| | | |   | Meghana here, writing about Aduhelm, Covid, CRISPR, and more. This is my last Readout for a little while; taking some time off to care for my kiddo, who is having surgery next week. Wish us luck! | | | Intellia buys a startup focused on base and prime editing Intellia, a maker of CRISPR-based therapies, said yesterday it would spend $45 million to buy a tiny biotech called Rewrite Therapeutics, and another $155 million in milestone payments. Rewrite apparently has a wide range of gene editing techniques in its arsenal linked to base and prime editing — “a kind of CRISPR 2.0,” according to a VC that seeded the startup. Intellia was the first company to demonstrate that CRISPR editing could work therapeutically when infused directly into the body. And prime editing is a particularly lucrative science these days: It allows scientists to change any letter of DNA, or make larger insertions or deletions in any given genome. | Covid drugs appear to be worth their cost Four medications approved to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 seem to be cost-effective, ICER says. Therapies like the antiviral pills from Pfizer and Merck averted hospitalization costs for Covid-19 patients who were at high risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
But not all savings are alike. For example, sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody from GSK and Vir Biotechnology, costs $2,100 — but the cost per life year gained by using the treatment was $58,000. Another pill, a cheap, decades-old antidepressant caleld fluvoxamine, costs just $12 — but the cost per life year is $5,000. Read more. | Patients want change; providers agree — we need to disrupt the status quo Inequities within the U.S. healthcare system are worsening for medically disenfranchised patients. Genentech believes sustainable solutions require a deeper understanding of their experiences. We surveyed underserved patients and their healthcare providers to learn more about their perceptions of and experiences with the healthcare system. See what they had to say here. | Biogen earnings disappoint Aduhelm sales continue to underperform in the fourth quarter: Biogen analysts were expecting the company to earn $2 million from sales of the embattled Alzheimer’s drug, but instead it brought in $1 million. Last year, Biogen’s revenue was $10.98 billion, but the company’s revenue guidance this year is between $9.7 billion and $10 billion — some $400 million short of investor expectations. The biotech’s share price fell 3% on the news. The company is planning to cut costs to save $500 million, and may have to consider additional cuts if Medicare doesn’t revise draft coverage plans for Aduhelm recently.
In other Alzheimer drug news, Eli Lilly is postponing an application with the FDA for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, BioPharma Dive writes. As opposed to filing by the end of March, the drugmaker now plans to delay a submission for donanemab until the end of the year.
Read more. | Does President Biden care about the FDA? What can aerobics instructors teach us about genetics? And when can kids get Covid-19 vaccines? We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. STAT Washington correspondent Nicholas Florko joins us to chat about why Robert Califf, once a shoo-in to be the next FDA commissioner, is suddenly in serious jeopardy. Then, we examine one of the coolest drug-discovery stories in medicine with Merck’s head of research, Dean Li, who joins us to talk about the company’s efforts to develop an oral cholesterol pill targeting PCSK9. Listen here. | More reads - PhRMA takes aim at WHO and European Union over support of weakening patent protections. (STAT)
- Eleven years after buying Genzyme, Sanofi officially ditches subsidiary’s storied name. (STAT)
- Pfizer sues two former employees for stealing trade secrets and creating a rival for diabetes and obesity drugs. (STAT)
| Thanks for reading! Until next week,  | | | |
No comments