BioPharmGuy News

September 21, 2023

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Veristat supported marketing applications for 8 therapies that received regulatory approval in 2022, mostly for therapies designed to treat rare diseases.

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BioPharmGuy

We are amidst an absolute explosion of AI-related everything, especially in life sciences. Haven’t seen such a popular solution-looking-for-a-problem since blockchain. Not that I think this is useless like blockchain - on the contrary it will matter. Eventually.

But remember back when ‘biotechnology’ meant products derived from living organisms? Whereas now it just means anything remotely related to life sciences?

Similarly, AI used to mean Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. But now people use it in place of “algorithm” or even “computer”.

Moral: Most companies who say they are using AI are not using AI.

-BPG

Companies Added & Removed

35 companies added, two removed.

Best New Name:

Motif Neurotech

Worst New Name:

Biosyngen

Most Oddly Spelled New Name:

Giiant Pharma

Excel summary file of adds/removals available free on our downloads page.

Industry

A Logo. For People.

In what is unbelievably not an April Fools story, Johnson & Johnson swapped out their old, cursive J&J script logo for a more modern sans serif font and acted like it was some cutting-edge style overhaul. They suggested the ampersand indicates “caring, human nature”.

Seriously.

The old '+' has given way to this more caring '&' which makes us feel '*' and also a bit '^'.

In its entirety, J&J alleges the new font/logo “delivers both a sense of unexpectedness and humanity”.

Wow, so maybe that explains the ubiquity of sans serif fonts online - all that humanity with which they're imbuing us.

Guess our use of Open Sans here was a visionary choice for the betterment of the world.

Baby Roast

Another week, another team page with baby pictures. Last time we abstained from roasting the babies but tempt us twice…shame on you.

Up first we have baby Martin smiling for the last time in his life after having just realized he could indeed pee his pants without judgement at the seashore. Unsurprisingly, he can now be found doing laps daily at the local swim club.

Next, we have Georges sporting the cutest friar tuck costume you ever did see. Except this was April. In what seems to be 1922? Oldest. Pharmaceutical consultant. Ever.

Finally, there's Roland, having a ball in the first ever IKEA showroom. Whatever he's holding, we can be sure it was used to hold cigarette ashes at some point. Only question we have is who weighs more here - Roland or that diaper.

Team Roast - Elevar

For some reason, Elevar lets us know their CEO is still looking for his first hole-in-one and is also a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. That's sure a long-winded way of saying “loser".

The other two of his colleagues who admit fealty to an NFL team are sticking with the more successful Chiefs and Patriots.

Well, perhaps in retrospect, admitting to being a Bills fan among this group is brave.

(But if you want real guts, it’s admitting to being a Lions fan. Guilty! – BPG)

Team Roast - Maxion

Now on to Maxion’s CEO.

Blah blah blah, prior company acquired, blah blah blah, worked on 2018 Nobel prize winning discovery…c’mon, what NFL team does he root for?? Nothing but useless info here.

Bleeding Stanched

Another recent trial was stopped early because the results were too damn good. This time it was abelacimab, an atrial fibrillation treatment from Anthos, which put the currently available treatments to shame, thus leading to this early conclusion. Patients who were receiving those comparator treatments can now switch to abelacimab.

Next stop - the moon!

Haffkine

Most drug companies provide precious few details about their drug manufacturing processes on their website. This one went the other route and is maybe a little too forthcoming.

Highlights:

-75 acres of land

-850 horses, mules & ponies

-inject snake venom into said equines

-harvest and process the blood

Bing bang boom - you got yourself some antivenom.

Health & Science

Whistle Goes Wuhan

A CIA whistleblower has made the claim the CIA bribed its own COVID origin team to reject the theory that Covid originally leaked out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Obviously, this is an exceptional allegation which would thus require exceptional evidence to support it. But perhaps unsurprisingly, several Republican lawmakers are prepared to believe this 100% before any investigation has begun, even though all evidence is currently statements from a single person.

The CIA has of course roundly denied these allegations, as they would whether they were true or false.

But anyone who thinks the CIA has some sort of bribery system in place where they can bribe not one, not two, not three…but SIX people and expect to get away with it is watching far too many TV dramas. Conspiracies get exponentially harder to keep under wraps as more people get involved.

And shocker - the whistleblower was not one of the alleged bribe recipients. So, any knowledge would have been secondhand at best.

For what it’s worth, one scientist who worked with the CIA group on their investigation commented “obviously is bullshit” and a second described the claims as “ludicrous”.

The federal government has a duty to investigate whistleblowers of all types, because even crazy allegations are occasionally true. But given the politics behind this, some lawmakers will focus on drawing this out for as long as possible vs. actually trying their best to quickly learn whether the allegations have merit.

Lights On

Biotechnologists have been trying for over a decade to create a saleable, glowing plant. Have they reached the promised land? If Light Bio is to be believed, yes. The company plans to start shipping glowing petunias in early 2024.

BioPharmGuy was refunded his money from the failed glowing plant Kickstarter back in 2013. Perhaps a down payment on a petunia is in order?

Sunshine & Rainbows

23andMe published an egregiously one-sided article promoting their genealogy product as a way to happily discover the truth about your past. It’s a glowing portrait of a woman who did a genetic test and found out her father was not biologically her father. And she had over seventy half siblings out there. How awesome!

She has had a great time with all her new siblings, but what of the more common, darker side of these genetic tests whereby a family is torn apart after finding infidelity led to a child? Not everyone's story ends with mom and dad admitting they used a sperm bank (and happened to use a particularly prolific, bicoastal donor).

Generally, the truth is best. But maybe not always?

Bear Country

You're probably familiar with bear populations existing in the northern and western woodlands of North America. But did you know there are 5000 black bears in Georgia? 1000 in Louisiana? 3000 in NEW JERSEY??

Shoot, they’re even hanging out in Arizona & New Mexico.

But the most famous American bear this week was one of the 4000 Florida black bears who found her way into Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Disney wasn't so much concerned with the safety of their guests considering those psychopaths will pay $500 to stay overnight in an actual prison so long as the kids got their Mickey bars. No, they were upset with the bear's attempt to cut into the Lightning Lane to see the Country Bear Jamboree.

Their policy couldn't be simpler: GENIE or GTFO. No exceptions!

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