AlloVir's Posoleucel Achieves Non-Relapse Mortality Of 0% In Transplant Patients For Virus

 AlloVir Inc 

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 announced the presentation of long-term, follow-up data from the Phase 2 study of posoleucel to prevent infections from six viruses in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) recipients.

Posoleucel is the company's investigational, allogeneic, off-the-shelf, multi-virus specific T cell therapy, designed to target adenovirus, BK virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus-6 and JC virus. 

These new findings demonstrate that high-risk allo-HCT patients who received posoleucel experienced continued low rates of clinically significant infections, end-organ disease, and 0% non-relapse mortality. 

"The non-relapse mortality rate in patients receiving posoleucel was 0% through week 52, which compares favorably with published non-relapse mortality rates among allo-HCT patients ranging from 9% to over 15%," said Diana Brainard, CEO.

These new data demonstrate that, of the 26 patients dosed with posoleucel, the five deaths were all related to relapse/progression of underlying disease; none were due to infection or deemed treatment-related, resulting in 0% non-relapse mortality.

Global Phase 3 pivotal posoleucel trials continue with data readouts on track for 2024.

https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/23/04/32015818/allovirs-posoleucel-achieves-non-relapse-mortality-of-0-in-transplant-patients-for-viral-infectio

Panbela May HAve Game Changer in Promising Pancreatic Cancer Combatant

 HC Wainwright has initiated coverage on Panbela Therapeutics Inc 

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 with a Buy rating and a $7 price target, a whopping 1300% upside.

Panbela is focused on developing complementary pharmacotherapies targeting polyamine biosynthesis to reduce and/ or normalize levels of disease-associated polyamines in patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases. 

The analyst writes that Panbela's approach holds promise and can reignite interest in the field through its multi-targeted approach to attacking metabolic dysregulation. 

Panbela's lead asset, Ivospemin (SBP-101), is a subcutaneously administered synthetic analog of polyamine spermine for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Phase 1a/b data was recently completed, which evaluated Ivospemin in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in previously untreated patients with metastatic PDAC. Briefly, the median overall survival was 14.6 months, which exceeded what is typical for the standard of care of gemcitabine+nab-paclitaxel.

HC Wainwright says the data were highly promising and provided the necessary support for the continued evaluation of Ivospemin.

"While the opportunity for Ivospemin is promising, we note the intrinsic difficulty in pancreatic cancer therapy development," says the analyst.

The analyst also notes Panbela's pipeline that expands outside of PDAC, which helps de-risk the pipeline and offers potential value in other indications.

https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/23/04/32017121/panbelas-game-changer-analyst-bets-big-on-promising-pancreatic-cancer-combatant

New ChatGPT tool ensures you’re never caught for using AI

 They’re going AI-ncognito.

Don’t like the idea of IT people peeping on your private ChatGPT messages?

Not to fear: Parent company OpenAI has unveiled a new stealth mode that protects users’ conversations from employees’ prying eyes, as well as from potential leaks.

“We’ll be moving more and more in this direction of prioritizing user privacy,” Mira Murati, the Silicon Valley firm’s chief technology officer, told Reuters of the privacy-promoting measure.

Similar to a web browser’s “incognito mode,” the new feature, released Tuesday, allows AI diehards to toggle off “Chat History & Training” in settings.

That means — in theory — that GPT will no longer store a compendium of the user’s previous chats, nor will these be reviewed by “AI trainers to improve our systems,” per the policy stipulated on the site.

Murati said that the measure was part of a monthslong privacy campaign geared toward putting users “in the driver’s seat” regarding data collection.

“It’s completely eyes off and the models are superaligned: They do the things that you want to do,” the tech expert insisted.

This measure comes amid an uptick in privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT.

Last month, Italian regulators banned the Microsoft-backed bot following a reported data breach, which raised alarm bells over user privacy and children’s safety.

The agency said that OpenAI had “no legal basis” for harvesting user data that was being gathered “to train the algorithms that power the platform.”

Around the same time, OpenAI reported that a glitch resulted in ChatGPT accidentally sharing random users’ conversation histories, PC magazine reported.

GPTers got wise to the snafu after noticing that their history function was displaying unfamiliar conversations from apparent strangers.

“We feel awful about this,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted about the leak, which thankfully didn’t disclose users’ identities.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/new-chatgpt-tool-ensures-youre-never-caught-for-using-ai/

Hunter Biden legal team meets with feds after probe update request

 Lawyers for first son Hunter Biden met with federal prosecutors Wednesday as authorities weigh charging the first son following a long-running probe of his tangled finances.

The Biden legal team was spotted entering Justice Department headquarters by CNN as Hunter, 53, reportedly faces potential charges ranging from a felony count of tax evasion to misdemeanor counts of failing to file taxes to a felony count of lying about his drug use on a federal gun purchase form.

Delaware US Attorney David Weiss will ultimately determine whether or not to file charges against Hunter — and which charges to pursue.

Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump and retained by President Biden.

The meeting reportedly was sought weeks ago by the first son’s legal team, prior to allegations from an IRS whistleblower that Hunter had received “preferential treatment” in the probe.

“In the ordinary course, in a federal criminal tax case, and pursuant to policy and practice, defense attorneys get a meeting for the asking,” Chuck Rosenberg, a former federal prosecutor and acting Drug Enforcement Administration administrator, told NBC News.

“They typically use that meeting to try to persuade Justice Department prosecutors not to charge their client, often to no avail.”

In a letter to Congress last week, the unidentified whistleblower claimed the Hunter investigation — which was paused as his dad ran for president in 2020 — had been tainted by false testimony to Congress by a “senior political appointee,” identified by The Post as Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The inquiry into Hunter’s finances broadened in 2018 to examine how his international business dealings intersected with his father’s political career — including how he earned millions by serving on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma despite having no experience in the energy sector.

The first son reportedly borrowed $2 million from a Hollywood lawyer to pay off his delinquent tax bill last spring.

Hunter’s eyebrow-raising international lobbying escapades were exposed by The Post in a series of reports leading up to the 2020 election, stories that were largely ignored by mainstream media outlets and censored by social platforms.

Hunter has denied any wrongdoing and has been fiercely defended by his father.

News of the legal powwow came one day after Joe Biden announced he would seek a second term.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/hunter-bidens-legal-team-meets-with-feds/