moderna-moves-forward-phase-3-study-of-covidminus-19-vaccineWednesday, June 10, 2020
Why I Am Proud To Be A Trader
For years, I’ve heard all the cliches: Traders are money-hungry and selfish; traders rape the public; traders are egotistical a**holes; traders take advantage of the public; etc. etc. etc.
For years, I’ve let it pass. How do you respond to people who don’t know what they don’t know?
They don’t see the young people I work with who are learning skills from the ground up, working every single day to master complexity, to master themselves.
They don’t see that two-thirds of the investors in the hedge funds where I work are pension funds, dedicated to preserving and growing the life savings of hard working Americans.
They don’t see the teamwork that goes into success; they don’t see the hours spent staying up at night wrestling with ideas and positions; they don’t see the daily mentoring, the daily preparation, the daily dedication to improvement.
And if portfolio managers and traders combine their talents, skills, and efforts to become successful, they are labeled by certain politicians as “looters”, as part of the “one percent” that preys upon the public.
For years I’ve let it pass, but now it has to be said:
The successful people I work with have earned every penny of their success. I work with them, I see their efforts, and I see the dedication they bring to trading and investing the capital of those who trust them.
I am proud to be a trader.
I am proud to work with traders.
Ayn Rand said it best:
The symbol of all relationships among [rational] men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws.
As this post explains, success in financial markets requires that we become our best selves. Trading pushes us to evolve. When we make the most of ourselves, we have more to bring to the world.
There will always be envy. There will always be resentment and negativity. Illegitimi Non Carborundum. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Be all you can be as a trader and you will have made a great investment in life, one that rewards you and others for years to come.
Brett
Coronavirus and asthma: what we know so far
When the new coronavirus arrived in early 2020, people with asthma were identified as being at higher risk
from the disease. Judgements about who was at increased risk had to be
made on the best available evidence—which wasn’t much. Data from China
was only just emerging and COVID-19 had yet to reach pandemic status.
Given that asthma is a lung disease and COVID-19 targets the lungs, it made sense that people with asthma would be considered at higher risk, as they are from other respiratory illnesses. But as more data emerged, the picture became less clear.
Hospital data represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to COVID-19 infections. Most people who are infected won’t be ill enough to be sent to hospital. Some won’t even know they have the disease. But without sustained and widespread testing, it’s the only data available.
Early studies from China and the US showed that the proportion of people with asthma coming to hospital with COVID-19 was lower than the proportion of people with asthma in the general population. Yet data from the UK suggests people with asthma are neither over nor underrepresented in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.
It is still possible that people with asthma are more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 than people without asthma, but issues with the studies are providing an inaccurate picture. It is also possible that the early findings might be genuine, and due to differences in immune responses or protective effects of certain asthma medications.
It is clear that risks from COVID-19 depend on a lot more than whether or not you have asthma, but most of the available data doesn’t go into this very much. People with more severe forms of asthma are considered at higher risk. There is hardly any information on how asthma might affect COVID-19 infection in young people because so few children become seriously ill with COVID-19.
Once in hospital, preliminary data from the UK shows that asthma is associated with an increased risk of dying with COVID-19.
Risks appear higher in people recently prescribed oral corticosteroids, which is one type of medication used for asthma. This does not necessarily mean oral corticosteroids themselves increase COVID-19 risk. People with more severe asthma are more likely to be prescribed these medications than people with less severe asthma and, as noted above, people with more severe asthma are considered at higher risk from COVID-19. In fact, some have speculated that oral corticosteroids might help protect against COVID-19, but the evidence for this is unclear.
What the guidance says
As well as the direct risks that COVID-19 infection poses to people with asthma, disruptions and changes brought on by the pandemic may affect asthma outcomes. Diagnosing and routinely monitoring asthma relies on a range of tests administered in face-to-face visits. But, to cut the risks of virus transmission, a lot of these services have been reduced.
Asthma UK has guidance on what people might expect from their usual asthma care at the moment. The advice is that people manage their asthma as well as possible to reduce risk from COVID-19. This includes restarting or continuing prescribed medications and avoiding known triggers, such as air pollution and cigarette smoke.
Some countries now recommend that people wear a face covering (not a surgical mask) in certain settings. Wearing a face covering may be difficult for some people with asthma, and the UK government has advised that people with respiratory conditions don’t need to wear face coverings if it is difficult for them to do so.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this pandemic has the potential to affect mental health and wellbeing and that this may be even more of a risk for people with long-term conditions, such as asthma. Anxiety and depression are associated with worse asthma control.
The charity, Asthma UK, recommends people with asthma stay active, look after their health, stay social, and ask for support.
While research continues to establish who is at high risk from COVID-19 infection, it’s important not to lose sight of the broader ways in which this pandemic may affect people with asthma—and the fact that some groups of people will be more affected than others. Both asthma and COVID-19 disproportionately affect people from more deprived communities and people from non-white ethnic groups. New ways of managing asthma will need to be found and they must be designed to minimise the impact of this double burden wherever possible.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-coronavirus-asthma.html
Given that asthma is a lung disease and COVID-19 targets the lungs, it made sense that people with asthma would be considered at higher risk, as they are from other respiratory illnesses. But as more data emerged, the picture became less clear.
Hospital data represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to COVID-19 infections. Most people who are infected won’t be ill enough to be sent to hospital. Some won’t even know they have the disease. But without sustained and widespread testing, it’s the only data available.
Early studies from China and the US showed that the proportion of people with asthma coming to hospital with COVID-19 was lower than the proportion of people with asthma in the general population. Yet data from the UK suggests people with asthma are neither over nor underrepresented in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.
It is still possible that people with asthma are more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 than people without asthma, but issues with the studies are providing an inaccurate picture. It is also possible that the early findings might be genuine, and due to differences in immune responses or protective effects of certain asthma medications.
It is clear that risks from COVID-19 depend on a lot more than whether or not you have asthma, but most of the available data doesn’t go into this very much. People with more severe forms of asthma are considered at higher risk. There is hardly any information on how asthma might affect COVID-19 infection in young people because so few children become seriously ill with COVID-19.
Once in hospital, preliminary data from the UK shows that asthma is associated with an increased risk of dying with COVID-19.
Risks appear higher in people recently prescribed oral corticosteroids, which is one type of medication used for asthma. This does not necessarily mean oral corticosteroids themselves increase COVID-19 risk. People with more severe asthma are more likely to be prescribed these medications than people with less severe asthma and, as noted above, people with more severe asthma are considered at higher risk from COVID-19. In fact, some have speculated that oral corticosteroids might help protect against COVID-19, but the evidence for this is unclear.
As well as the direct risks that COVID-19 infection poses to people with asthma, disruptions and changes brought on by the pandemic may affect asthma outcomes. Diagnosing and routinely monitoring asthma relies on a range of tests administered in face-to-face visits. But, to cut the risks of virus transmission, a lot of these services have been reduced.
Asthma UK has guidance on what people might expect from their usual asthma care at the moment. The advice is that people manage their asthma as well as possible to reduce risk from COVID-19. This includes restarting or continuing prescribed medications and avoiding known triggers, such as air pollution and cigarette smoke.
Some countries now recommend that people wear a face covering (not a surgical mask) in certain settings. Wearing a face covering may be difficult for some people with asthma, and the UK government has advised that people with respiratory conditions don’t need to wear face coverings if it is difficult for them to do so.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this pandemic has the potential to affect mental health and wellbeing and that this may be even more of a risk for people with long-term conditions, such as asthma. Anxiety and depression are associated with worse asthma control.
The charity, Asthma UK, recommends people with asthma stay active, look after their health, stay social, and ask for support.
While research continues to establish who is at high risk from COVID-19 infection, it’s important not to lose sight of the broader ways in which this pandemic may affect people with asthma—and the fact that some groups of people will be more affected than others. Both asthma and COVID-19 disproportionately affect people from more deprived communities and people from non-white ethnic groups. New ways of managing asthma will need to be found and they must be designed to minimise the impact of this double burden wherever possible.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-coronavirus-asthma.html
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)