Ocugen, Inc. (Ocugen or the Company) (NASDAQ: OCGN), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel gene and cell therapies, biologics, and vaccines, today announced that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for its OCU410ST (AAV5-hRORA), an adeno-associated virus serotype 5 capsid protein containing gene construct encoding human retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha, for the “treatment of ABCA4-associated retinopathies” including Stargardt, Retinitis Pigmentosa 19 (RP19), and Cone-rod dystrophy 3 (CORD3) diseases.
Results published in peer-reviewedCancer Research share novel insights into Chi3L1’s role in modulating Gliomastem cells and reinforcesthe potential therapeutic impact of Anti-Chi3L1
Ocean Biomedical (NASDAQ: OCEA), a biopharma company working to accelerate the development and commercialization of scientifically compelling assets from research universities and medical centers, announced today that its Scientific Co-founder, Jack A. Elias, MD, published new findings in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research that detail the mechanisms behind the role of chitinase 3-like-1 (Chi3L1) in the growth of glioblastoma tumors, providing further evidence of the potential impact of Ocean’s anti-Chi3L1 antibody in suppressing severe glioblastoma tumor growth.
Results of the research conducted at the Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics and Plasticity at the Lifespan Health System and Brown University, showed that an independent team led by molecular neuroscientist Nikos Tapinos, MD, PhD, was able to uncover new data on the efficacy of Ocean Biomedical’s anti-Chi3L1 antibody in human glioblastoma implanted mouse models, resulting in clear reduction in glioblastoma tumor growth.
The paper also revealed groundbreaking insights into the mechanisms underlying stem cell differentiation in glioma stem cells, and how that differentiation process is altered by Ocean Biomedical’s cancer therapeutic candidate. In two different study approaches, treatment with anti-Chi3L1 antibody in vivo resulted in over 60% reduction of human glioblastoma growth, and significant survival benefit. This can be seen in the MRI evaluations of the human tumors in the brains of mice (which appear in red) and the quantitation of tumor volume from these scans (see figures). This represents a medical breakthrough in understanding how the most aggressive glioblastoma tumors are formed, and how patients diagnosed with this challenging disease might possibly be treated.
Italy's firebrand conservative prime minister Giorgia Meloni is not playing ball with China, throwing a wrench into President Xi Jinping’s efforts to peel a handful of European Union countries away from US policy.
Bloomberg days ago reported that "Meloni, the right-wing leader who came to power less than a year ago, is leaning toward pulling out of an agreement to join China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which has funded US$900 billion in infrastructure projects globally, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking."
"Italian officials raised the prospect of withdrawal in talks with Taiwan this week, Bloomberg reported." Meloni has previously been on record (in 2019) as calling the BRI "a big mistake".
This could be a huge blow to Beijing, given Italy had been the very first G-7 country became part of the controversial Chinese initiative, crucial to Xi's vision for Chinese global expansion.
Italy had formally signed on under then Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte. It's widely perceived that this triggered greater Washington engagement with Rome, in order to steer the country away from Chinese influence.
According to analysis cited in the initial Bloomberg report:
“Italy is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and what to do with the cooperation pact is a real diplomatic conundrum for Meloni,” Francesca Ghiretti, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies research company, said in an interview. “Renewing it would send a very difficult message to Washington, but not renewing it would put a strain in relations with China.”
It remains that Italy's governing coalition appears split, with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy said to be more in favor of canceling the pact. The PM could have an official statement ready to roll out by the time of May’s G7 summit in Hiroshima, but this remains uncertain.
Italy isn't well-connected to China by shipping routes, either, which is probably why Xi in prior years cited improving connectivity and building ports as a key objective of BRI in Italy.
According to priors years' domestic polling in Italy, most Italians have seen the deal as an opportunity, while a few still see it as a risk.
Analysts, on average, had expected sales of $13.8 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Excluding items, Merck earned $1.40 per share, compared with estimates of $1.32 per share.
Keytruda sales rose 20% to $5.8 billion in the quarter, topping the estimates of $5.6 billion.
Shares of AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) dove 6.2% toward a six-week low in premarket trading Thursday, after the biopharmaceutical company missed first-quarter profit expectations but lifted its full-year outlook. Net income dropped to $239 million, or 13 cents a share, from $4.49 billion, or $2.51 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to $2.46 from $3.16, below the FactSet consensus of $2.51. Revenue grew 9.7% to $12.23 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $12.17 billion. Among AbbVie's top selling drugs, Humira sales fell 25.2% to $3.54 billion, while Skyrizi sales jumped 44.7% to $1.36 billion. For 2023, the company raised its adjusted EPS guidance range to $10.72 to $11.12 from $10.62 to $11.02. The stock has inched up 0.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.6%.
Despite the Dems’ best efforts to bury the story, more than three quarters — 78% — of American voters have been “closely following” news reports about First Son Hunter Biden’s scandals, according to a new Rasmussen poll.
The murder rates in major US Cities have soared more than 10% in the past two years — with most homicides occurring in Democratic areas with soft-on-crime policies.
In a study released by WalletHub Wednesday, researchers found that Memphis, Tennesse; New Orleans, Louisana; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, DC; and Detroit, Michigan are suffering from the biggest homicide rate problems.
All five cities are led by left-wing mayors.
After comparing the rise in murder rates in 45 of the country’s most populated cities between 2021 and 2023, scholars noticed that killings were rising faster in Democrat-led cities than in their Republican counterparts.
Though the Covid-19 pandemic can be blamed for the initial jump in homicides, scholars theorized that soft-on-crime policing has exacerbated the issue in progressive cities.
Chidike Okeem, an assistant professor at Western New England University, pointed to social movements such as the public unrest to the killing of George Floyd.
Researchers found that murder rates were rising faster in Democratic-led cities compared to their Republican counterparts.
“As a response to the social unrest, some officers have embraced ‘de-policing,’ which is the idea of not engaging in proactive policing practices in order to avoid increased scrutiny and censure. Without pronounced police presence, violence proliferates,” Okeem said.
University of Central Missouri Professor Gregg Etter pointed to progressive policies such as defending the police and implementing no-cash bail as major contributors to the rise in the national homicide rate.
Etter argued politicians are pressured to offer a “one-size-fits-all” solution in the wake of social unrest, but make decisions that personally benefit their career rather than the issue at hand.
“If you have a problem with police use of force in isolated instances, rather than deal the problem or the problem officers, defund the police. This results in a less-effective police force, increased response times, lower police morale, and an increasing unwillingness by the police to engage in proactive policing,” Etter said.
