science
Third recipient of pig kidney heads home from hospital
Towana Looney, the 53-year-old patient who in November became the third person ever to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig, is headed home to Alabama. "I feel blessed," Looney said in a press release from NYU Langone, where she received the transplant. "I'm so grateful to be alive and thankful to have received this incredible gift." (She'll return to New York monthly for check-ups.)
Xenotransplantation research has undergone a renaissance in the past few years. Earlier this month, the FDA cleared United Therapeutics to begin the first clinical trial to see if gene-edited pigs can provide a viable option for desperate transplant patients, specifically focusing on kidneys.
politics
Q&A: How the USAID freeze halted HIV vaccine efforts in Africa
Last month, researchers in South Africa were preparing to administer two experimental HIV vaccines in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The staff was trained, immunizations were ready, and participant screening had begun. Then, they received a stop-work order. "Everyone is confused, everyone is angry, and that has a knock-on effect," said Glenda Gray, chief scientific officer at the South African Medical Research Council and program director at the BRILLIANT Consortium, the research partnership that led the trial.
Gray last received communication from USAID on Feb. 14, stating that further guidance would be forthcoming when available. "As the days turn into weeks, the realization of the loss and the impact dawns on you, and there's a lot of desperation," she told STAT's Katherine MacPhail in a Q&A. Read the whole conversation.
No comments