Acadia Healthcare Acquires CenterPointe Behavioral Health System

 Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHC) today announced the Company has completed the acquisition of CenterPointe Behavioral Health System, the largest dedicated behavioral healthcare provider in the state of Missouri. The acquired assets consist of four inpatient hospitals with 260 acute care beds and 46 specialty beds for substance use and 10 outpatient locations. CenterPointe operates behavioral health networks through regional hubs in St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia. Acadia funded the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit facility.

Commenting on the announcement, Debbie Osteen, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Healthcare, stated, "The acquisition of CenterPointe provides a unique opportunity for Acadia to extend our footprint in high growth markets. This transaction aligns with our growth strategy to expand our operations through select acquisitions that meet the criteria of our disciplined capital allocation framework. As a certificate of need state, Missouri is an attractive market for an acquisition transaction."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/acadia-healthcare-announces-acquisition-centerpointe-210500827.html

Ministers 'confident' no more Covid curbs needed in England as case growth slows

 Ministers are 'quietly confident' that further Covid restrictions in England can be avoided and say there is 'nothing' in the data to suggest they will be needed despite the recent surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant.

The UK recorded 137,583 new Covid infections yesterday, a week-on-week increase of 14.7% which is lower than over the preceding days.

However data from Scotland was omitted from that total and Scots were today warned that April could be 'too early' to be planning large parties in a sign that Nicola Sturgeon's tougher Covid rules could be extended for months. 

Ministers will review the plan B measures and travel testing requirements this week, and while many restrictions are expected to remain in place, a senior government source told the Times that pre-departure tests could soon be scrapped. 

Growth in Covid hospitalisations in London - seen as a leading indicator of what may happen in the rest of the country - slowed in the run-up to New Year, new official figures revealed yesterday, although holiday reporting glitches could be affecting the total.

There were 319 patients admitted to hospital in London on December 31, a 14 per cent rise on the same day a week before, and 450 on 30 December which is a 15 per cent rise week-on-week.

While a holiday effect may be artificially keeping those numbers low, the rate of increase is well behind the days before that saw a 32% increase on December 29 to 511 admissions.

Edward Argar, a minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, said he was 'seeing nothing at the moment in the data right in front of me in the immediate situation that suggests a need for further restrictions'.

'We need cool, calm heads,' Argar said in an interview with Times Radio. 'We need to look at the data and we need to do everything possible to avoid any restrictions.' 

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay said that an uptake in testing showed that 'the British public are taking sensible steps to keep themselves safe'.

'We've seen significant behaviour change as a result of Plan B. That's why there has been such a demand for testing in recent weeks,' he said.

'That, combined with the booster programme, is the key way as a country that we will avoid the need for further measures.' 

In other Covid developments:

• The Education Secretary said entire classes may need to be merged into larger groups or sent home to work remotely due to teacher absences caused by coronavirus 
• Fewer Covid patients in hospital are relying on ventilation compared to previous peaks during the pandemic, it has been revealed 
• Britain's streets may soon be littered with rubbish after bin collections were cancelled across the country in the face of severe staff shortages

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10363189/Ministers-confident-NO-Covid-curbs-needed-England-Scots-face-fun-ban-SPRING.html

 

Immix CEO On FDA Designation, Positioning, Price Action

Immix Biopharma Inc 

IMMX +75.84%

 (Get Free Alerts for IMMX) stock is soaring Monday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation for IMX-110 for the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma, a life-threatening form of pediatric cancer in children.

"This clearly provides additional opportunities for us and represents tremendous value for us as a company in addition to the validation of this technology," Immix CEO Ilya Rachman said Monday on "Benzinga Live."

It has been historically difficult to motivate companies to develop therapies for smaller pediatric populations, so there have been regulatory pathways developed to help incentivize companies, the CEO said. 

Companies are now incentivized through vouchers, which can be worth $65 million to $300 million, Rachman said.

"The RPD designation puts us in a position of eligibility to receive the PRV (Priority Review Voucher)."

The voucher's value is dependent upon overall market conditions, the industry's development and investor perceptions, he said. 

"We are sticking to the timelines, working hard to meet them," Rachman said. 

What's Next For Immix: The capital the company has raised has put it in a "fantastic position," the CEO said. He told Benzinga he does not expect that the company will need to raise additional funds in 2022. 

IMX-110 is in Phase 1b trials. Rachman told Benzinga that investors can anticipate quarterly readouts as the trials progress, as well as pre-clinical data from other downstream candidates.

Commenting on the stock's price action today, Rachman said the move isn't "insane."

"We think that this is the beginning of the validation where markets ... begin to understand the potential, the technology and what we represent."

https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/22/01/24867764/exclusive-immix-ceo-on-fda-designation-positioning-price-action-on-benzinga-live

COVID-19 infections spiking in US Capitol

 Coronavirus infections in the U.S. Capitol have skyrocketed, with the seven-day average positivity rate rising from less than 1 percent to greater than 13 percent, according to a memo sent to lawmakers Monday from Capitol physician Brian Monahan.

According to Monahan, the daily case rates will increase even more substantially in the coming weeks. Dozens of infections are discovered daily, and the cases represent both a rising rate of "breakthrough infections" among mostly vaccinated individuals as well as cases in several unvaccinated individuals.

The increase in cases at the Capitol corresponds to a historic spike in the greater Washington, D.C., region as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads. According to Monahan, omicron represents approximately 61 percent of positive tests, and the delta virus variant represents 38 percent.

"The most common risk of acquiring infection is the individual's activities outside the workplace, such as attendance at receptions, entertainment venues, celebrations, family gatherings, travel, and crowded indoor situations," Monahan wrote. 

While the majority of the cases are found in vaccinated individuals, Monahan noted those infections have not led to hospitalizations, serious complications or deaths, "attesting to the value of coronavirus vaccinations." 

The numbers also reflect a high percentage of people who are vaccinated — with higher numbers of vaccinated people, there will be higher numbers of breakthrough infections. Most cases are relatively mild, but older individuals and those with underlying medical conditions may experience severe disease even if vaccinated. The best protection against the omicron variant is to get a booster shot. 

Sixty-five percent of cases at the Capitol are symptomatic, while 35 percent are asymptomatic.

The Capitol complex is not changing the rules regarding masks indoors; they are required in the House but not in the Senate. However, Monahan said masks need to be upgraded. 

"Blue surgical masks, cloth face masks and gaiter masks must be replaced by the more protective KN95 or N95 masks," Monahan wrote. 

He recommended offices adopt telework as much as possible to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities. Additionally, Capitol food vendors and dining facilities will emphasize carry-out, delivery and grab-and-go-type food options.

"Measures to address coronavirus spread remain essential. While some view the SARS CoV2 coronavirus disease as 'endemic,' the 'new normal,' and 'inevitable,' these views are premature. The entire community must continue to take every measure to suppress the rapid spread of this disease," the memo stated.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/588010-covid-infections-spiking-in-us-capitol

DeSantis calls for states to be allowed to buy monoclonal antibody treatments

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on the federal government to allow states to purchase monoclonal antibody treatments on Monday as his state and the country are slammed with COVID-19 cases.

The governor said during a press conference in Fort Lauderdale that the state is waiting to obtain enough doses to open five to 10 more monoclonal antibody treatment sites. But with the federal government in “control” of the supply, that plan is “all contingent on the federal government sending the doses we need,” he said.

Under the federal government’s “exclusive arrangement,” DeSantis said he does not think Florida is able to purchase its own monoclonal antibodies, although the state has set aside money in case the option becomes available.  

“We’re past the point now where we’re able to get it directly from any of these companies,” DeSantis said. “The federal government has cornered the entire market.”

“We do not believe that the federal government should be holding back any more medications,” he added. “We have to offer this particularly for our elderly population.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) paused the distribution of some monoclonal antibody treatments, including from Regeneron, in recent weeks after preliminary data showed a reduced effectiveness against the omicron variant. 

But the governor said HHS “decided to reverse course,” and the state expects to receive between 30,000 and 40,000 additional antibody doses. 

While DeSantis said officials believe cases are “overwhelmingly” attributable to the omicron variant in the state, especially in South Florida, he noted that “delta is still there.”

“It may not be as good as it was against delta, but we obviously want to have that here for patients to be able to do it,” he said.

Florida has seen its COVID-19 cases climb more than eight times higher in two weeks, according to data from The New York Times. The state’s hospitalizations have tripled in that time, but deaths are still declining. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) also requested federal assistance, including for more monoclonal antibody treatments, last week as the state faces climbing case counts.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/588020-desantis-calls-for-states-to-be-allowed-to-buy-monoclonal-antibody

Emergence in Southern France of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of probably Cameroonian origin

 Philippe Colson, Jérémy Delerce, Emilie Burel, Jordan Dahan, Agnès Jouffret, Florence Fenollar, Nouara Yahi, Jacques Fantini, Bernard La Scola, Didier Raoult

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.24.21268174

This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

PDF: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.24.21268174v1.full.pdf

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 variants have become a major virological, epidemiological and clinical concern, particularly with regard to the risk of escape from vaccine-induced immunity. Here we describe the emergence of a new variant. For twelve SARS-CoV-positive patients living in the same geographical area of southeastern France, qPCR testing that screen for variant-associated mutations showed an atypical combination. The index case returned from a travel in Cameroon. The genomes were obtained by next-generation sequencing with Oxford Nanopore Technologies on GridION instruments within ≈8 h. Their analysis revealed 46 mutations and 37 deletions resulting in 30 amino acid substitutions and 12 deletions. Fourteen amino acid substitutions, including N501Y and E484K, and 9 deletions are located in the spike protein. This genotype pattern led to create a new Pangolin lineage named B.1.640.2, which is a phylogenetic sister group to the old B.1.640 lineage renamed B.1.640.1. Both lineages differ by 25 nucleotide substitutions and 33 deletions. The mutation set and phylogenetic position of the genomes obtained here indicate based on our previous definition a new variant we named “IHU”. These data are another example of the unpredictability of the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and of their introduction in a given geographical area from abroad.

Competing Interest Statement

DR has a conflict of interest being a consultant for Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, Japan from 2018 to 2020. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

Funding Statement

This work was supported by the French Government under the Investments for the Future program managed by the National Agency for Research (ANR), no. Mediterranee-Infection 10-IAHU-03 Region Provence Alpes Cote d Azur and European funding FEDER PRIMMI (Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional-Plateformes de Recherche et d Innovation Mutualisees Mediterranee Infection), no. FEDER PA 0000320 PRIMMI Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.24.21268174v1

New COVID-19 Variant With 46 Mutations Discovered In Southern France

 Since its arrival in late November, the unquestionably mild Omicron strain of Covid-19 has sent daily new infections to record highs, while hospital admissions - and particularly deaths - have remained relatively low compared to the giant new denominator.

But it was only a matter of time before a new variant hit the scene. Like omicron, it appears this new variant originated in an African country  - Cameroon - after being isolated by scientists in southern France.

The first official case is reported to be a traveler from Cameroon, and it's now spreading in Southern France where at least 12 people have been infected with it, according to research published on medrvix.

To be clear - we know virtually nothing about this new strain aside from the fact that it exists. Nothing on severity, transmissibility, 'long covid', etc. We do know it's highly mutated from the original strain, much like Omicron. It's also too soon to tell if it will be classified as a 'variant of concern.'

In the medrvix preprint, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, experts from a French government-backed program said they had identified 46 mutations in the variant.

"SARS-CoV-2 variants have become a major virological, epidemiological and clinical concern, particularly with regard to the risk of escape from vaccine-induced immunity," the paper's authors wrote.

The scientists also postulated that the new variant was probably of "Cameroonian" origin. Readers can find the complete report below. The variant has been given the name B.1.640.2, and was first detected by experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in Marseille.

According to the paper, the scientists' analysis of the variant's genome revealed 46 mutations and "37 deletions resulting in 30 amino acid substitutions and 12 deletions. Fourteen 43 amino acid substitutions, including N501Y and E484K, and 9 deletions are located in the 44 spike protein."

Read the full report below:

2021.12.24.21268174v1.full on Scribd

New variants are discovered frequently, but most don't go on to become "variants of concern", like omicron, delta and beta. The WHO has assigned each variant of concern with a name from the Greek alphabet (the first was "alpha", the second "beta", while letters "Xi" and "Nu" have been skipped because they are "confusing", per the WHO).

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/new-variant-46-mutations-discovered-southern-france