Shares of Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) traded sharply higher on Friday after the obesity drug developer generated buyout rumors on Wall Street a day after issuing notable updates on its lead candidate, pemvidutide.
Betaville, in an "uncooked" alert, around midday trading on Friday, cited a strategic review initiated by the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based biotech involving as many as three large pharma companies.
A day earlier, the company disclosed on its R&D Day that two Phase 2 trials are expected to start in Q2 and Q3, respectively, to study the effect of pemvidutide on those with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related liver disease, respectively.
Formerly known as ALT-801, the Phase 3-ready GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist is currently under investigation for obesity and metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (“MASH”).
In February, the company disclosed the FDA clearance to study the injectable for two additional indications.
“We have seen class-leading reductions in liver fat with pemvidutide in clinical trials, and we believe these benefits would translate to mitigation of inflammation in both MASH and ALD,” ALT’s medical chief, Scott Harris, remarked at the event.
Sanofi announced today the immediate adoption of influenza strainsselected by the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) to advance the manufacturing and delivery of its vaccine portfolio for the 2025-26 flu season in the US. As the world leader in flu vaccines,Sanofihad already begun its annual production of vaccines to ensure that robust supply is ready for the coming season. Strains selected by the FDA match those already used in production by the company to help protect eligible patients against flu and its potentially severe complications.
Sanofiplans to begin shipping flu vaccines this summer so that health systems, hospitals, pharmacies, physician practices, nursing homes and other facilities can begin administering vaccines at the onset of the next flu season.
A group of high-profile johns who frequented posh brothels in Massachusetts were finally named in court Friday during a hearing that laid out sordid details, including that at least one of the men paid to have unprotected sex.
Mark Zhu, 28, was one of the johns to be identified during the hearing in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, courtroom where it was revealed he allegedly paid $840 for two hours of unsafe sex with a prostitute – in a service referred to as “bb,” the Daily Mail reported.
Also revealed were the identities of other alleged johns including, Kerry Wu, John J. Doran, David LaCava, Boya Zhou, Peter H. MacGillivray, Yihong Zou, Pablo Domingo Maceira and radiologist Jason Han.
The brothel was discovered in a major federal raid.Department of Justice
The johns regularly used acronyms in text messages arranging sexual encounters with call girls, like “gfe” – or the “girlfriend experience,” Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral alleged, reading out the text messages in court.
Cabral said the men referred to payment for sex as “donations” — which would run in the hundreds of dollars. And they were polite but businesslike when arranging the dalliances, saying “pleases,” “thank yous,” and “have a great day,” Cabral said, according to a report by The Boston Globe.
In many cases, they asked for services from specific women, Cabral added.
The men were given specific instructions for the rendezvous, including going to a specific apartment complex and texting when they arrived to be buzzed inside, the lieutenant alleged.
They were told to quickly move into the apartment unit and not hang around in the hallway but if others were around, they were told to wait back by the elevator or stairwell before entering. And they were instructed never to make backroom deals with the women — or they would be blacklisted, Cabral explained.
Mark Zhu, accused of paying for unprotected sex, was among the alleged clients nabbed.Boston Globe via Getty Images
In total, 12 people were expected to be named during Friday’s hearing where Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Casey found enough probable cause for charges to be filed against the men.
Another 16 men are expected to be publicly identified in hearings over the next two Fridays.
John Pensa, a lawyer for Han, 29, admitted the behavior his client is accused of is “morally wrong” but noted he had no prior criminal history. Pensa also emphasized his client was a “young healthcare hero” in his job as a radiologic technologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Han is “extremely remorseful and embarrassed,” the lawyer said.
Outside court anti-exploitation protesters shouted “Shame on you!” and “People are not products!” to lawyers and defendants as they left the building.
Many of the men didn’t come to court and were instead represented by their lawyers for the hearing.
The scandal initially made headlines in 2023 when three men who made over a million dollars running the bordellos in the Bay State and in Virginia were arrested in a separate federal case.
Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, was alleged to be the leader of the brothels. James Lee, 68, of California, allegedly set up the meetings between customers and sex workers. Junmyung Lee, 30, was also charged in the scheme.
The trio — who were charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity — have since pleaded guilty.
In addition to the Cambridge spots, the men were accused of operating sex houses out of ritzy apartments in Watertown, Massachusetts; Fairfax, Virginia, and Tysons, Virginia. since as early as July 2020.
Protesters demonstrated outside the courthouse.Boston Globe via Getty Images
The three men — whose “record keeping was impeccable” — paid as much as $3,664 per month for the sex pads and charged customers between $350 and $600 per hour, the feds alleged.
The cathouses were advertised online under the guise of offering “nude Asian models for professional photography at upscale studios,” prosecutors said.
And the johns were rigorously vetted before they were allowed to book an appointment, including being required to provide their full names, emails, phone numbers, employer and references, the feds claimed.
The sex workers were exploited and shuttled between states for the sex ring, prosecutors claim.
At the time, the feds said that the bawdy houses were frequented by politicians, military officials, government contractors, doctors, professors and corporate execs.
