Airline pilot comes to blows with flight attendant over masks

 

• USA Today reports a Southwest Airlines pilot and flight attendant were involved in an altercation at a hotel bar in San Jose, Calif., last month.
• The pilot was cited for assault and battery.
• The airline put the pilot on leave while the incident is under investigation.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was cited for assault and battery following an alleged fight with a flight attendant at a California hotel over a disagreement on COVID-19 masks, according to USA Today. 

The outlet reports the altercation occurred at a hotel bar in San Jose, Calif., last month where the crew was spending the night after a flight. 

“The event involved a disagreement over mask wearing or masks,” Sgt. Christian Camarillo, a public information officer for the San Jose Police Department, told USA Today. 

The official declined to provide additional details on what led up to the dispute. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is reportedly reviewing the case for potential charges. 

The airline put the pilot on leave while the incident is under investigation. 

Days after the dispute, Southwest executives sent a memo to pilots and flight attendants saying “Being off-duty is never an excuse to ignore the Golden Rule.”

“We realize there has been a steady drumbeat over the last 19 months about civility and respectful discourse — and that is for good reason. Many of our people have been faced with an uncomfortable situation where their beliefs are not shared by someone else, resulting in a confrontation of some kind,” the memo reportedly said. 

“And for every situation we hear about, there are dozens more for which we don’t. It is vital that we treat everyone with respect and honor our differences without pushing our ideals on someone else,” the memo said.

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/579678-airline-pilot-comes-to-blows-with-flight-attendant-over-masks

Oklahoma Gov. asks Pentagon to drop vaccine mandate for National Guardsmen

 Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is asking Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to suspend the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the Oklahoma National Guard.

In a letter to Austin, Stitt said Tuesday that the mandate “violates the personal freedoms of many Oklahomans, as it asks them to potentially sacrifice their personal beliefs in order to not lose their jobs.” 

“These are patriotic citizens who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect others in our communities during times of greatest need,” Stitt said.

Austin ordered all service members to “immediately” get vaccinated against COVID-19 in late August after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine.  

About 97 percent of the total force has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday.

Deadlines for the mandate differ between the military branches. The first deadline, for active duty Air Force personnel, is Tuesday, while all air National Guard members and reservists have to be vaccinated by Dec. 2. 

Meanwhile, all active duty Army troops have to be vaccinated by Dec. 15, while Army reservists and National Guard units have to be fully vaccinated by June 30, 2022.

In his letter, Stitt told Austin that he estimates over 800 Oklahoma guardsmen “have not and do not plan” on getting vaccinated, representing 10 percent of the total force.

The governor said it was “irresponsible” to impose the mandate, which could “potentially limit the number of individuals that I can call upon to assist the state during an emergency.”

“I sincerely ask that you reconsider the policy of mandating COVID-19 vaccination for all national guardsmen in Oklahoma,” he continued.

The letter comes as the GOP sounds the alarm on the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate and the Biden administration’s forthcoming mandates for private employers and federal contractors.

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe (R), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote a letter to Austin asking him to suspend the mandate last month.

“At a time when our adversaries continue to increase their quantitative and qualitative advantage against our forces, we should seek to ensure that no policy, even unintentionally, hinders military readiness,” Inhofe said at the time.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/579683-oklahoma-gov-asks-pentagon-to-drop-vaccine-mandate-for-national-guardsmen

Schumer announces deal to lower prescription drug prices

 Democratic lawmakers have reached a deal on legislation to lower prescription drug prices to be included in President Biden's social spending package, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday.  

The agreement is less far-reaching than earlier Democratic proposals, but it still represents progress on an issue the party has campaigned on for years.  

The agreement would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices in limited instances, prevent drug companies from raising prices faster than inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per year.

Democrats scaled back their earlier sweeping measure because of concerns from a handful of moderates that it would have harmed innovation from drug companies to develop new treatments. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) as well as Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) were among those moderates and helped lead negotiations with leadership over the compromise measure.

"It's not everything we all wanted. Many of us would have wanted to go much further, but it's a big step in helping the American people deal with the price of drugs," Schumer told reporters on Tuesday.

Sinema said in a statement that she supported the agreement.

"The Senator welcomes a new agreement on a historic, transformative Medicare drug negotiation plan that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors - ensuring drug prices cannot rise faster than inflation - save taxpayer dollars, and protect innovation to ensure Arizonans and Americans continue to have access to life-saving medications, and new cures and therapeutics," Sinema's office said.

One of the key compromises leading to a deal was limiting the scope of Medicare's ability to negotiate lower drug prices, which has long been a signature Democratic proposal. Lawmakers agreed to limit Medicare's ability to negotiate to older drugs that no longer have "exclusivity," meaning the period when they are protected from competition. Earlier versions of Democratic bills would have allowed negotiation for newer drugs too.

A draft measure that circulated to lobbyists in recent days would allow negotiation for 10 drugs starting in 2025 and 30 drugs starting in 2028. 

The final deal would extend the limits on drug prices rising faster than inflation to people with private health insurance plans as well, which has been a point of debate at some points in the process.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had championed Democrats' earlier, more sweeping drug price bill for years, praised that provision and the agreement overall. Pelosi spoke to Sinema over the weekend to help finalize the agreement, according to Sinema's office.

“For a generation, House Democrats have been fighting to deliver real drug price negotiations that will lower costs," Pelosi said. "With today’s agreement on strong lower drug price provisions for the Build Back Better Act, Democrats have a path forward to make good on this transformational agenda for our seniors."

She said the legislative text is still being drafted.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/579660-schumer-announces-deal-to-lower-prescription-drug-prices

JPMorgan to restrict trading of U.S. cannabis stocks -letter

 JPMorgan Chase & Co has told prime brokerage clients it will no longer let them buy U.S. cannabis-related securities beginning Nov. 8, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The move follows similar actions by other prime brokerages, like Credit Suisse, aimed at reducing risk of regulatory action after the fallout from the high-profile collapses of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital earlier in the year.

Cannabis remains illegal under U.S. federal law, even though many states have legalized its medical or recreational use. This represents a legal risk for investment banks working for companies that produce or trade the drug.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-jpmorgan-restrict-trading-u-200322715.html

First Day Trading a Letdown for LianBio in Shadow of Beijing Market Crackdown

 Monday was a big day for LianBio, as the Shanghai-based company launched on the Nasdaq with an impressive $325 million initial public offering (IPO). However, the initial market result was less thrilling as the company fell 14% in its U.S. trading debut. 

The bicontinental biotech, which was launched by Perceptive Advisors in August 2020, hit the U.S. market in the shadow of a cybersecurity probe into Didi Global Inc., which debuted on the Nasdaq at the end of June. This preceded a perceived crackdown on China’s corporations in July. 

Didi Global’s U.S. listing was the largest by a Chinese company since 2014 and the probe triggered a reduction of about $1 trillion from the aggregate market value of China’s listed firms. LianBio, which has its headquarters in both Shanghai and Princeton, New Jersey, was the first to test the waters following this change in tone.

At the stated IPO price of $16 for each of its 20.3 million American shares, LianBio should have had a market value of $1.68 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, shares opened Monday trading at $15.50 and closed at $13.70 in New York, leaving the company instead, with a market value of $1.44 billion. At press time, LianBio was trading at $13.55 per share. 

LianBio, which came out of stealth mode already boasting multiple strategic alliances with BridgeBio Pharma, MyoKardia, and BridgeBio Pharma affiliate companies Navire Pharma and QED Therapeutics, has since also partnered with Pfizer in an open-ended development collaboration and Landos Biopharma on a pair of colitis and Crohn’s drugs. 

With a mission to bring the most innovative medicines to the Chinese marketplace, particularly in areas of highest unmet need for the region, LianBio’s lead asset is Myokardia (BMS)’s mavacamten. The drug is being developed for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic, progressive disease driven by excessive cardiac contractility that causes the heart's walls to thicken. 

According to LianBio, there are 290 million people in China with cardiovascular disease. The company also has assets across the oncology, respiratory, ophthalmology and inflammatory disease spaces. LianBio is headed by bicontinental pharma industry veteran Yizhe Wang, Ph.D., who signed on as CEO in May.

Bloomberg revealed that even Chinese companies with little to no presence in mainland China are warning about risks they are facing from Beijing’s crackdown on businesses. For example, when Billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings Ltd. filed for a U.S. IPO in September, its prospectus stated that though it has “no substantive operations” on the mainland, Chinese laws – if applied – could have a material impact on its business.

Though LianBio’s prospectus claimed it does not hold personally identifiable data on patients in China or have a variable interest entity in its corporate structure, it still highlighted on the front page that there are “significant legal and operational risks associated with having the majority of our operations in China.” The company specifically pointed to potential changes in the Chinese government's legal, political, and economic policies.

https://www.biospace.com/article/first-day-trading-a-letdown-for-lianbio-in-shadow-of-beijing-market-crackdown/

Report: BlueCrossBlueShield Post Shows Biogen Aduhelm Seen 'Medically Necessary' For Alzheimers

 https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/11/23835932/biogen-shares-move-higher-traders-circulate-bluecrossblueshield-posting-showing-cos-aduhelm-consider

Semler Scientific: Lake Street Adjusts Semler Scientific PT to $175 From $200

 Maintains Buy Rating

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/SEMLER-SCIENTIFIC-INC-120795486/news/Lake-Street-Adjusts-Semler-Scientific-PT-to-175-From-200-Maintains-Buy-Rating-36870139/