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That Online ‘Pharmacy’ Could Kill You, Feds Warn
The order from an online “pharmacy” was for oxycodone, a powerful narcotic used to treat pain. The pills looked exactly like the real things, their true contents masked by meticulous counterfeiting.
Days after receiving her online shipment, the woman who ordered them was dead from acute fentanyl poisoning.
The incident is recounted in a new public safety alert from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigators, who warn about a rise in illegal, typically foreign-based online stores that are allegedly targeting American consumers with deceptive practices.
“These companies operate illegally, deliberately deceiving American customers into believing they are purchasing safe, regulated medications when they are actually selling fake, counterfeit pills made with fentanyl or methamphetamine,” the DEA said, noting that the fake pharmacies often use U.S. website addresses and are professionally designed.
Vaccine Uptake Influenced by Politics and Socioeconomics, Study Finds
COVID-19 vaccination rates have varied significantly based on partisanship and socioeconomic factors, with Democrats getting vaccinated faster and at higher percentages than Republicans and Independents.
A University of Michigan study published in npj Vaccines also revealed that vaccine uptake was lowest among Black Americans, individuals with incomes below $30,000 and those with a high school education or less.
Furthermore, female, Black and Hispanic respondents were less likely to get vaccinated early. At the same time, individuals aged 45–65, those with postgraduate degrees and Independents and Democrats were more likely to be early adopters, according to the research conducted in partnership with Georgetown University.
Initial late adopters were found to be more likely to have a college degree but less likely to be parents, with a median delay of three-and-a-half months between early and late adopters.
“Because of the influence of partisanship and distrust of government, the results suggest that public health officials should use social influencers and celebrities in their messages advocating vaccination,” said Michael Traugott, U-M professor emeritus of political science and communication studies, and research professor emeritus at the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research.
An AI-Powered Pipeline for Personalized Cancer Vaccines
Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have developed a full, start-to-finish computational pipeline that integrates multiple molecular and genetic analyses of tumors and the specific molecular targets of T cells and harnesses artificial intelligence algorithms to use its output to design personalized cancer vaccines for patients.
The design, validation and comparative assessment of this computational suite, NeoDisc, are detailed in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology in a publication led by Florian Huber and Michal Bassani-Sternberg of the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
“NeoDisc provides unique insights into the immunobiology of tumors and the mechanisms by which they evade targeting by cytotoxic T cells of the immune system,” said Bassani-Sternberg.
“These insights are invaluable to the design of personalized immunotherapies, and the analytical and computational pipeline at the heart of NeoDisc is already being used here in Lausanne for clinical trials of personalized cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies.”
GSK, Sanofi, CSL Nab $72M in BARDA Funding to Boost Bird Flu Vaccine Supply
CSL Seqirus, Sanofi and GSK have collectively secured $72 million in funding from the U.S. health department to boost the country’s supply of bird flu vaccines.
The grant comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under a national preparedness initiative, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response said Friday.
The three companies will fill and finish additional doses of their influenza A(H5) vaccines, turning bulk materials into ready-to-use vials or syringes that can be immediately distributed if needed.
The manufacturers will also make additional bulk antigens that match the circulating bird flu strains. And Sanofi, in an ongoing partnership with BARDA, will preserve a continuous supply of domestic eggs to be able to make more doses of flu vaccines, according to the agency.
As Eli Lilly, Compounders Battle Over Weight Loss Drugs, Patients Are Caught in the Middle
There’s a war brewing over blockbuster weight loss medications — and patients are now getting caught in the crossfire.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared an end to the shortage of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. The move was a clear warning to compounders that they can no longer make copycat versions of the drugs — a process that is only permitted when the medications are on an official agency shortage list.
On Thursday, Lilly, which has long warned about the risks of knockoff products, also ramped up its fight against compounders, reportedly sending hundreds of cease-and-desist letters telling them and telehealth platforms to stop making their versions.
Marburg Virus’ Latest Eruption
On Sept. 27, the world learned that Marburg virus —- a close cousin of Ebola — had surfaced for the first time in Kigali, Rwanda, where it was largely sickening healthcare workers in two hospitals. By Sept. 30, Marburg had already infected 27 humans and killed nine. As of Oct. 7, Rwanda’s government stated that the outbreak’s toll had reached at least 56 confirmed infections and 12 deaths.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a plan to screen all international travelers arriving from Rwanda starting the week of Oct. 14.
Meanwhile, the Sabin Institute shipped 700 doses of an experimental Marburg vaccine for use in high-risk medical workers and others in six sites in the country.
UNICEF Says Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations
Humanitarian pauses in the war in the Gaza Strip have been agreed to allow a second round of polio vaccinations targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10 to start on Oct. 14, the head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said on Thursday.
“Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It is critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, the United Nations has said. It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
“UNICEF will include Vitamin A supplements to strengthen children’s immune systems. Children in Gaza live in extremely dire hygiene and sanitation conditions,” Russell said.
