| | | |   | Hey hey, it's Meghana. Some cool science afoot today: A stunning new application for CAR-T therapies, a monoclonal antibody for addiction, and more. | | | CAR-T highly promising in autoimmune disease CAR-T therapy isn’t exclusive to oncology: A half-dozen people with severe lupus, an autoimmune condition, have gone into remission after receiving an infusion of CAR-T cells, STAT's Isabella Cueto reports. In lupus, B cells create antibodies against a person’s own body, resulting in a vicious cycle of inflammation and immune attacks that lead to pain, fatigue, and organ damage. The cellular therapy, which was used on lupus patients under the FDA’s “compassionate use” authorization, modified certain T cells to target the B cells involved in lupus flare-ups. Interestingly, 100 days after the CAR-T infusion, the B cells reappeared — but began to act normally. Immune system function wasn’t destroyed in the lupus patients, as it often is in people with cancer who undergo CAR-T therapy. Instead, the therapy got rid of lupus-causing antibodies while preserving immunity to pathogenic diseases. Although the treatment has only been tested in six patients thus far, experts agree it is tantalizing. Read more. | A monoclonal for methamphetamine addiction There hasn’t been much in the pharmaceutical arsenal to help people who abuse methamphetamines. But STAT's Lev Facher reports that researchers are now studying a new monoclonal antibody, which binds to meth molecules and helps prevent them from entering the brain. The antibody is showing early promise in the smattering of emergency rooms involved in the study. One Phase 2 study is testing if the monoclonal antibody can treat meth overdose, and another is measuring its efficacy in helping long-term recovery. Ideally, the drug could be used for both purposes. The drug’s development is being overseen by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the biotech InterveXion. Read more. | mRNA has huge potential beyond vaccines. Could it help us cure deadly cancers? There’s no question that mRNA helped bring Covid-19 vaccines to market at groundbreaking speeds. But what’s next? As scientists and clinicians set their sights on mRNA for therapies that could cure cancers and more, the biopharma industry will need to be ready to make them at the right scale. Learn more here. | Is online prescribing a good idea? When is $2 billion not a lot of money? And what’s going to happen at J.P. Morgan 2023? We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. Our colleague Katie Palmer joins us to explain a burgeoning trend in pharmaceutical advertising that has health policy experts alarmed. We also discuss the White House’s investment in biotech, a bellwether IPO, and the latest twist in the Merck-Seagen saga. Listen here. | Genentech-backed fashion event advocates for SMA Fashion and pharma don’t usually go hand in hand, but at a runway show last week in New York that was part of the idea.
As STAT's Matthew Herper reports, the event in question was a fashion show sponsored by Genentech and featuring models with spinal muscular atrophy, a condition in which damaged or destroyed motor neurons lead to various levels of disability. All the clothes were specially designed: One dapper suit, for example, used magnetic closures to create the look of buttons so it’d be simpler to wear.
The event was part of an ongoing campaign funded by Genentech called SMA My Way. The company sells a daily oral medication, Evrysdi, for SMA that generated $500 million in the first half of this year alone. That said, the event was unbranded, meaning Genentech didn’t know which drugs the participants were on, if any. But by funding the creation of clothes tailored to SMA patients, Genentech can bolster its reputation, particularly within the patient community.
Read more. | More reads - Swiss authorities raid Novartis offices seeking info on patents used to block rivals, STAT
- Crispr Therapeutics becomes the latest biotech to open in the Seaport, Boston Globe
- Pfizer gears up to submit meningococcal shot for approval this year after phase 3 success, FierceBiotech
- Brazil dismisses antitrust complaint against Gilead over pricing for a hepatitis C drug, STAT
| Thanks for reading! Until next week,  | | | |
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