How to get gene-editing medicines to families that need it
In May, news broke of a biomedical first: the on-demand design and clinical use of a personalized gene editor for a baby boy born with a rare, severe genetic condition. At the STAT Summit in October, the child’s treating physician from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the lead on developing the gene editor […]
Regulatory barriers are forcing drug discovery to move to China
Five years ago, U.S. pharmaceutical companies didn’t license any new drugs from China. By 2024, one-third of their new compounds were coming from Chinese biotechnology firms. Why are U.S. drugmakers sending their business to China? As in many other industries, it’s so much cheaper to synthesize new compounds inside Chinese biotechnology firms once a novel […]
How to make raw milk safe(r)
When H5N1 avian flu was detected in commercial raw milk samples from a dairy called Raw Farm in California in December, the company released a press statement: “There are no illnesses associated with H5N1 in our products, but rather this is a political issue.” To critics of raw milk — and of Robert F. Kennedy […]
How to Manage Patients on GLP-1s Before Surgery?
Guidance from professional societies on how to handle the risk for pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia or deep sedation for patients taking glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) continues to evolve, as does the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) labeling for the drugs. The changes can be challenging to keep up with, and […]