GOP senator’s campaign says ‘cyber-criminal’ stole nearly $700,000

 The campaign for Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) revealed a “cyber-criminal” stole nearly $700,000 from the campaign in November. 

Moran campaign’s treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, wrote a letter to the Federal Election Commission last month to report that the campaign learned on Nov. 14, about a week after the election, that it made two payments totaling $690,000 for fraudulent invoices. 

The payments were for $345,000 each and happened on Oct. 25 and Nov. 9. 

The letter states that the campaign reported the incident to the Republic County Kansas Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 16, and the case was then transferred to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. 

It states that the campaign office was notified by Astra Bank on Nov. 23 that $168,184.03 was recovered from the Nov. 9 wire transfer from Wells Fargo Bank.

The Kansas City Star reported that a spokesperson for the campaign said cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm that the campaign used and had money wired to fraudulent accounts. They said the campaign is “pursuing all avenues” to recover the money, and the FBI’s investigation is ongoing. 

Moran easily won reelection to a third term in the Senate, winning by 23 points over his Democratic opponent in a reliably red state.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3821932-gop-senators-campaign-says-cyber-criminal-stole-nearly-700000/

US Expands Training Of Taiwanese Military By Sending National Guard Units

 by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

The US has expanded its training of the Taiwanese military to include a program involving the US National Guard, Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday.

A source told Nikkei that the training began sometime before spring 2022. In May 2022, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced cooperation with the National Guard while hosting Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in Taipei. "The US Department of Defense is now proactively planning cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan’s defense forces," Tsai said. "We look forward to closer and deeper Taiwan-US cooperation on matters of regional security."

The report said that the training already began before Tsai made the announcement during Duckworth’s visit. Since the training started, the National Guard has trained Taiwanese troops in both Taiwan and inside the US.

National Guard training overseas typically involves a unit from a single state, but the report said the training in Taiwan involves units from multiple US states, including Hawaii. The US and Taiwan rarely acknowledge their military cooperation, and a Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the National Guard Training.

"We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China," the Pentagon told Nikkei.

In October 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that a US special operations unit and a contingent of Marines were in Taiwan and had been training Taipei’s military for at least a year. Tsai later confirmed the report, marking the first time a Taiwanese leader acknowledged a US military presence in Taiwan since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979.

The growing US-Taiwan military ties anger Beijing, which views the policies as an affront to the one-China policy. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act President Biden recently signed into law includes measures to increase US and Taiwanese military cooperation even more.

The US is also encouraging Japan’s military buildup and is planning to expand its military facilities in the Philippines as part of its effort to counter China in the region. The top US Marine Corps general in Japan described the effort as "setting the theater" and said the US did something similar in Ukraine starting in 2014, after the US-backed coup that deposed former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The US launched a similar National Guard training program for Ukraine in 2014, known as Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, that rotated through units from different states. US military officials said 23,000 Ukrainians were trained under the program. The US withdrew its National Guard troops from Ukraine shortly before Russia’s invasion.

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/us-expands-training-taiwanese-military-sending-national-guard-units

Ipsen: Phase 3 Trial Shows Positive Survival Results in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

 

• Investigational Onivyde^® (irinotecan liposome injection) in the NALIRIFOX treatment regimen demonstrated statistically significant improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine with a manageable safety profile¹
• Results represent a potential advance in an aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancer
• Ipsen plans to file a supplemental New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/ipsen-presents-phase-iii-napoli-3-trial-of-onivyde-regimen-demonstrating-positive-survival-results-in-previously-untreated-metastatic-pancreatic-ductal-adenocarcinoma-at-asco-gi/

FDA accepts application for Lilly-BoehringerJardiance for adults with chronic kidney disease

 The supplemental New Drug Application is based on results from the landmark EMPA-KIDNEY phase III trial, which showed Jardiance® (empagliflozin) tablets significantly reduced the risk of kidney disease progression* or cardiovascular death in adults with CKD by 28% (absolute risk reduction [ARR]: 3.8%) compared with placebo, both on top of standard of care.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/us-fda-accepts-supplemental-new-drug-application-for-jardiance-for-adults-with-chronic-kidney-disease/

Summit Closes Deal with Akeso to In-License Bispecific Antibody

 Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT) ("Summit," "we," or the "Company") today announced that we have completed the closing of our previously announced definitive agreement with Akeso Inc. (HKEX Code: 9926.HK, "Akeso") to in-license its breakthrough bispecific antibody, ivonescimab. Ivonescimab, known as AK112 in China and Australia, and as SMT112 in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, is a novel, potential first-in-class bispecific antibody combining the effects of immunotherapy via a blockade of PD-1 with the anti-angiogenesis effects associated with blocking VEGF into a single molecule.

Summit is initiating development activities for SMT112 and will do so first in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) indications.

The definitive partnership calls for Summit to receive the rights to develop and commercialize ivonescimab (SMT112) in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Akeso will retain development and commercialization rights for the rest of the world, including China.

In exchange for these rights, Summit committed to an upfront payment of $500 million to be paid in two installments. The first installment worth $300 million has been paid in conjunction with the closing of the transaction. Of the $300 million paid to Akeso by Summit, Akeso opted, in accordance with the definitive agreement, to convert approximately $25.1 million of the payment into 10 million shares of Summit common stock; the remaining $274.9 million was paid by Summit to Akeso in cash. The second installment of $200 million will become due on March 5, 2023 and will be paid by Summit in cash.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/summit-therapeutics-closes-deal-akeso-130000053.html

Japan Tobacco Urged to Sell Drug Unit by Activist Shareholder LIM

 Japan Tobacco Inc, the cigarette conglomerate one-third owned by the government, is facing a shareholder motion to sell off its listed drug unit Torii Pharmaceutical Co to boost shareholder value.

Hong Kong-based activist fund LIM Advisors called on Japan Tobacco, in a letter reviewed by Reuters, to divest its 53% stake in the drug maker, known mainly for its anti-allergy products, and launch 250 billion yen ($1.94 billion) share buybacks with the proceeds.

The letter also said Japan Tobacco doesn't have synergies with the drug unit or the expertise to manage its research and development and LIM plans to bring its proposal to the annual general meeting of shareholders in March.

Japan Tobacco acknowledged receiving the proposal but said it could not elaborate on the contents of the letter. "We are currently in the process of scrutinising the content and legal matters," it told Reuters.

LIM declined to comment.

The proposal by LIM, which holds less than 1% of Japan Tobacco shares, comes as Japanese regulators have frowned on so-called parent-child listings on the grounds that they can infringe on minority shareholder rights.

LIM is also pushing for corporate charter amendments to improve governance, including a prohibition of Japan Tobacco executives retiring to take jobs at Torii, a type of golden parachute arrangement known as "amakudari."

LIM, established in 1995 by investment fund veteran George Long, has launched several governance motions in Japan in recent years.

In 2021, the fund proposed that advertising company Digital Holdings Inc divest a listed subsidiary, and last year lobbied against amakudari at Nissan Motor Co subsidiary Nissan Shattai Co.

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2023-01-20/japan-tobacco-urged-to-sell-drug-unit-by-activist-shareholder-lim

Novartis warns U.S. plan to curb drug prices could hit key research

 U.S. government plans to rein in drug prices could discourage work in some of Novartis's most promising areas of research, the Swiss drugmaker warned on Friday, urging Washington to rethink the "unintended" effects of its new rules.

U.S. President Joe Biden in August signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which allows the federal Medicare scheme to negotiate prices on some of its most costly drugs.

While small molecule chemical drugs will be subject to negotiated drug prices nine years after regulatory approval, biologic drugs made from living cells would not be affected until after 13 years, according to the legislation.

As a result, some pharmaceutical executives say they are now prioritising biologics, generally injections or infusions, over "small-molecule" drugs, which are mainly pills. But Novartis said that would hit its areas of innovative strength particularly hard.

Lawmakers' intention may be to favour sophisticated biologics over seemingly more conventional chemical drugs, but some of the most promising new treatment approaches belong to the latter group, said Victor Bulto, Novartis's President Innovative Medicines for the U.S. market.

"The most concerning piece in that legislation for us is the price setting after nine years for small molecules and 13 years for biologics," Bulto told Reuters.

"New modalities, like the RNA technologies, or radioligand therapies are actually - under this legislation - considered small molecules and therefore that's a piece of legislation that we would think needs to be changed to benefit innovation and patients down the road," he added.

The United States pays the most globally for its medicines. A nonpartian group used by U.S. Congress to estimate costs of legislation has predicted the IRA's drug pricing provisions will reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over the next decade.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/novartis-warns-u-plan-curb-142918553.html