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Biotech and Pharma Companies Are Betting on a Promising Class of Cancer Drugs to Drive Growth
An established but promising group of cancer drugs was a red-hot market in 2023, and more companies could look to the treatments to fuel growth in the year ahead. That was one clear takeaway from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, the nation’s largest gathering of biotech and pharmaceutical executives, analysts and investors.
During the four-day event, the biotech and pharmaceutical industry signaled its enthusiasm for antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, which deliver a cancer-killing therapy to specifically target and kill cancer cells and minimize damage to healthy ones. Meanwhile, standard chemotherapy is less selective — it can affect both cancer cells and healthy cells.
Johnson & Johnson last week announced a $2 billion acquisition of ADC-developer Ambrx Biopharma to beef up its existing pipeline of ADCs, which some researchers believe could be heralding a “new era” for cancer treatment. Other drugmakers such as Pfizer and Merck, which closed some of the more than 70 ADC-related deals over the last year, said those drugs will be key growth drivers for their businesses.
The drugs also have the potential to draw huge profits: ADCs could account for $31 billion of the $375 billion worldwide cancer market in 2028, according to a report citing estimates from the drug market research firm Evaluate. The market for those drugs in 2023 was estimated to be worth around $9.7 billion, another report from research firm MarketsandMarkets said.
Study Finds Prenatal Exposure to Pfizer COVID Vaccine Induces Autism-Like Behaviors in Rats
A new study says rats given the Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had male pups with autistic characteristics. Four researchers at three different universities in Turkey contributed to the study, published January 10 in Neurochemical Research.
The study found significant differences between rats born to mothers vaccinated during pregnancy versus a control group of rats born to unvaccinated mothers in significant areas. Males showed differences in coordination and balance, social behavior, the quantities of Purkinje cells and other neural cells and exhibited brain tissue abnormalities.
“These male-specific outcomes, including autism-like behaviors, reduced neuronal counts and impaired motor performance, emphasize the potential neurodevelopmental implications of the vaccine, aligning with existing literature on the roles of the WNT pathway and BDNF signaling in neurodevelopmental disorder.”
The researchers said the vaccine “significantly alters WNT gene expression and BDNF levels in both male and female rats, suggesting a profound impact on key neurodevelopmental pathways. “However, drawing conclusions from animal models has its limitations, and human studies are essential to confirm these findings. Long-term studies on the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on neurodevelopment, especially considering potential gender differences, are needed.”
‘Medicine Is Going Personalized’: Moderna’s U.K. Boss on the Coming Vaccine Revolution
The man who launched Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K. three years ago — when 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry became the first person in the world to receive one — is now overseeing the construction of a manufacturing and research center in Oxfordshire for rival U.S. jab maker Moderna.
The company’s Harwell site is Britain’s first center dedicated to the production of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against new COVID variants and other illnesses, and part of the U.K.’s “100 days mission” initiative — the ambition for governments to be able to respond to future pandemics within 100 days of a threat being identified.
Moderna and others are using mRNA — which teaches cells how to make a specific protein that triggers the body’s immune response against disease — to develop therapies for various conditions, including cancer, HIV, norovirus and rare diseases, particularly those in children.
Moderna is also focusing its mRNA know-how on rare diseases in children and personalized cancer vaccines. “In rare diseases, what we’re doing is an intravenous injection,” says Darius Hughes, who trained as a pharmacist and worked for Pfizer for 17 years before being poached by Moderna in 2021 to set up its U.K. operation as general manager. “We are putting in some messages there that help the body to produce a protein that is missing in the children.” The illnesses targeted include inherited metabolic disorders in which the body cannot break down certain proteins and fats.
Moderna hopes to launch a combined flu and COVID vaccine next year, followed in 2026 by a triple shot including not only flu and COVID but also respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause severe illness and hospitalization in children and older people.
WHO Sees ‘Incredibly Low’ COVID, Flu Vaccination Rates as Cases Surge
Low vaccination rates against the latest versions of COVID-19 and influenza are putting pressure on healthcare systems this winter, leading public health officials told Reuters. In the United States, several European countries, and other parts of the world, there have been reports of rising hospitalizations linked to respiratory infections in recent weeks. Death rates have also ticked up among older adults in some regions, but far below the COVID pandemic peak.
“Too many people are in need of serious medical care for flu, for COVID, when we can prevent it,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s interim director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
She cited “incredibly low” vaccination rates against flu and COVID in many countries this season, as the world tries to move past the pandemic and its restrictions.
Only 19.4% of U.S. adults have received this season’s COVID vaccine based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s National Immunization Survey, despite a recommendation that all adults get an updated shot to protect against serious illness.
But “fatigue for COVID vaccination” is hampering uptake, ECDC’s respiratory virus expert Edoardo Colzani said. In Italy, for example, 8.6% of the eligible population have had their third COVID booster after the initial vaccination series, Ministry of Health data from Jan. 7 showed.
Indonesia Reports More Vaccine-Derived Polio Cases
In December, Indonesia’s health ministry reported two more cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases, raising its total since October 2022 to six, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.
One of the patients is a 6-year-old girl from Central Java province who had recently traveled to Madura Island in East Java province. Her acute flaccid paralysis symptoms began on November 21. She had received two doses of bivalent oral polio vaccine. Genetic sequencing suggests her infection is related to a virus that was identified in a previous case in West Java province in March 2023.
The other patient is a 1-year-old boy from Madura Island in a district that neighbors the one the girl had visited. His paralysis symptoms began on November 22, and he had received four doses of bivalent oral polio vaccine.
In other polio developments, three African countries reported more polio cases, all involving cVDPV2, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. All are included in the country totals for 2023.
Record Budget for Gates Foundation as Wider Global Health Funding Stalls
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend more this year than ever before —$8.6 billion — as wider health funding for the lowest-income countries stutters after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2024 budget agreed by the foundation’s board is up 4% on last year and $2 billion more than in 2021. In a statement, the foundation said global health budgets were in decline overall and contributions to health in the lowest-income countries were stalling.
The Gates Foundation is already a key global health funder and has faced criticism over its undue influence, but last year chief executive Mark Suzman said it could not back away until others stepped up, with plans to spend $9 billion annually by 2026.
Gates and other Gates executives plan to carry backpacks at the World Economic Forum event in Davos, Switzerland, which starts on Monday, showcasing simple health products that could save millions of lives, from vaccine patches to an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled ultrasound tool. Gates will also talk about the potential for AI in health more broadly at the event.
Lawsuits Explain How Wegovy and Ozempic Can Cause Stomach Paralysis Problems for Users
To address the growing interest in Ozempic for weight loss, Novo Nordisk introduced another version of semaglutide under the brand name Wegovy, which has been specifically approved for use as a diet drug, containing higher doses of the same active ingredients in Ozempic.
As the drugs’ popularity began to surge over the past few years, reports of Ozempic gastroparesis side effects began to emerge, which left some users hospitalized and dealing with long-term stomach problems.
This has resulted in a number of Ozempic lawsuits and Wegovy lawsuits being filed against the drug maker, alleging that it knew or should have known about the gastroparesis risks, but placed a desire for profits before consumer safety by withholding accurate information about the problems from users and the medical community.
While many of these symptoms are similar to temporary problems most users of Ozempic and Wegovy face at certain points during the treatments, the severity and long-term nature of the side effects caused by stomach paralysis or gastroparesis can leave users with permanent injuries.
Lilly Exec Eyes More Weight-Loss Drug Launches This Year
Eli Lilly (LLY.N) on Tuesday said it plans to launch its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in new countries this year as it expands manufacturing capacity.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker’s popular drug Mounjaro was approved in the U.S., U.K. and Europe late last year for weight loss, but has only been available — as Zepbound — in the U.S. In Europe, each country has the final say on whether to approve it for its population.
Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly International, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, that Lilly is waiting for European approval for its pen injector, which delivers the medicine, and is “optimistic” that could happen by the middle of the year. Europe has approved the drug to be sold in vials.
With soaring demand, supplies have been tight and Lilly has made deals to expand manufacturing capacity. In November, the company said it would build its first plant in Germany in the western town of Alzey for 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion).
Lilly may evaluate a direct-to-patient model for individual markets in Europe based on each country’s regulations, Yuffa said. The drugmaker this month launched a website called Lilly Direct that allows people in the U.S. to order Zepbound directly from the company.
