Former Amazon warehouse worker sues over pay for COVID-19 screening

 A former Amazon warehouse worker is suing the retail giant for allegedly failing to pay her and other employees for time spent receiving COVID-19 screenings, claiming Amazon violated Colorado state law.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Jennifer Vincenzetti, had worked at two Amazon warehouses in Colorado Springs between October 2018 and December 2020. The lawsuit, filed last week, claimed that Amazon required employees to undergo a COVID-19 screening before they could start their work for the day, but it claimed that employees were not paid for time spent getting screened.

The lawsuit claimed that the wait for screenings could sometimes take as long as 20 to 60 minutes, leading to “to long lines outside and inside the facilities." According to the lawsuit, she and others, a class estimated to include 10,000 people, should have been compensated under Colorado law for “time worked” given that she was performing duties to the company.

“During the pandemic, Amazon’s warehouses remained open as essential services and I kept working as an essential worker. There were constant quarantines, and my coworkers and I feared exposure on a daily basis,” Vincenzetti, who is being represented by Denver-based Towards Justice, said in a statement. “During this time of unprecedented demand for Amazon’s services, the least Amazon could do is pay us for this time spent in COVID screenings, which were necessary to keep their pandemic-fueled supply lines uninterrupted by sick workers.”

David Seligman, the executive director of Towards Justice, said in a statement that “Amazon appears fine in making efforts to keep its workers safe, so long as the workers are the ones footing the bill.”

A spokesperson for Amazon declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing active litigation.  

The class-action lawsuit comes as the retail giant is under scrutiny for its work practices. California signed a law last month targeting Amazon’s speed quotas that would provide protections to employees who are unable to meet them due to the need to take a rest period or bathroom break. It would also have the ability to open up investigations if the employee injury rate at a warehouse was at least 1.5 percent higher than the average annual injury rate of the warehousing industry.

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/575709-former-amazon-warehouse-worker-sues-over-pay-for

Stealth Presents Positive SBT-272 Preclinical Data at ALS Meet

 Stealth BioTherapeutics Corp (Nasdaq: MITO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction, announced today the presentation of new promising data from a study evaluating the effects of SBT-272 in a murine model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The data were presented at the virtual 2021 Annual Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (NEALS) Meeting held October 6-7, 2021.

Mitochondrial dysfunction, including reduced mitochondrial length and density in primary motor neuron neurites, is known to be one of the earliest pathophysiological events in ALS, including familial ALS associated with mutations in TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). TDP-43 pathology has also been observed in multiple other neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Alzheimer's disease. SBT-272 is a novel, clinical-stage mitochondria-targeted product candidate which is known to cross the blood-brain barrier, with the potential to treat neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction.

This preclinical study evaluated the effects of SBT-272 on mitochondrial function, morphology, and motility in mouse corticospinal motor neurons with mutant TDP-43 pathology. Systemic administration of SBT-272 in rodents resulted in sustained SBT-272 levels across different regions of the brain and protected mitochondria against ischemic stress, confirming that the compound crosses the blood brain barrier and has mitoprotective effects. Mitochondrial motility, which was significantly impaired in TDP-43 upper motor neuron cultures, was improved in a dose-dependent manner with SBT-272 treatment. Mitochondrial ultrastructural defects associated with TDP-43 pathology were also reduced with SBT-272 treatment. The improved mitochondrial motility and ultrastructure were associated with improved axon outgrowth in cultured mutant TDP-43 neurons treated with SBT-272. These data highlight the potential of SBT-272 as a systemically administered therapy for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stealth-biotherapeutics-presents-positive-sbt-210000091.html

Allogene: Clinical Hold of AlloCAR T Trials Based on Single Patient Case

 

• Testing in a Patient with Low Blood Counts Showed a Chromosomal Abnormality in ALLO-501A CAR T Cells of Unclear Clinical Significance; Patient Achieved a Partial Response to Therapy

• Investigation Ongoing to Further Characterize the Finding, Including Any Clinical Relevance, Evidence of Clonal Expansion, or Potential Relationship to Gene Editing

• Company Believes Data from the ALPHA Trials Demonstrates a Favorable Clinical Profile of ALLO-501A

• FDA Continues to Review End of Phase 1 Materials for a Phase 2 Pivotal Trial of ALLO-501A

• Company to Host Conference Call Today at 2:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. ET

Conference Call and Webcast Details
Allogene will host a live conference call and webcast today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to provide a business update. To access the live conference call by telephone, please dial 1 (866) 940-5062 (U.S.) or 1 (409) 216-0618 (International). The conference ID number for the live call is 9746209. The webcast will be made available on the Company's website at www.allogene.com under the Investors tab in the News and Events section. Following the live audio webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website for approximately 30 days.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allogene-therapeutics-reports-fda-clinical-201500935.html

Recursion Pharmaceuticals Shares Rise After Fast Track Designation

 Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rose 8% to $20.03 after the company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast track designation for the investigation of REC-2282 for treatment of patients with NF2-mutated meningiomas, including neurofibromatosis type-2 disease-related meningiomas.

The biotechnology company said its REC-2282 is a potentially first-in-class, orally bioavailable, CNS-penetrant small molecule HDAC inhibitor being developed for the treatment of NF2-mutated meningiomas.

The fast track designation speeds up the review of investigational drugs to treat serious conditions and address unmet medical needs by enabling important drugs to get to patients earlier if approved. The designation can lead to more frequent interactions with the FDA, as well as accelerated approval and/or priority review eligibility if certain criteria are met.

The company said the fast track designation is moving the drug toward a Phase 2/3, randomized, multicenter study in patients with NF2-mutated meningiomas, which it expects to begin enrollment for early next year.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/RECURSION-PHARMACEUTICALS-121456074/news/Recursion-Pharmaceuticals-Shares-Rise-8-After-Fast-Track-Designation-36629293/

Appeals court rules for student-athletes who sought religious exemption from vaccine mandate

 An appeals court on Thursday ruled in favor of 16 Western Michigan University athletes who sought religious exemptions from their school’s vaccine mandate.

The court said in a 3-0 opinion it would not stop a decision by a federal judge to block a vaccine requirement for student-athletes who objected on religious grounds, The Associated Press reported. 

“We do not doubt (WMU’s) good faith, nor do we fail to appreciate the burdens COVID-19 has placed on this nation’s universities. ... But having announced a system under which student-athletes can seek individualized exemptions, the university must explain why it chose not to grant any to plaintiffs. And it did not fairly do so here,” the court said.U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said in the his initial injunction that other requirements on unvaccinated students such as mask-wearing are acceptable. 

Sixteen athletes  said they were denied a religious exemption to the university's vaccine requirement in order to play sports or ignored with no explanation by the school, according to the AP.

The court says the school will most likely lose if they go for a full appeal based on constitutional grounds. 

The case was filed at the end of August with Maloney issuing a temporary restraining order at the time.

Many schools have implemented a COVID-19 vaccine requirement but have given exemptions based on medical and religious grounds. 

Requirements for the COVID-19 vaccine have become popular for businesses, schools and large venues since the delta variant caused a spike in cases in the U.S.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/575803-appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-wmu-athletes-who-sought-exemption-from

iFIT Postpones IPO Due to Adverse Market Conditions

 iFIT Health & Fitness Inc., Logan, Utah, has postponed its previously announced initial public offering (IPO), the company announced on Oct. 7. iFIT made the decision based on adverse market conditions and will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering.

The company filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision for an IPO on Aug. 31. That filing has not yet become effective.

iFIT brands include Freemotion, NordicTrack, ProForm, Sweat, Weider and 29029.

Volatility of the market is focused mostly on inflation concerns, higher energy costs and defaults at Chinese property developers, according to a report by Reuters.

Several European companies have postponed IPOs, but iFIT is the first major U.S. company to do so, according to Reuters.

https://www.clubindustry.com/industry-news/ifit-postpones-ipo-due-adverse-market-conditions

Enanta started at Buy by Jefferies

 Target $95

https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=ENTA