Swiss parliament's lower house rejects Credit Suisse rescue package

 The lower house of Switzerland's parliament voted late on Tuesday to retrospectively reject the 109 billion Swiss francs of financial guarantees the government gave to Credit Suisse as part of a hastily cobbled-together rescue package.

At an extraordinary government session called to discuss Credit Suisse's demise, 102 parliamentarians voted against the measure. Earlier on Tuesday, Switzerland's upper house voted in favor of the government guarantees.

The votes are, however, largely symbolic as the state has committed the funds and lawmakers cannot overturn that decision

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/swiss-parliaments-lower-house-rejects-220515380.html

Kala Fast Tracked for Corneal Epithelial Defect Therapy

 Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for rare and severe diseases of the eye, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for Kala’s human mesenchymal stem cell secretome (MSC-S) therapy (KPI-012) for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect (PCED), a rare and debilitating ocular condition.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kala-pharmaceuticals-receives-fda-fast-120000045.html

Biogen Exercises Option with Denali to Develop and Commercialize Amyloid Antibody

  Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Denali Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DNLI) today announced that Biogen has exercised the option to license Denali’s Antibody Transport Vehicle (ATV):Amyloid beta program (ATV:Aβ). Accumulation of Aβ plaque in the brain is a defining feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using Denali’s ATV platform to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), ATV:Aβ is designed to increase brain exposure and target engagement of antibody therapeutics directed against Aβ, which may enable improved plaque clearance and/or reduced amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA).

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biogen-exercises-option-denali-develop-120000060.html

Strategists slash U.S. yield view again despite Fed's inflation focus

 U.S. Treasury yields will trade sharply lower a year from now than was forecast just a few weeks ago, according to fixed-income strategists polled by Reuters, who also expected the U.S. yield curve to steepen further.

Yields on U.S. 2-year Treasury notes have plunged over 100 basis points following the failure of some regional U.S. banks last month. They had peaked above 5% on March 8 following hawkish testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

While Fed rhetoric since then has softened a bit, policymakers have by and large reiterated their focus on taming inflation, running at more than twice the 2% target, and so at minimum one more interest rate rise in May is still in store.

But markets are pricing for a series of interest rate cuts starting just two months later, underscoring an exceptionally large divergence from the central bank's own view.

That recent downward trend in yields is forecast to continue further, according to the April 5-12 poll of over 60 bond strategists.

While yield forecasts were largely downgraded across maturities from last month, the outlook for the short end of the yield curve, which is most sensitive to policy rate changes, was slashed by a bigger margin, suggesting a steeper yield curve.

U.S. 2-year Treasury yields, currently trading at around 4.0%, were seen falling about 50 basis points to 3.45% over the next 12 months - a 40-odd basis-point downgrade from a survey conducted last month.

However, in the coming three months, yields on both 2-year and 10-year notes were expected to rise 20 and 25 basis points, respectively, before resuming their fall.

"The curve steepened sharply as (rate) cut pricing continues to rise. We prefer to be positioned for steepeners, but don't want to chase the move as cuts are unlikely to be imminent," said Priya Misra, head of rates strategy at TD Securities.

"The pricing for immediate cuts is likely too aggressive, but markets continue to react disproportionately to weaker data," Misra said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/strategists-slash-u-yield-view-121452479.html

Aeglea exploring alternatives after trial results

 Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGLE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human enzyme therapeutics to benefit people with rare metabolic diseases, today announced interim results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of pegtarviliase, a novel recombinant human enzyme engineered to reduce elevated levels of total homocysteine, for the treatment of Classical Homocystinuria. Following its review of the interim results, the company announced that it is exploring strategic alternatives with the goal of maximizing shareholder value.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aeglea-biotherapeutics-announces-interim-results-110000507.html

ESSA, Janssen to Evaluate EPI-7386 Combinations in Prostate Cancer

 ESSA Pharma Inc. ("ESSA", or the "Company") (NASDAQ: EPIX), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer, today announced that the Company has entered into a clinical trial support agreement (the "Agreement") with Janssen Research & Development , LLC ("Janssen") to enable evaluation of ESSA's first-in-class N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor, EPI-7386, in combination with apalutamide as well as the combination of EPI-7386 with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone in patients with prostate cancer.

Under the terms of the Agreement, ESSA will sponsor and conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of EPI-7386 when administered in combination with either apalutamide or abiraterone acetate plus prednisone. Janssen will supply apalutamide and abiraterone acetate. ESSA will retain all rights to EPI-7386.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/essa-pharma-announces-clinical-trial-support-agreement-with-janssen-to-evaluate-epi-7386-combinations-in-patients-with-prostate-cancer/

US Bombs Targets In Eastern Syria After Rocket Attack Against Occupation Base

 Via The Cradle,

The US launched a number of airstrikes on Syria’s eastern city of Deir Ezzor on Tuesday, targeting the areas of Hatla and Khasham, reports said.

The airstrikes came in response to a rocket attack the day before on the US occupation base in Deir Ezzor’s Conoco gas field.

"An ineffective rocket attack targeted coalition forces, at Mission Support Site Conoco, northeast Syria, today at 10:51 AM Eastern Standard Time (approximately 5:51 PM local time in Syria). One rocket struck the vicinity of the coalition outpost, and an additional rocket was found at the attack’s point of origin," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

"The attack resulted in no injuries or damage to the base or coalition property," CENTCOM added.

However, sources told Al-Mayadeen news that the attack was "carried out with several rockets" and that "no information is available on the size of the losses inside" the base.

Around the same time as the attack, US forces shot down a drone believed to be Iranian, which fell in Al-Tabiyah village in Deir Ezzor’s eastern countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

This comes as part of a recent surge in attacks against US bases in Syria, which are attributed to groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On March 23, a drone strike targeted the US occupation base in northeastern Hasakah’s Kharab al-Jir military airport, killing a US contractor and injuring several other US servicemen. That evening, US warplanes struck Deir Ezzor, targeting the Syrian military and Iranian advisors.

On March 24, the US strikes were responded to with yet another attack, targeting Washington’s base in the Al-Omar oilfield. Later that night, the Al-Omar base and another base were heavily targeted simultaneously in a daring and unexpected operation that resulted in further casualties among US troops.

These attacks have been on the rise and are increasing in frequency and intensity as a result of the continued illegal presence of US troops in the country – which consistently loot the country’s natural resources under the pretext of deterring ISIS.

Later CENTCOM confirmed it responded with attacks of its own:

According to a report released by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on 25 March, the attacks represent a coordinated Russian-Iranian decision to pressure Washington into withdrawing its military presence from the country.

As a result, Washington is bracing itself for further strikes against its forces in Syria. SOHR reported on 10 April that US troops in northeastern Hasakah have been reinforcing their bases with military and logistical supplies. At the end of last month, a US military official vowed 'harsh' attacks against the IRGC in Syria.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-bombs-targets-eastern-syria-after-rocket-attack-against-occupation-base