| | | |   | Good morning, all. Damian here with a promising update on a CRISPR-powered cancer therapy, alarming trends in Covid-19 case counts, and a breakthrough for the "Google Maps of the human body." | | | The latest CRISPR cancer treatment looks good in early data A CRISPR-edited cell therapy from Caribou Biosciences led to complete remissions in four of five patients with advanced lymphoma, the company said yesterday in the first glimpse at clinical data from the biotech company co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna.
As STAT’s Adam Feuerstein reports, Caribou’s treatment begins with T cells from healthy donors that get twice edited with CRISPR: first to evade the recipient’s immune system and then home in on protein found on the surface of tumors. What makes Caribou’s therapy unique is a third edit, this time to remove the well-known called PD-1, which cancer cells use to evade detection.
The result, in theory, is a more powerful CAR-T. And the early data are promising.
Read more. | Is the next Covid surge upon us? How do you make $350,000 a day in biotech? And when did Seagen find out about its CEO's arrest?
We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, we discuss the latest alarming trends in the Covid-19 pandemic and explaining the curious case of Moderna's briefly employed chief financial officer. Then we pick apart the implications of Pfizer's $11.6 billion acquisition of Biohaven and the struggles of a once-promising idea in cancer immunotherapy. Finally, we examine the arrest of Seagen CEO Clay Siegall and the unanswered questions about the company's response.
Listen here. | Looking beyond “allergic” and “eosinophilic” views of moderate-to-severe asthma Growing evidence shows type 2 inflammation contributes to most asthma cases in children and adults, going beyond perceptions that asthma is only triggered by allergies or driven by eosinophils. This underlying inflammation can increase disease burden in moderate-to-severe asthma, including worsened lung function and OCS dependency. Discover Sanofi and Regeneron’s work in type 2 inflammation and explore the latest asthma research at the ATS Annual Meeting (May 13-18). | The guy behind ‘value-based pricing’ has washed his hands of pharma Mick Kolassa wrote the words pharma wanted to hear. In an influential 2009 book, he made the case that medicines were frequently underpriced relative to their benefits, arguing that drug companies should command prices that reflect their products’ societal value. It made him an in-demand industry consultant, but after years of watching his work used to justify ever-escalating health care costs, the man behind “value-based pricing” walked away from the business.
Billy Kenber, author of the book “Sick Money: The Truth About the Global Pharmaceutical Industry,” spoke at length with Kolassa about his journey from thought leader to conscientious objector. To him, the evolution of modern drug pricing starts with well-intentioned individuals and goes astray with greedy actors in a broken market.
“I saw companies that we worked hard to get them to understand they had a $15,000 drug,” Kolassa said. “And once they found out it was 15, they said, “Well, can I get 25?” When Kolassa said maybe, they’d respond, “Well, if I can get 25, can I get 35?”
Read more. | How the ‘Google Maps of the human body’ could lead to new treatments For the past decade or so, hundreds of researchers in dozens of countries have been conducting a cellular census of every tissue in the human body in a project called the Human Cell Atlas. Yesterday, they shared a massive progress report: detailed maps of more than a million cells across 33 organs.
As STAT’s Megan Molteni reports, the landmark tissue atlases, described by one researcher as “a Google Maps of the human body,” were published in four studies in Science. Two studies focused on immune cells, elucidating how T cells develop and providing clues on how researchers might tweak them to enhance or suppress an immune response. Another aimed to trace down the precise cellular origins of more than 8,000 genetic diseases, while a fourth zoomed in on multiple tissues from a single donor. Each promises to light the way toward novel approaches to treating disease.
“In that way, there’s a good analogy with the Human Genome Project,” said Stephen Quake, president of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network and a member of the Human Cell Atlas organizing committee. “When the first human genome was published, it was a draft genome…. And I think about these cell atlases in the same way. These are drafts. We’re not saying we found every cell type in the human body, or even every tissue, but boy it’s going to be so useful.”
Read more. | More reads - Roche believes cancer drug setback not a fatal blow to growth prospects. Reuters
- This biotech flew high, then fell hard when its cancer drug failed. Wall Street Journal
- A slump in biotech likely means closures, layoffs across Mass., analysts say. WBUR
| Thanks for reading! Until next week,  | | | |
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