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☆ CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang's secretive gene-editing startup has hired ex-Alnylam leaders as CEO and chair
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The gene-editing startup Aera has hired biotech vets Akin Akinc as CEO and John Maraganore as chairman. CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang's newest gene-editing venture has attracted two longtime leaders of the biotech giant Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Insider has learned. Former Alnylam CEO John Maraganore is chairman of Aera. The SEND technology could allow gene-editing technology to treat more diseases. Based on Zhang's SEND research, Aera hopes to deliver gene-editing tools to more organs, ultimately expanding the number of diseases CRISPR can impact.

☆ Roche flags 2023 earnings decline on slump in Covid products
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view of the Roche towers, designed by architects Herzog and de Meuron, the headquarters of the Swiss pharma giant Roche, in Basel. Roche warned of a decline in 2023 earnings, as revenue growth from new drugs including haemophilia treatment Hemlibra and multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus would not make up for a steep demand drop for Covid treatments and diagnostic testing. Sales and core earnings per share were expected to decrease at a "low single-digit" percentage this year, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday. Last year, group revenue edged 1% higher to 63.3 billion Swiss francs ($69.78 billion), the company reported, beating market expectations of 63.2 billion francs, while core operating profit gained 1% to 22.2 billion Swiss francs, just shy of the average analyst estimate of 22.4 billion francs. The decline equates to 5 billion Swiss francs, in his estimate.

☆ How the boom in sports documentaries on streaming is opening up a new path for athletes as content creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce. "These people can go on the air and broadcast their own content and they can capture and keep their own content," said Octagon VP of content and development Jason Weichelt.

☆ A scientist is using AI to design a nasal spray that could protect us from the flu, COVID, and colds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A researcher is developing a nasal spray using custom proteins that could protect against COVID-19. Baker's lab plans to start early human testing of the nasal spray later this year to make sure it's safe and test its efficacy. Using AI, his ultimate goal is to create a nasal spray that's full of proteins that can block many different viruses. Then the proteins could be manufactured and placed in a nasal spray. Baker said that designed proteins are more stable than naturally occurring proteins, so they won't degrade before they make it to one's nose.

☆ Three women who were laid off from tech companies and startups share why they posted about their experiences on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

More people are posting on TikTok about being laid off or unemployed. Three TikTok users share advice such as not disclosing secrets from your former employer. With that share, Hernandez began documenting her unemployment. Vlogging about unemployment on TikTok has helped her network, get job leads, and both give and find support. For all the value they see in posting, Hernandez and Bhereur cautioned against doing so recklessly.

☆ How ballroom dance become a refuge for Asian immigrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Three days a week, Edward Wan, of Bethesda, Maryland, steals away to a ballroom dance studio so he can glide across the floor in the company of older Chinese immigrants like him. Wan, 78, is one of the countless Asian immigrants who’ve regarded ballroom dance as a sort of creative sanctuary, but are now shaken by the two shootings incidents, one of them deadly, that shook California dance halls on Saturday. “It’s an injustice to ballroom dance. Ballroom dance itself is almost like going to learn poetry or sitting down to meditate,” Wan said. Ballroom dance helped him move forward, he said.

☆ Afghan malnutrition rates at record high, U.N. food agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Malnutrition rates in Afghanistan are at record highs — with half the country enduring severe hunger year-round — a spokesman for the U.N.'s World Food Program said. “Half of Afghanistan endures severe hunger throughout the year, regardless of the season, and malnutrition rates are at a record high for Afghanistan,” said Phillipe Kropf, a spokesman for the United Nations food agency in Kabul. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 drove millions into poverty and hunger after foreign aid stopped almost overnight. Ebrahim Noroozi / APAid agencies have been providing food, education and healthcare support to Afghans, including heating, cash for fuel and warm clothes. “Since the Taliban have come, the economic condition is so bad and people don’t have food to eat.

☆ How AI is detecting heart attack risk and aiming to outsmart America’s No. 1 killer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Kerima Greene | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Cleerly founder and CEO James Min, a cardiologist, started the company to find a better way to assess heart health, by applying AI to the problem. Heart disease is the nation's No. CNBC: What are indirect markers of heart disease? Min: Many emergency department visits for heart attacks are preventable if risk factors for heart disease are identified in advance. Using millions of annotated CCTA images, Cleerly algorithms quantify and characterize atherosclerosis and its features.

[1/2] A logo is pictured on the Ibex building of Lonza, where the Moderna mRNA coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine will be produced, in Visp, Switzerland, September 29, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoJan 25 (Reuters) - Lonza (LONN.S) on Wednesday said it will buy back shares worth 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.17 billion), despite an expected drop in annual margins, as the Swiss drug contract manufacturer backed its growth prospects for the near future. Lonza expects its 2023 core earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA margin, to slip between 30% and 31%, down from 32.1% in 2022, as last year's boost from COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing services waned. The Basel-based company, however, reiterated a target of 33%-35% for 2024 marginsand announced a 17% rise in its annual dividend. The Swiss group forecast sales growth in the "high single-digit" adjusted for currency swings, a slow-down from the 15.1% rise it saw last year.

☆ Ketamine is being sold as a depression wonder drug. For some, it's making everything worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

The infusions at the ketamine clinic in his West Texas hometown were a Christmas gift from his grandmother. About five years ago, more and more of my friends started using ketamine recreationally. IV ketamine treatment centers charging $400 to $2,000 an infusion popped up all over the country. "Ketamine used as directed in an appropriate clinical setting very rarely leads to any dependence," Mindbloom says on its website. Like Nadia, most of the people I interviewed said when they started using ketamine, they didn't think it was possible to become dependent on it.

☆ MoviePass CEO Stacy Spikes on his plans to relaunch the service (for real) and bring back an unlimited option
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Stacy Spikes told Insider he plans to put MoviePass out of beta and make it available for all by the summer. You would think Spikes would want to run as far away as possible from the movie-ticket-subscription startup. Before Stacy Spikes created MoviePass he created the Urbanworld Film Festival. I wanted to put that down because I see so many times people approach me and think MoviePass was my first business. MoviePassThe MoviePass beta version is focused on the credits system, e-ticketing, and fixing bugsWhat have been the biggest challenges in getting this beta version of MoviePass off the ground?

☆ Danaher's stock drop looks like a buying opportunity after it reported a solid quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

When excluding the impact of declining Covid testing sales — but keeping in revenue from products that support vaccines and therapeutics — Danaher's base business saw core growth of 7.5%. Guidance Management expects overall core revenue growth to be down mid-single-digits on a percentage for the first quarter. For the full year 2023, management expects overall core revenue growth to be down mid-single-digits. Previously, only revenues related to Covid testing were excluded. On the call, management pointed to roughly 10% core revenue growth in both North America and Europe.

☆ I'm the CEO of $560 million food brand Huel. I wear the same thing to work every day and always get 7.5 hours of sleep — here's what my morning routine is like.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Lauren Crosmedlicott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Huel CEO James McMaster starts his morning with a workout and mutes his notifications while at work. If I'm boxing, I'm not thinking about anything else. I change into my Huel T-shirt and jeans, the outfit I wear each day when I'm working in the office. It's pretty much all I have at the Huel office. I prioritize verbal conversations during the early part of the day and then scan emails toward the end of the day.

☆ This biotech stock is up 10% in the last month — and analysts expect it to rise a further 118%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wall Street is bullish on the California-headquartered company, which makes the enzymes for Pfizer's Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment ; all eight equity analysts covering the stock give it a buy rating. Their median price target points to a 118% potential upside over the 12 months, according to FactSet. "We believe that PRGN's R & D event will validate the key value propositions that underscore PRGN-2012," said Cantor Fitzgerald's analysts in a note to clients on Jan. 12. Other companies on the list include the London-listed stock of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Genus , which analysts expect to rise by more than 40% over the next 12 months. Clinical diagnostics company Bio-Rad Lab and Sweden-headquartered IVF specialist Vitrolife are the other stocks expected to go up by analysts.

☆ Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/StaffBEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. Her father died in late December, weeks after China dropped its COVID restrictions. Among those fatalities, 90% were 65 or older and the average age was 80.3 years, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Hong recalls visiting with her father to a crowded Wuhan crematorium to collect the ashes of her grandparents - a grim but common experience during China's COVID surge. Relatives were likewise sceptical about official death tolls, with several citing lost trust in the government during three years of "zero COVID" pandemic management.

☆ India's Eris Lifesciences to buy some dermatology brands from Glenmark Pharma
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Eris Lifesciences Ltd (ERIS.NS) said on Tuesday it would acquire a portfolio of dermatology brands from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd (GLEN.NS) for 3.4 billion rupees ($41.63 million) to deepen its presence in the anti-fungal and anti-psoriasis segments. The deal, through Eris' dermatology focused unit, is for the purchase of nine brands, including Onabet, Halobate, Sorvate, and Demelan for India and Nepal, Eris said. Glenmark said, post divestiture of the brands, it will further consolidate its position in the core therapeutic areas of cardiometabolic, respiratory, dermatology, and oncology segments. Separately, Eris on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of 1.02 billion rupees in its third quarter, from 1.01 billion rupees a year earlier. ($1 = 81.6740 Indian rupees)Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 8 best gluten-free meal delivery services in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

Fortunately, many meal kits and pre-made meal delivery services offer several gluten-free menu items for any type of meal that can be tasty, creative and easy to prepare when you’re in a rush. To determine the best meal delivery services with gluten-free options or entirely gluten-free menus, we spoke to nutritionists and dieticians about the best services to try out and highlighted each individual service’s pricing, delivery frequency and meal options. 8 best gluten-free meal delivery services to tryWe spoke to experts about their favorite meal delivery services that either provide gluten-free options or have an entirely gluten-free menu. One of Sunbasket’s 10 available meal plans is the Gluten-Free plan, which features five to eight gluten-free options each week. BistroMD offers a specialized gluten-free program that lets you choose from over 100 gluten-free meals each week, according to the service.

☆ 8 best meal delivery services of 2023, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +26 min

SKIP AHEAD The best meal kit delivery services | How to shop for a meal kit delivery serviceTo determine the best meal delivery service for you, we spoke to chefs, nutritionists and recipe developers about what to look for in a meal delivery service and highlighted their recommendations for the best ones to try this year. 8 best meal delivery services in 2023We talked to our experts about important features to consider when shopping for meal kit delivery services, including available options for certain dietary restrictions, how customizable the plans are and the quality of the ingredients. We separated them into two categories: meal kit services that send out individual ingredients and pre-made meal delivery services. Best meal kit delivery servicesThese expert-recommended meal delivery services all feature an option to send separate ingredients and allow shoppers to cook themselves. For those who don’t have as much time during the week, ready-to-eat meal delivery services are typically the best option.

☆ Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. hospitalized patients experience a harmful event, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The stark findings underscore that, despite decades of effort, hospitals in the United States still have a long way to go to improve patient safety, experts say. A total of 222 adverse events were considered preventable, meaning an error resulted in patient harm. Twenty-nine people, or 1% of the total of those admitted, experienced serious preventable adverse events that resulted in serious harm. The most common adverse events overall (nearly 40%) were related to medications given in the hospital. It used data from patients hospitalized in New York state in 1984, and found that only about 4% of hospitalized patients experienced harm.

☆ FDA warns Japan's Olympus units over testing violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it has issued warning letters to manufacturers of medical scopes used in surgical procedures, citing violations found during inspections of facilities in Japan. Warning letters pertain to a category of devices known as endoscopes, which allow doctors to see and access the urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory tract, during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The health regulator released the letters on Monday, which were sent to units of Japan's Olympus Corp (7733.T) - Olympus Medical System Corp and Aizu Olympus Co -in December and November, respectively. The agency added that Olympus Medical did not develop medical device reporting procedures as mandated and did not submit them to the regulator in the required timeframes. These warning letters add to a history of the U.S. FDA's compliance actions against Olympus related to testing and manufacturing requirements.

☆ Most therapeutic areas back to pre-pandemic levels, says Medtronic CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMost therapeutic areas back to pre-pandemic levels, says Medtronic CEOGeoffrey Martha, Medtronic CEO, joins 'TechCheck' to discuss future of the company and his outlook for 2023.

☆ The billionaire CEO of a top biotech VC firm details how a new type of AI could transform how we test and discover treatments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Afeyan is the CEO and founder of Flagship Pioneering, the venture firm behind Moderna. Flagship has in its portfolio multiple companies using AI in areas like drug discovery and testing. The Flagship method for company building starts with a vague "what if" question, and if the idea survives testing, it's unveiled to the public, Afeyan told Insider in 2021. Afeyan isn't alone in predicting that generative AI is gearing up to play a bigger role in healthcare. Morgan Cheatham, a vice president at Bessemer Venture Partners, told Insider he predicted generative AI would result in more than $1 trillion in value for the healthcare industry by 2040.

☆ U.S. experts recommend weight-loss drugs for obese children
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Metformin has been used off label to achieve weight loss in children. Of the 27 randomized trials of metformin for weight loss in children reviewed by the guidelines panel, 74% showed some positive effect of the medication. Wegovy last month won U.S. approval for chronic weight management in children ages 12 and older. For children ages 2 to 12 years, AAP said there was not currently enough evidence to recommend use of these medications. They also include recommendations for diagnosing obesity annually in children ages 6 years and older, through checks on BMI, and practices such as motivational interviewing.

☆ Eli Lilly has spent years and billions of dollars in search of an effective Alzheimer's drug. But success is not all or nothing for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

Eli Lilly (LLY) has spent decades researching Alzheimer's disease without successfully bringing to market a treatment that slows the memory-destroying condition. For Eli Lilly as a company, an Alzheimer's drug is an important pursuit. Lilly's Alzheimer's history Eli Lilly's "first real foray" into Alzheimer's came in the 1990s, according to Dr. John Sims, Eli Lilly's head of medical development for donanemab. Financial implications for Lilly LLY mountain 2021-10-08 The Club started a new position in Eli Lilly (LLY) in October 2021. The Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of the company's offices in San Diego, California, September 17, 2020.

☆ SoulCycle founders gear up to launch Peoplehood, which they describe as 'modern medicine for the loneliness epidemic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While the company has been in beta mode, Cutler and Rice are not disclosing pricing until launch. "We realized that connection should be its own product," Rice told the Times. "It feels therapeutic, but it's not therapy," Rice told the Times in response. Julie Rice (left) and Elizabeth Cutler Courtesy of SoulCycleSimilar to SoulCycle, Rice and Cutler also intend to sell Peoplehood merchandise, including apparel, tote bags, and prayer candles, the New York Times reported. Cutler and Rice, along with fellow co-founder Ruth Zukerman, opened the first SoulCycle location in New York City in 2006.

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