Tandem Diabetes Care shares fell Monday after analysts from Wells Fargo and Bernstein downgraded the stock.
Monday, March 3, 2025
'OPEC+ reaffirm commitment to market stability on healthier oil market outlook'
The eight OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, namely Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually on March 3, 2025, to review global market conditions and the future outlook.
Taking into account the healthy market fundamentals and the positive market outlook, they re-affirmed their decision agreed upon on December 5, 2024, to proceed with a gradual and flexible return of the 2.2 mbd voluntary adjustments starting on 1st April, 2025, while remaining adaptable to evolving conditions. Accordingly, this gradual increase may be paused or reversed subject to market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability.
Furthermore, the eight countries reiterated their collective commitment to full conformity with the additional voluntary production adjustments as agreed under the 53rd JMMC meeting on April 3, 2024. They also confirmed their intention to fully compensate for any overproduced volumes since January 2024, in accordance with the compensation plans submitted to the OPEC Secretariat, ensuring that all compensations are completed by June 2026.
The countries with overproduced volumes have also agreed to frontload their compensation plans, so that more of the overproduced volumes are compensated in the earlier months of the compensation period, and will submit their updated compensation schedules to the OPEC Secretariat by the 17th of March 2025 which will be posted on the Secretariat’s website.
Production Levels with the phase-out of only November 2023 voluntary adjustments which will be applied starting from April 2025 until September 2026
Required production levels as per the 38th ONOMM before applying the additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023 and November 2023.
UAE required production has been increased by 300 kbd. This increase will be phased in gradually starting April 2025 until the end of September 2026 as per the 38th ONOMM.
Voyager Therapeutics Reports Positive Trial Results From Alzheimer's Disease Treatment
Voyager Therapeutics announced positive topline data from its single ascending dose (SAD) trial of VY7523, an investigational anti-tau antibody for Alzheimer’s disease. The data showed VY7523 was safe, tolerable, and exhibited dose-proportional pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers. Based on these results, Voyager has initiated a multiple ascending dose (MAD) trial in early Alzheimer’s patients, with initial tau PET imaging data anticipated in the second half of 2026.
This development holds promise for Alzheimer’s treatment as it advances a new therapeutic approach targeting tau, a protein implicated in disease progression. The positive SAD results, particularly the safety and tolerability profile combined with dose-proportional pharmacokinetics, suggest VY7523 could be a leading candidate in the anti-tau antibody landscape. This is further bolstered by preclinical data demonstrating a significant reduction in tau spread. Given the limited effective treatment options currently available for Alzheimer’s, any progress toward a disease-modifying therapy represents a crucial step forward for both patients and the healthcare system.
The SAD trial involved 48 healthy volunteers and evaluated six ascending doses of intravenously administered VY7523. No serious or severe adverse events, or infusion reactions, were reported. Importantly, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-to-serum ratio observed aligns with other approved monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer’s, suggesting effective brain penetration. The subsequent MAD trial will enroll 52 early Alzheimer’s patients and focus on safety, tolerability, and the ability of VY7523 to impede the spread of pathological tau, measured by tau PET imaging.
The positive SAD data for VY7523 reinforces the potential of targeting tau in Alzheimer’s disease. The upcoming MAD trial results and further preclinical investigation will be critical in validating this approach. If successful, VY7523 could represent a significant advancement in Alzheimer’s treatment, potentially offering a disease-modifying therapy to address this substantial unmet medical need. The progress of VY7523 warrants close attention as it moves through clinical development.
Russian officials report oil refinery fire after Ukraine targets border regions
Officials in Russia’s Rostov region reported a fire Thursday at an oil refinery after a wave of attacks from several dozen Ukrainian aerial drones.
Rostov acting Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram that the fire happened at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and was later extinguished. Slyusar reported one person was injured in the attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Rostov, part of a total of 84 drones it shot down mostly over regions bordering Ukraine.
The ministry said the other intercepts took place over Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov and Krasnodar.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian drone attacks damaged several residential buildings.
Ukraine’s military said Thursday its air defenses shot down 45 of 85 Russian drones used in overnight attacks targeting the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava and Sumy regions.
The military also said Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and municipal property in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that the areas damaged included a school and a hospital in Kryvyi Rih.
White House seeks plan for possible Russia sanctions relief, sources say
The United States is drawing up a plan to potentially give Russia sanctions relief as President Donald Trump seeks to restore ties with Moscow and stop the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The White House has asked the State and Treasury departments to draft a list of sanctions that could be eased for U.S. officials to discuss with Russian representatives in the coming days as part of the administration's broad talks with Moscow on improving diplomatic and economic relations, the sources said.
The sanctions offices are now drawing up a proposal for lifting sanctions on select entities and individuals, including some Russian oligarchs, according to the sources.
So-called options papers are often drafted by officials working on sanctions, but the White House's specific request for one in recent days underscores Trump and his advisers' willingness to ease Russian sanctions as part of a potential deal with Moscow.
It was not immediately clear what Washington could specifically seek in return for any sanctions relief.
The White House, the State Department, the Treasury Department and the Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kremlin last year described relations as "below zero" under the administration of Joe Biden, a Democrat who backed Ukraine with aid and weapons and imposed tough sanctions on Russia to punish it for its invasion in 2022.
But Trump, who has promised a quick end to the war, has upended U.S. policy swiftly to open talks with Moscow, beginning with a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12 that was followed by meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Trump in January threatened to ramp up sanctions on Russia if Putin was unwilling to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. But more recently, Trump administration officials have openly acknowledged the possibility of easing sanctions on Moscow.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a Feb. 20 interview with Bloomberg Television that Russia could win economic relief, depending on how it approached negotiations in the coming weeks. Trump told reporters on Feb. 26 that Russian sanctions could be eased "at some point."
ECONOMIC COOPERATION
The White House asked State and Treasury officials to come up with a possible sanctions relief plan before Trump last week extended a state of emergency over the situation in Ukraine, the U.S. sources said.
The state of emergency sanctions certain assets and people involved in Russia's war. Those measures, imposed by then-President Barack Obama's administration, have been in place since March 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea.
It is unclear which Russian sanctions the Trump administration would consider lifting first.
Trump could issue an executive order that would allow the administration to begin the process of easing some Russian sanctions, but he would also need to seek congressional approval to lift measures on certain entities, said John Smith, a partner at Morrison Foerster law firm and the former head of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been able to build a wartime economy with increased military spending and industrial production. But experts say the country's economy is vulnerable and in desperate need of Western sanctions relief.
Russia says it is open for economic cooperation. The Kremlin said last week that Russia had lots of rare earth metal deposits and was open to doing deals to develop them after Putin held out the possibility of such collaboration with the U.S.
Any formal economic deal with Moscow would likely require the U.S. to ease sanctions.
Trump has been seeking a minerals deal with Ukraine - home to a trove of lithium deposits and rare earth minerals - as pay back for billions of dollars in U.S. aid. However, no deal was signed after an explosive Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday.
Pfizer could use existing US manufacturing to counter potential tariff hit
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Monday the drugmaker might move overseas manufacturing to its existing plants in the United States, if required, as the Trump administration threatens numerous tariffs on imported goods.
Bourla's comments come as drugmakers brace for the possibility of 25% tariff on pharmaceutical imports.
A company with an existing manufacturing network in the U.S. will fare better if there is a need to transfer production to the country to avoid tariffs, Bourla said at the TD Cowen healthcare conference.
"We have the capabilities here (in the U.S.) and the manufacturing sites are operating in good capacity right now. If something happens, we will try to mitigate it by transferring from manufacturing sites outside to the manufacturing sites here."
Pfizer has 10 manufacturing sites and two distribution centers in the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to boost domestic manufacturing, has been piling pressure on drugmakers since taking office to move medicine production to the country.
In February, Trump met with CEOs from major drugmakers, including Eli Lilly's David Ricks, to discuss industry concerns such as tariffs on drug imports. Lilly said last week it plans to invest $27 billion in new U.S. plants.
Trump told Republicans in a White House meeting earlier in February that he was considering four exemptions to reciprocal tariffs, including pharmaceutical industries, according to a Reuters report, but he is yet to rule them out.
Microplastics in Personal Care Products
Plastics are everywhere. More than 460 million metric tons of the stuff are produced annually, and almost all of it eventually degrades through external processes, such as friction and ultraviolet light exposure, into microplastics (< 5 mm) and nanoplastics (< 1 µm). These tiny particles, along with plastic-derived chemicals, are nearly ubiquitous.
Crucially, microplastics are commonly incorporated into personal care products to enhance their texture and functionality. Microbeads, a subset of microplastics typically spherical in shape, are added to face scrubs, body washes, and toothpaste to provide gentle exfoliation and deep cleaning. Microplastics also serve as thickening agents to improve a product’s consistency and spreadability. Some synthetic polymers are used to create a protective film on skin, offering water resistance in sunscreens, lotions, and hair sprays. Additionally, microplastics can enhance the skin’s appearance by creating a pearlescent or opaque finish.
Currently, more than 500 microplastic ingredients are used in cosmetics and personal care products, with polyethylene and acrylates copolymer the most common. Synthetic polymers, such as dimethicone and carbomers, while not strictly classified as microplastics, are persistent organic pollutants. They share key characteristics with plastics, are derived from fossil fuels, and exhibit poor biodegradability. These products are essentially indestructible, and traditional filtration and waste management systems struggle to capture these tiny particles, making mitigation against environmental contamination challenging and costly.
But microplastics don’t “just” harm the environment. They can also enter our bodies through the skin, lungs, gut, and placenta. Their presence in breast milk and the placenta means that babies are exposed even before birth. Animal models have shown that microplastic particles can disrupt inflammatory processes in the skin and induce lupus-like symptoms. Additionally, chemical additives in plastics, such as phthalates and bisphenols, may exacerbate atopic dermatitis, trigger allergic contact dermatitis, and aggravate acne in adolescents.
If microplastics and plastic-derived chemicals pose such a significant concern, why is plastic production projected to triple by 2060?
Inadequate Regulation
The failure to prevent this can be attributed to three key factors: lack of awareness, resulting in weak public health policies; insufficient regulations that fail to comprehensively address plastic pollution; and gaps in scientific research, limiting our understanding of long-term health impacts.
Compounding this issue is media coverage, with headlines such as “Levels of Microplastics in Human Brains May Be Rapidly Rising, Study Suggests” or “We Consume up to a Credit Card’s Worth of Plastic Every Week” generating clicks but failing to drive meaningful action. Not only is the one-credit-card worth of plastic consumption inaccurate by orders of magnitude, but without a shift toward action-oriented discussions, no changes will ensue.
Current policies are fragmented, are reactive rather than proactive, and fail to address the full spectrum of plastic pollution. For example, only 19 countries, including the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, have banned microbeads.
The definition of microplastics itself is constantly evolving, with no universally accepted standard, leading to inconsistencies in regulation and compliance. Many pharmaceutical companies that manufacture products containing synthetic polymers do not classify them as microplastics, despite their similar physicochemical properties.
Additionally, many regulations overlook the risks posed by plastic-derived chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors like phthalates and bisphenols, which can leach into the environment and pose serious health risks. Of the more than 16,000 known plastic chemicals, one third are classified as hazardous to human and environmental health, while more than one quarter lack basic information on their chemical identity, let alone their potential effects.
Some progress has been made. Under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of chemicals (REACH) framework, the European Union has banned 74 synthetic polymers and chemicals as of October 17, 2023.
Doctors Must Unite
Because microplastics and plastic chemicals are ubiquitous in personal care products and unavoidable for all humans, action can and should be taken to reduce exposure.
At the grassroots level, we must demand their removal from all personal care products. This can be accomplished through direct engagement with pharmaceutical companies or by writing to one’s local parliamentary representative.
Safer alternatives already exist, requiring no new inventions or technologies. For example, the Plastic Soup Foundation has certified brands that are free of microplastics. Consumers can drive meaningful change through their purchasing choices by opting for microplastic-free products.
The distribution of product samples must be minimized, and sachets and fingertip-sized samples should be eliminated because they use a greater amount of plastic packaging per volume than standard-sized containers and are difficult to recycle, often ending up in landfills or the ocean.
Superfluous packaging of medical consumables should also be eliminated. Single-use plastic instruments should be replaced with sterilizable, reusable surgical instruments.
More importantly, we must act together as doctors. In Australia, the Australasian College of Dermatologists’ Environmental Sustainability Group only has eight members. Why would pharmaceutical companies heed the concerns of just eight individuals in a nation of over 27 million?
This is why acting in unison and on a broader scale is important. The regulation of microplastics and plastic-derived chemicals needs to be strengthened globally. Although existing measures, such as the EU’s recent restrictions, represent progress, they remain incomplete. Current policies fail to address all synthetic polymers used in personal care products. Regulations must be expanded to include all such polymers, not just microplastics.
A more comprehensive review of plastic-derived chemicals is urgently needed under such frameworks as REACH in the EU and by organizations such as the US Food and Drug Administration. This is a daunting task given that more than 16,000 plastic chemicals have been identified, with this number continuing to grow.
The biggest obstacle is lack of awareness. Despite mounting evidence, microplastics and plastic-derived chemicals are not widely recognized as public health threats, particularly in dermatology. We need more research, more publications, public awareness campaigns and integration of this issue into medical education to equip the next generation of doctors with the knowledge to act upon these risks and properly inform patients.
Plastic pollution may seem like an overwhelming challenge, but with a combined effort of legislative action, scientific advocacy, and grassroots movements, it is solvable. To drive meaningful change, we need more voices and more engagement, and we need to act now.
For further information, read “Plastics in Dermatology: A Review and Solutions,” published by the authors in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology on January 21, 2025.
Eugene Tan, MBChB, is a dermatologist at St. Vincent’s Clinical Campus in Darlinghurst, Australia. He is a Mohs micrographic surgeon and fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians and the Australasian College of Dermatologists. He is also a member of the Australasian College of Dermatologists’ Environmental Sustainability Group.
Susanne Saha, MD, is co-chair of the Sustainability in Dermatology Working Group and a specialist in dermatology, venereology, and occupational dermatology in Freiburg, Germany.
Dennis Niebel, MD, is a senior consultant at University Hospital Regensburg’s department of dermatology and is co-chair of German Dermatological Society’s Sustainability in Dermatology Working Group.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/microplastics-personal-care-products-raus-2025a1000534
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