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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Harris sips Miller High Life on ‘Late Show’: ‘The vibe election’

 Vice President Kamala Harris cracked open a can of Miller High Life on Tuesday, and took one sip, during an appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” 

“When you first became the nominee and named Tim Walz as your vice president nominee people were calling it the vibe election. The vibes were all good,” late-night host Stephen Colbert told Harris, referring to the enthusiasm for the new Democratic nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race.  

“But elections, I think, are won on vibes,” Colbert continued, in a clip released his show. “Because one of the old saws is I – they just want somebody they can have a beer with.” 

“So would you like to have a beer with me? So I can tell people what that’s like?” the comedian asked.

Kamala Harris made her late-night talk show debut as the Democratic nominee for president Tuesday.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Harris, 59, nodded in the affirmative before Colbert whipped out a couple cans of the vice president’s beer of choice. 

“We asked ahead of time, because I can’t just be giving a drink to the vice president of the United States without asking,” the “Late Show” host admitted. 

“You asked for Miller High Life. I’m just curious – “ Colbert wondered.

“Okay, the last time I had beer was at a baseball game with Doug,” the vice president said, referring to her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff

Harris and Colbert both took a sip after exchanging “cheers.”

“The champagne of beers!” Harris exclaimed – the brand’s slogan – before breaking out in her trademark laugh. 

The American-style lager is brewed in Wisconsin — one of seven swing states up for grabs on Election Day.

Harris took a sip of Miller High Life during her appearance on Colbert’s show.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Colbert, who took part in a lavish NYC fundraiser for President Biden earlier this year, spent his monologue fact-checking claims made by former President Donald Trump and praising Harris. 

In an apparent dig at Trump, Harris slammed the “crude” spread of “misinformation” and attempts to “manipulate” voters in the wake of Hurricane Helene. 

“Have you no empathy, man … for the suffering of other people?” Harris said, without naming the former president. 

“Have you no sense of purpose, if you purport to be a leader, to understand that being a leader means lifting people up in a time of need and not manipulating them,” she added. 

When asked by Colbert what the “major changes” would be between a Harris presidency and Biden’s, as well as “what would stay the same,” the vice president deployed one of her canned lines. 

“Well, I mean, I’m obviously not Joe Biden, and so that would be one change,” she responded, later adding, “I’m not Donald Trump.” 

Colbert, 60, also asked the VP if she’s given her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, any description of what being the No. 2 in the White House would entail.

Colbert interviewed Harris on his CBS show a day after “60 Minutes” aired its sitdown with the vice president.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

“I did – I have pointed out through my three and a half years of being vice president that it’s ‘vice’ president,” Harris said. 

The Democratic nominee pushed for an immediate “ceasefire and hostage deal” when Colbert lamented that a year after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, some Americans appear to have “no hope for any sort of peaceful resolution” to the conflict in the region. 

The funny man followed up by noting, “We’ve been told that a ceasefire deal was very close several times.”

“What does that mean?” he probed.

“Close means that a lot of the details have been worked out, but details remained,” Harris responded, admitting that any “progress” achieved through talks with the Hamas terror group and Israel is “meaningless unless a deal is actually reached.”

Harris’ appearance on Colbert’s show comes the day after “60 Minutes” – also on CBS – aired an exclusive interview with the vice president where she dodged questions about the border crisis, couldn’t say how she’d pay for her economic proposals and tried to explain why she’s flip-flopped on several issues since her 2020 White House bid. 

Harris’ “Late Show” appearance is her first on a late-night talk show as the Democratic nominee for president. 

Overall, it’s Harris’ seventh interview with Colbert and her first since March 2023, according to the network. 

https://nypost.com/2024/10/08/us-news/kamala-harris-takes-a-sip-of-beer-with-stephen-colbert-during-late-show-appearance-you-asked-for-miller-high-life/

5 Radiopharma Biotechs to Watch for Potential Buyouts

 

Big Pharma can’t seem to get enough radiopharmaceutical biotechs. With Lilly, Sanofi and BMS chasing Novartis into the complex space, all eyes are on these specialty biotechs.

Big Pharmas are snapping up radiopharmaceutical biotechs left and right, inspired by the market-leading position of Novartis, which has two therapies already approved. Behind these big ticket deals are a clutch of biotechs continuing to go at it alone.

The use of targeted radioisotopes to treat cancer is not for the faint of heart. The specialized nature of this class of medicines means a Big Pharma can’t just buy the drug and cast off the rest of the company, as is often done when buying out a small company.

Novartis has been the clear leader, with Pluvicto approved for prostate cancer and Lutathera for neuroendocrine tumors. The company developed Lutathera in-house and acquired Pluvicto through the acquisition of Endocyte in October 2018 in a deal valued at over $2 billion. The Swiss pharma has been hungry ever since to expand its pipeline in the space, with the acquisition of Mariana Oncology for $1 billion and a licensing deal expansion with PeptiDream, both this past spring.

In 2023, Novartis’ peers started to take notice. Eli Lilly kicked off a string of deals in October 2023 with the $1.4 billion acquisition of Point BioPharma and followed that up with a partnership with Aktis Oncology that could also top $1 billion. Meanwhile, Bristol Myers Squibb dropped more than $4 billion in December 2023 for radiopharma-focused RayzeBio. And most recently, Sanofi is dipping its toe into the space, with a licensing deal worth $356 million upfront with RadioMedix.

With so much cash being thrown around to buy into radiopharma, which biotechs are making waves on their own and may soon be wrapped up in the next Big Pharma deal? Here are five radiopharma companies you may be hearing about soon.

Aktis Oncology

Radiopharma-hungry Lilly inked a partnership with Aktis Oncology in May for $60 million, gaining access to the biotech’s targeted anticancer medicines. The deal could reach a whopping $1.1 billion in potential milestones and royalties later on.

Aktis is using alpha-emitting particles for precision cancer targeting, while avoiding side effects. Lead programs target urothelial and other cancers.

Late last month, Aktis also raked in a sizable $175 million oversubscribed Series B, underscoring the interest in the space. The round was led by RA Capital Management and co-led by RTW Investments and Janus Henderson Investors. Other participants included Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly and MRL Ventures Fund, Merck’s venture fund, putting an exclamation point on the radiopharma frenzy.

Aktis’ lead candidate is AKY-1189, a miniprotein alpha radioconjugate targeting Nectin-4 in development for solid tumors. The biotech has plenty of cash to go it alone for now, with CEO Matthew Roden reporting $300 million on hand. But with a trio of Big Pharmas making chase, Aktis is sure to be in the news again very soon.

ARTBIO

Launched in June last year, ARTBIO is creating a new class of radioligand therapies using the alpha-precursor isotope (Pb212) and tumor-specific targets. ARTBIO’s pipeline is still preclinical, but the most advanced is AB001, which targets prostate cancer.

December 2023 Series A, co-led by Third Rock Ventures and an undisclosed healthcare fund, brought in $90 million. Since then, the biotech has been signing deal after deal to shore up supply and manufacturing. Another deal from May will see ARTBIO work with fellow clinical-stage biotech FogPharma to develop so-called HEARTs, or Helicon-enabled 212Pb alpha radioligand therapies—a combination of both companies’ platforms.

Nucleus RadioPharma

This biotech is not developing therapies but instead offering integrated manufacturing and supply chain organization for radiopharmaceuticals. Nucleus’ platform has already attracted an investment from AstraZeneca, which pitched in to a Series A extension in June. Financial details were not disclosed, but the biotech raised $56 million in the original oversubscribed Series A one year ago, led by GE Health and Eclipse.

The cash was expected to go towards multiple new manufacturing facilities around the U.S., including one near the Mayo Clinic, a contributor to the Series A round. Additional funds would help build technology for the development, manufacturing and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals.

PeptiDream

Novartis has returned to Japanese biotech PeptiDream time and time again to refill its stock of radiopharmaceuticals. In April, the two companies re-upped a partnership to total more than $2.7 billion in milestones. But the pair have been working together since 2010.

And Novartis is not PeptiDream’s only partner. The company also has deals with Roche’s Genentech, Lilly and Merck, totaling billions in potential milestones.

So what is PeptiDream’s secret sauce? Its Peptide Discovery Platform System can find new drugs based on macrocyclic peptides, which can be screened against any biological target of interest very quickly, according to the company. PeptiDream boasts a 95% success rate. The technology was licensed from the University of Tokyo and optimized in-house.

The company’s extensive pipeline is populated by other partnerships, including with Biohaven and RayzeBio, which was acquired by BMS for $4.1 billion in December 2023. Most but not all are in cancer, with PeptiDream’s single internal program, a myostatin inhibitor, focused on developing radioligands for obesity and other muscle disorders.

RadioMedix

Sanofi found the ideal partner to join the radiopharma race in RadioMedix last month, signing a deal that also included French radioligand developer Orano Med. Sanofi handed over €100 million ($110 million) upfront, with €220 million ($242.5 million) in sales milestones, plus royalties, to access a neuroendocrine tumor candidate.

The deal focused on AlphaMedix, a targeted radioligand therapy that uses lead-212Pb to target cancer. RadioMedix and Orano Med are running a Phase II clinical trial for the candidate in patients with neuroendocrine tumors, with a readout expected this year.

The company also has two other clinical programs and some earlier-stage assets in preclinical testing. In addition to therapeutics, RadioMedix develops radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and monitoring of cancer and has capabilities from development up to manufacturing.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/5-radiopharma-biotechs-to-watch-for-potential-buyouts

OpenAI to open offices in Singapore, Paris, Brussels to facilitate global expansion

 OpenAI said in a post on X that it is opening new offices in multiple cities, including NYC, Seattle, Paris, Brussels, and Singapore, in addition to its existing locations in San Francisco, London, Dublin and Tokyo, as part of the company’s global expansion efforts.

The expansion effort follows the San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker’s whopping $6.4 billion funding rounda restructuring plan announcement, and a series of executive departures.

The company also said managing director Oliver Jay (formerly the chief revenue officer at Asana and head of APAC and LATAM at Dropbox) will oversee international operations and facilitate global expansion from Singapore.

A spokesperson at OpenAI told TechCrunch the company has started building a team in Singapore, which will serve as a hub to support customers and partners in the Asia Pacific region. The company is currently hiring engineers, and plans to open the Singapore office at the end of this year. This will be OpenAI’s second office in Asia, following the launch of the Tokyo office in April.

“Singaporeans are some of the highest per capita users of ChatGPT worldwide, with the number of weekly active users in Singapore doubling since the beginning of the year,” OpenAI said in a statement.

Alongside the new office, OpenAI said it is partnering with AI Singapore to expand access to its AI technology in Southeast Asia. AI Singapore, initiated in 2017 by the National Research Foundation (NRF), is a national program that supports Singaporean companies and research organizations in leveraging AI.

“Singapore, with its rich history of technology leadership, has emerged as a leader in artificial intelligence, recognizing its potential to solve some of society’s hardest problems and advance economic prosperity,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with the government and the country’s thriving AI ecosystem as we expand into the APAC region.”

https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/openai-to-open-offices-in-singapore-paris-brussels-to-facilitate-global-expansion/

Corrupt Ukrainian Official's Son Found Lying In Bed With $6 M Draft Fraud Pay

 Via Remix News,

A huge corruption case was uncovered in Khmelnytskyi, western Ukraine, with authorities detaining the head of the Hmelnytskyi County Medical Center over allegations he accepted huge sums of money to offer medical exemptions to Ukrainian men to avoid being conscripted.

The official, Tetyana Krupá, was responsible for medical examinations in the area, according to Trancarpathian news outlet Kárpáti Igaz Szó, which produces news in the Hungarian language. The paper reveals that the suspect is also the Khmelnytskyi county representative of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, the Servant of the People.

During a search of the official’s home, the man was found with various currencies worth a total of $6 million, which is an extraordinary sum for Ukraine.

Officers found $5.24 million, €300,000, and 5 million hryvnias, which is Ukraine’s currency. In addition, jewelry and other valuables were seized.

During the arrest, authorities claim Krupá tried tossing bags of money out the window containing half a million dollars. A photo of his son arrested among stacks of money strewn across his bed has also been published, although it is unclear if the son was found like this by police or the photo was staged, possibly to shame the arrested family members. A video was also published with the son lying on the bed with the money.

Investigators also determined Krupá owns 30 properties in Khmelnytskyi, Lviv and Kyiv; has nine luxury cars; owns a hotel and restaurant complex; has properties in Austria, Spain and Turkey; and holds another $2.3 million in foreign accounts.

The official in Zelensky’s party is accused of accumulating huge sums of money by illegally extorting men who were seeking a disability designation to avoid military service.

Forged medical documents were found in Krupa’s office, including lists of those avoiding mobilization with fictitious diagnoses. There are also pending charges of high-value fraud, money laundering, misrepresentation and illicit enrichment.

Notably, in Krupá’s own family, all the male members were also listed as “disabled,” at least according to the official exemptions issued by Krupá, which meant none of them had to partake in military service.

A Ukrainian anti-corruption website known as Anticor notes that the entire Krupa family were employed as public servants.

The case is surely to spark further public outrage within Ukraine over the fact that men are being rounded up off the streets to fight on the frontlines while corrupt officials and oligarchs avoid the brunt of the fighting that has claimed hundreds of thousands of casualties, destroyed the Ukrainian economy, and led to the country’s worst demographic crisis in its entire history.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/corrupt-ukrainian-officials-son-found-lying-bed-huge-sum-money-6-million-seized

Paris Preps For WWIII: 1000s Of French Soldiers To Arrive In Romania For Simulated Combat With Russia

 Via Remix News,

The next year will be crucial for the French army, which has undergone a major transformation in recent years to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia, reports Politico.

Next May, thousands of French soldiers will take part in a large-scale military exercise in Romania. The purpose of the exercise is to assess how quickly they can reach NATO’s eastern flank if necessary, which is crucial if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to attack an allied NATO country.

Hungarian news outlet Magyar Nemzet points out that the moves from France show “Paris is preparing for a world war. The pro-war French president has already come up with alarming plans in recent months, which could clearly lead to a war between NATO and Russia. As reported earlier, Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine either.”

Regardless of the potential threats of an open conflict with Russia, NATO seems to be preparing for that possibility.

“We used to play war. Now, there’s a designated enemy, and we train with people with whom we’d actually go to war,” said General Bertrand Toujouse. 

Such military exercises “are a strategic signal,” he added

In recent years, French ground forces have undergone a “profound transformation” to prepare for a conflict as intense as the war in Ukraine. 

The main challenge is for French forces to reach Romania in such a short time. 

“There is still no military Schengen, and we need to decisively improve military mobility in Europe,” said General Pierre-Éric Guillot.

The first troop deployment in Romania in 2022 has been hampered by bureaucratic hurdles, border control procedures and inadequate trains for transporting military equipment. The affected countries have since worked to eliminate these problems.

“We may still be hampered by a few customs measures, but we’ve made a lot of progress in diversifying our routes,” Guillot told reporters. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/paris-preps-wwiii-1000s-french-soldiers-arrive-romania-simulated-combat-russia

Households To Receive Climate Credit In October Utility Bills To Offset Increased Prices

 by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

More than 11.5 million customers of privately owned utility companies in California will automatically receive an average credit of $71 on their October utility bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an Oct. 2 statement.

The climate credits are intended to help “offset increases while preserving the incentive for customers to conserve energy and reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions,” according to the California Public Utilities Commission’s website.

Funding comes from the state’s cap-and-trade program, which regulates the amount of carbon produced by companies and requires those that exceed limits to pay fees.

Credit amounts vary for utility providers. The more than 5 million households that rely on the largest energy company in the state, PG&E, will receive $55.17.

About 46,000 Californians served by Pacific Power—an energy company operating in the far northern part of the state—will see the largest credits of $174.25.

Bear Valley Electric Service—offering power to 23,000 residents in the Alpine County region known for its ski area—customers will receive the smallest credit at $32.24.

“Not only does this credit provide much-needed relief for families, it’s helping Californians make the switch to cleaner energy,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in the statement.

A similar credit was applied to customers’ bills in April, with the total for the year averaging $217.

Households have received an average of $971 in climate credits since 2014, amounting to more than $14 billion across the state, according to the governor’s office.

Some critics have said the state’s climate policies amount to high-priced fees that negatively affect consumers.

“To reduce greenhouse gases marginally in this state, we have this very expensive program called cap-and-trade, which is a hidden tax on energy,” Susan Shelley, a journalist based in Southern California, told EpochTV’s “Leaving California” documentary last year.

“It’s on utilities, it’s on refineries, it’s on manufacturing, it’s on everything.”

A study titled “Zapped: How California’s Punishing Energy Agenda Hurts the Working Class” published in 2022 found that higher utility prices were affecting millions of Californians.

“There is nothing unique about California that should cause the state’s electricity rates to be significantly higher than the rest of the country,” Wayne Winegarden wrote in a report analyzing the study.

“Instead, the results are the expected and desired outcome from ... Sacramento’s energy policy agenda of recent years.”

The regulator in charge of overseeing the industry said the state’s green energy policies are, in part, responsible for rising electricity prices.

“This all comes at a cost,” Alice Reynolds, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said during a March hearing of the Assembly’s Utilities and Energy Committee when questioned by lawmakers about energy prices.

“Any investment in clean energy technology ... is funded through electricity bills.”

Lawmakers began discussing the cap-and-trade program in 2006, with an agreement reached in 2012, and the law took effect the following year.

Since then, energy prices have increased significantly in the state with more than a dozen increases since 2019. Californians paid about 67 percent more than the national average for electricity in 2022, and some Golden State residents pay more than five times the rate per kilowatt hour charged in the lowest-priced areas in the country, according to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

Utility companies, including PG&E, included comments in rate request filings noting that some added costs are attributed to the state’s decarbonization strategy.

“We are also experiencing the impact of the State’s decarbonization strategy, particularly on our gas distribution system,” PG&E said in the 2021 filing.

“Numerous cities have adopted ordinances prohibiting gas appliances in new construction. The projected decline in throughput may lead to a declining base of core customers who will pay for our gas system costs, with rate increases needed to cover that gap.”

Legislators on both sides of the aisle pointed to the state’s climate agenda as contributing to the high cost of living in California.

“These energy mandates jacked up utility rates,” Republican Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told The Epoch Times on Feb. 26.

“All of this stuff has a cost.”

He said the state is forcing taxpayers and electricity and fuel consumers to pay for inefficient climate policies.

“All of this stuff we’ve been doing on climate is super-expensive, and it’s just going to get more expensive,” Gallagher said in March.

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party have also spoken about calls they were receiving from constituents concerned about energy prices jeopardizing their finances and the unintended consequences of some legislative policies.

“Rates are skyrocketing in California. The harsh reality is that millions of Californian families are at the breaking point right now,” Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, chair of the energy committee, said during the March hearing while highlighting statistics that showed California has the highest utility rates in the nation. “Our constituents want to know what’s going on and more importantly, they want to know what we, as their elected officials, are doing to address this issue and contain costs.”

Businesses are also paying the price, she said.

“High energy prices are also a major challenge for California businesses, particularly our small businesses, who are struggling to keep their doors open, and, quite literally, keep their lights on,” Petrie-Norris said.

More than a million small businesses will also receive credits on their October bills, according to the governor’s Oct. 2 statement.

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/californian-households-receive-climate-credit-october-utility-bills-offset

Hochul bows to health-worker union’s $12B senior-care power play that could bust NY’s budget

 Gov. Hochul’s overhaul of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program reached a milestone last week when she named a Georgia-based company as the winning bidder to be the program’s statewide “fiscal intermediary” — and to replace hundreds of smaller companies that currently handle those duties.

The announcement drew a chorus of criticism from consumers, providers and disability rights advocates who contend the shift will jeopardize vital services for clients of CDPAP.

Yet Hochul’s press release featured a laudatory quote from George Gresham, president of the health-care union 1199 SEIU — a reminder that one of Albany’s most powerful interest groups is squarely behind the governor’s controversial plan.

The union’s motive is no mystery: Putting a single company in charge of the $12 billion program would pave the way for 1199 to unionize hundreds of thousands of CDPAP caregivers, vastly expanding both its membership and its dues revenue.

Hochul’s thinking is harder to parse.

On one hand, she and her budget advisors have raised an alarm about the CDPAP’s explosive growth — and framed downsizing the bureaucracy as a strategy for restraining costs.

On the other hand, she is inviting a unionization drive that would create pressure for higher spending.

If Hochul continues on this contradictory course, CDPAP could end up as bloated and dysfunctional as ever.

CDPAP is an alternative to traditional home care for the elderly and disabled: Instead of relying on workers employed by home-care agencies, CDPAP recipients hire, train and manage caregivers of their own choosing — who can be family members or friends — with Medicaid paying their wages.

The previously little-known program has mushroomed over the past decade, with enrollment spiking from 12,000 to more than 250,000 from 2015 to 2023, and Medicaid outlays soaring above $12 billion per year.

CDPAP is one of the primary reasons that New York has higher rates of spending on Medicaid personal care — and higher rates of home health employment — than any other state.

One factor behind these trends is the proliferation of hundreds of fiscal intermediaries, companies that handle CDPAP payroll processing and other administrative duties in return for fees from the state: Their widespread advertising is believed to have driven much of the program’s enrollment growth.

Officials had previously tried to reduce the number of these companies, but hit roadblocks in the courts and in the Legislature.

The idea of taking consolidation even further — and putting the program under just one fiscal intermediary — emerged late in this year’s budget process, when negotiations among the governor and legislative leaders had dragged past the April 1 start of the fiscal year. 

Behind the scenes, 1199 became one of the proposal’s biggest champions and helped secure its passage over widespread opposition among rank-and-file lawmakers.

The union played such a central role that one disability-rights activist credited 1199 officials — as opposed to the governor or elected legislators — with negotiating changes that became part of the final budget.

Later, when the Health Department issued its request for proposals, it specified that would-be contractors would have to declare themselves “joint employers” of CDPAP caregivers, a key step for making unionization possible.

Traditionally, the state has defined the CDPAP recipient, not the fiscal intermediary, as the caregiver’s employer.

When bidders asked for clarification of the “joint employer” requirement — and whether it would lead to collective bargaining — the department was evasive: “Unionization of personal assistants is not a requirement of the [request for proposals] and the Department will not opine on the topic,” it said.

Later, The Post reported that the union had been pressing likely bidders to sign agreements committing to remain neutral about unionization by 1199, to provide it with contact information for all caregivers and eventually to join it in lobbying for higher wages for CDPAP workers.

The consolidation of CDPAP faces widespread criticism from advocates, multiple lawsuits from providers and significant opposition in the Legislature. A bill that would repeal the plan has been introduced by Senate Health Chairman Gustavo Rivera of The Bronx, normally an ally of 1199.

There are also logistical challenges to be dealt with before April 1, 2025, after which existing fiscal intermediaries are officially barred from doing business with the state.

Before that date, the winning bidder, Public Partnerships LLC, must finalize its contract with the Health Department and negotiate subcontracts with more than 30 existing fiscal intermediaries.

Then it must re-enroll the program’s 250,000 recipients and their hundreds of thousands of caregivers, whose records are currently spread across hundreds of companies — a transition that has led to disruptions and litigation in other states.

The transition process includes no formal role for 1199, but there is little doubt the union will remain closely involved.

In a tweet hailing the CDPAP announcement, Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal ended with this thought: “Looking forward to working with @1199SEIU to ensure this plan is successful.”

Bill Hammond is the senior fellow for health policy at the Empire Center. Adapted from the Empire Center blog.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/08/opinion/hochul-bows-to-nursing-unions-12b-senior-care-power-play/