[Tangent — Pharma M&A Power Alley] Rumors Confirmed: Merck To Acquire Acceleron… For Very Little Over Recent Market Cap Figures… Good Candidate Add Ons / Fold Ins, For Kenilworth.

Clearly Mr. Davis knows, based on the hard-scrabble lessons Fred Hassan learned (about being a one trick pony company, while at the helm of legacy Schering-Plough), that as great as Keytruda^® is, and will continue to be, in oncology. . . the company must be prepared for what happens when (not if) something even better comes along in immuno-oncology. This is the first larger Davis-era move. [We will keep a close financial eye on it, to see how it turns out. Smile. . . .]

So it is. . . that Avoro Capital, a roughly seven per cent holder of legacy Acceleron is. . . already complaining — that Mr. Davis essentially fleeced Habib Dable, the CEO of the target. Indeed — Avoro may be. . . right. [That said, I doubt Avoro is seriously thinking of some form of street sweep, or proxy battle — or courtship of a white knight, to more or less scuttle the deal, for a higher priced one. But we shall, as ever. . . see.]

Mother Merck is in fact spending only a relatively modest amount in premium, for a high-potential Phase 1b/2 developed candidate called sotatercept, as a novel future franchise, in the pulmonary / hypertension arena, all while getting an on-market nice pipe of revenue (with BMS), in erythroid maturation (improving hemoglobin levels in rare disease patients), from the Reblozyl^® franchise. That is a pure royalty payment stream as BMS does all the manufacturing — and Acceleron just banks a check each month. Looks pretty. . . smart, at first blush here — as it keeps BMS from getting all that gravy, as well:

. . .Acceleron is focused on harnessing the power of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily of proteins that is known to play a central role in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and repair. Acceleron’s lead therapeutic candidate, sotatercept, has a novel mechanism of action with the potential to improve short-term and/or long-term clinical outcomes in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a progressive and life-threatening blood vessel disorder. Sotatercept is in Phase 3 trials as add-on to current standard of care for the treatment of PAH.

“Strategic business development is a top priority for Merck as we look to drive sustainable growth and further bolster and balance our pipeline with breakthrough science,” said Rob Davis, chief executive officer and president, Merck. “Acceleron’s innovative research has yielded an exciting late-stage candidate that complements and strengthens our growing cardiovascular portfolio and pipeline and holds the potential to build upon Merck’s proud legacy in cardiovascular disease.”

In addition to sotatercept, Acceleron’s portfolio includes REBLOZYL® (luspatercept-aamt), a first-in-class erythroid maturation recombinant fusion protein approved in the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia for the treatment of anemia in certain rare blood disorders. REBLOZYL is being developed and commercialized through a global collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. . . .

Now you know — and I am smiling this afternoon, because I know the arc of history bends inexorably toward. . . progress.

And so, I know maybe a month — or a year — from tonight, NASA will change the name of the fine science instrument featured on our masthead. I just. . . know it.

नमस्ते

Holmes Trial Log: 09.29.2021

Here is the Holmes Trial Log from September 29, 2021 — six pages.

Too tired for graphics or commentary… may be the last of these. We shall see.

Trial Summary Log — Holmes’ Felonies Matter — For Yesterday, 09.28.2021

Trial resumes at 9 AM, this morning, Pacific Time, in San Jose.

Without any additional fanfare, then — here is the five pager, summarizing yesterday’s trial day, from the court staff.

The very clear emerging picture from live testimony is that Ms. Holmes was… firmly in control of the company (a micro-manager, even), supremely confident, but secretive for reasons that never seemed clear… and actively lying, to would-be investors and partners — about early generation Theranos machines / Edisions being presently deployed on Apache helicopters, as part of US Defense work (in evaluations), in the middle east — combat zones.

That deeply unpatriotic and verifiable lie (all by itself) will prove… lethal.

Onward, grinning — ever grinning….

[U; O/T] SB-8 Collateral Fallout: When The Quality Of The “Bounty Hunters” Is Of This Caliber, The So-Called “Pro-Lifers” Have Already Lost The War, In Texas…

In the end, SB-8 will die. The Supremes simply cannot allow “vigilante justice” to be the rule here. There are manifold ways in which the bill, even as written, will be used to supress clearly enumerated Constitutional rights. But between now and when the Supremes get it, the anti-abortion forces will have a vast quagmire of miscreants to clean up. As will the Governor and the local judges, in the Longhorn State.

And by that, I mean the supposed “privately-injured parties“, who are now filing state and federal suits with the aim of recovering $10,000 per violation — in Texas, from alleged service providers. Take this first, most notable one. No. . . really. Please — take it.

It is brought by a convicted felon, serving home confinement for 15 years (now in his twelfth year!) in Arkansas (the bill imposes no geographical limits). Oh — and by his own admission, he’s a disgraced, and a disbarred former attorney, and a federal tax cheat. He is the face of this White-Knight / “justice effort” — in Texas. Charming.

I won’t quote any of his suit — as it is in the main, a rambling diatribe against the federal authorities who have properly convicted him of felonies (and taken his freedoms) — but along the way he demands up to $100,000 from these chuckleheaded Texas statutory schemes — as a supposed bounty hunter.

These are the kinds of “advocates” one draws, when one doesn’t have the brains to think things through — and then makes pacts with the worst of the MAGA elements.
Updated, on Monday morning — consider this (as an observation in reply to a comment on the life-sciences blog property), from the latest filed emergency petition before the Supremes:

. . .It is a foundational principle of our federal constitutional system that “the federal judiciary is supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution,” and States may not nullify federal rights through “evasive schemes” designed to foreclose federal judicial review. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1, 17–18 (1958). Had a State after Brown v. Board of Education, 349 U.S. 294 (1955), enacted a similar law authorizing private citizens to sue anyone integrating a school, there can be little question that this Court would have immediately stopped that act of lawlessness. That S.B.-8 seeks to frustrate the right to abortion rather than the right to equal protection cannot justify different treatment. . . .

Welcome to the public relations nightmare, you Roman Catholics (among others), in Texas. You clearly bargained for it.

नमस्ते

[O/T] Define Irony: Newly Discovered 23,000 Year Old Human Footprints — In Same General Area As The World’s First “Trinity” (Nuclear Bomb) Test…

A quite wise commenter mentioned this discovery, so it has become our featured weekend bill of fare.

Even so, I can’t help but recall the other reason a sixty-some mile wide circle around the archeological site is embedded in (at least my) memories. You see, seventy-six years ago, on a clear July 16 — the US detonated the world’s first atomic bomb, approximately 60 miles north of what is now the White Sands National Monument.

“Trinity” was placed atop a steel tower that was called “Zero” — thus Ground Zero was at the foot of the tower. Measuring instruments, and observation points were set at varying distances from that spot. And so, all that horrifying destruction we had been able to will into existence. . . was born. And born not even a two day hike from where ancient humans lived in peace, some 23,000 years ago.

Yes — it is odd (to me at least) that now, seventy six years later, we learn that the Trinity site blast may also have erased other evidence of much earlier human settlements — settlements of those that we would come to call. . . Indigenous-, or Mezo-Americans. Yet and still, we seem to have gotten lucky. Not far from Trinity, archeologists have just recently found fossilized footprints, left in mud eons ago — with various seeds embedded in those foot-prints. And so we now may place humans in what we call New Mexico almost 10,000 years earlier than we had previously expected. Here’s the latest bit:

. . .“Seeds embedded in the footprints were radiocarbon dated and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey to establish their age. The research dramatically extends the range for the coexistence of humans and Pleistocene (ice age) megafauna and confirms that humans were present in North America before the major glacial advances at the height of the last ice age closed migration routes from Asia,” a release read.

The discovery points to human occupation in the Tularosa Basin beginning at least 23,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously believed. . . .

Scientists from White Sands National Park, the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bournemouth University, University of Arizona and Cornell University, in connection with the park’s Native American partners, all collaborated and consulted on this research. . . .

So. . . what path will we as humans choose? One that destroys our tiny, fragile blue life raft — or one that preserves perhaps a million years of hominid life records? I for one think we need to spend more time thinking. . . longer term.

नमस्ते

Another Down Day, For The Defense — In Holmes Felony Matter, Yesterday…

With this coming Monday reserved for some house-keeping matters outside the presence of the jury, the next trial day with the jury seated, in the Holmes felonies matter in San Jose, California is next Tuesday, the 28^th.

Here is a court-generated summary of what happened yesterday.

It is interesting that the defense wants to argue about the supposed bias of prosecution witness number 8, and likely impeach his testimony on cross about it. If the parties cannot agree on an approach over the weekend, the able USDC Judge Davila may hold a hearing Monday on the matter (without the jury in the court house — out of earshot).

We shall see. Onward, grinning on a cool, sparklingly clear fall Saturday morning — with fresh chilled OJ, a ripe banana, cherry infused yogurt and piping hot, sweet-creamed coffee at the ready. In sum, a perfect weekend morning… be excellent to one another.

Ret. Gen. Mattis Testified — About Holmes’ Falsifications To The Board (And His Subsequent Resignation), Yesterday

It was reported by various MSM outlets that US General “Mad Dog” Mattis (Ret.) no longer knew what to believe — whenever he talked to Elizabeth Holmes, even though he had fiduciary duties to supervise her actions, as an elected member of the Theranos board of directors… so eventually, he resigned from that position. Then he became the US Secretary of Defense. A heavy-hitting prosecution witness, if ever there one was.

Here is yesterday’s trial log — and again, very few exhibits were met with successful defense challenges. In sum, the entire government case is being presented to the jury, in much the way the government hoped to lay out its proof.

Bad news for “The Holmies“.

Onward, grinning.

Yesterday’s Trial Log, From Holmes’ Felony Matter… Attached.

Once again, just a very short, quick-ish squib — to post the six page summary, entered by USDC Judge Davila in San Jose, of the proceedings of yesterday.

It does seem clear that almost none of the defense objections, to the government’s introduction of evidence… are being sustained.

The end draws near, for Ms. Holmes (and, by inference, Mr. Balwani — come January 2022).

Onward, grinning….

To “Streamline” The Holmes Felony Trial, In San Jose, CA… Agreed Pieces Of Evidence Admitted Without Need For A Witness On Stand…

Overnight, Ms. Holmes’ team stipulated that most of the government’s exhibits need not be put on with a witness to authenticate them. This saves perhaps thirty separate witness appearances, solely to say “yes, I sent that email” — or “Yes, I interviewed her for Forbes on a video broadcast on such and such date….”

So it may shave several days off of the time needed to get the government’s case in chief into evidence.

That’s a useful thing — for the jurors, if no one else. Now you know.

Onward, with a grin. Ever, grinning — into the night air….

The Summary Trial Log, For Friday, From The Able USDC Judge Davila, In Holmes’ Matter…

Without too much additional ado… here it is (again, five pages long).

These are indeed exceedingly helpful, and yet Judge Davila is among the very few federal court judges who takes the time at the end of the day, to help the nation’s media do its job (in newsworthy cases like these) — by noting the most important rulings — on evidence admissions — during the often quite hectic trial day.

As I’ve said, there will be at least fifty or so of these… so I may stop downloading them.

We shall see.

In this one, though, we learn of a lab-employee whistle-blower testifying about the persistent unreliability of Edison 3.0, and other matters, all with a grant of immunity.

Immunity from prosecution for taking papers with her, when she left Theranos.

Onward, grinning….