July 10, 2024

jobs

Biotech layoffs have scientists shaking in their boots

Adobe

Biopharma was booming during the Covid-19 pandemic. But layoffs have shaken the industry over the past couple years, especially at larger pharma firms. About 67% of life science employees laid off during the first half of 2024 were at companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales — a sharp jump from 2021 to 2023, when larger firms accounted for less than half of layoffs.

The layoffs have left a growing number of scientists scrambling for new positions at a time when opportunities are harder to come by. "Both of us would go into a lab tomorrow if we could and start working our tails off. It's not that we want to be sitting twiddling our thumbs," said Jennifer Ariazi about herself and her husband — both scientists who were laid off and have since submitted dozens of job applications. Read more on the fallout from STAT's Jonathan Wosen.

infectious disease

Mpox infects 20 and kills three in South Africa

There have been 20 confirmed mpox cases in South Africa between May 8 and July 2, according to a notice from WHO. Three people have died of the disease, which leads to a blistery rash on the skin and mucous membranes of those infected. The new cases — largely among men who have sex with men — are the first in the country since 2022, when there were just five cases and no deaths. The health risk for the general public remains low, WHO says, but at the same time, it's likely that the confirmed cases are just a small proportion of the actual total. There is moderate risk for gay and bisexual men, trans and gender-diverse people, and sex workers.

The influx of South African cases comes about a year after WHO officially ended the global health emergency for mpox. Experts previously told STAT's Helen Branswell they were worried infections would go undetected and unreported as attention to the disease waned.

breaking ground

Surgery shows promise for cancer patients who lose their voices

A Massachusetts man became the third person in the U.S. and the first cancer patient to receive a total larynx transplant. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona performed the operation as part of a small new study that may ultimately help broaden access to the procedure. That could be particularly beneficial for the roughly 12,500 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer each year.

"People need to keep their voice," the patient, 59-year-old Marty Kedian, told The Associated Press. "I want people to know this can be done." Read more.

first opinion podcast

Anthony Fauci talks bird flu, presidents, and multi-million job offers

Theresa Gaffney/STAT

In a special edition of the "First Opinion Podcast," STAT executive editor Rick Berke and senior writer Helen Branswell interviewed the country's former top infectious disease expert about some of the insights and revelations from his new memoir, "On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service."

Conversation topics include when Fauci knew that Covid-19 was a real threat; how AIDS activist Larry Kramer called him "the consummate manipulative bureaucrat" in an interview with STAT; how quickly national health risk can skyrocket when it comes to pathogenic viruses; and which former president Fauci regards with the most affection. Listen on your podcast platform of choice, or watch the whole thing on YouTube.

reproductive health

Survey: Women with fibroids pushed toward hysterectomies

There are a variety of simple treatment options for uterine fibroids, which are non-cancerous growths on (or in) the uterus. But a new survey of more than 1,000 women, including 167 who'd received a diagnosis for the condition, found that more than half of those diagnosed with a fibroid were presented with a much more serious option: a hysterectomy, which completely removes the uterus. And less than 20% of respondents who received a diagnosis were presented with less-invasive options like over-the-counter medication, oral contraceptives, embolization (which blocks blood to the fibroid), or endometrial ablation (in which small tools inserted into the vagina use heat to destroy uterine lining), according to a report from the Society of Interventional Radiology that details the survey results.

The report also notes that uterine fibroids are three times more common in Black women and twice as common in Hispanic women. The data indicates that people may not be given all the information they need to make their own health care decisions, the report authors said.

medical education

Could free med school help fix U.S. health care?

If you're the devoted Morning Rounds reader I hope you are, you might remember that I wrote yesterday about a move from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to make tuition free for most students after a $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies. It's already clear that making medical school free can have a major impact on the lives of future doctors. But does that positive change trickle down to patients in the fraught U.S. health care system?

Not really, experts told STAT's Annalisa Merelli. Programs like this have shown a limited effect in addressing broader issues like the need to expand the workforce or increase diversity, many said. Read more from Nalis on what free medical schooling will actually change, as well as what it won't.

More around STAT

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What we're reading

Not everyone has an inner voice streaming through their head, Scientific American
Arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals detected in tampons, U.S. study finds, TIME
Expand community-based research to make clinical trials more diverse, STAT
Children with autism carry unique gut flora, study finds, New York Times
FTC report finds PBMs profit at the expense of patients and independent pharmacies, STAT

Thanks for reading! More tomorrow,

theresa.gaffney@statnews.com

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Breaking News

Anthony Fauci talks bird flu, Joe Biden, and multi-million job offers

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