Behind the Headlines: Weight Loss Drugs; Price Controls; and Free COVID Therapies

This Behind the Headlines news roundup panel discussion covers news items such as the weight loss drugs battle between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, entering new territory through Lilly’s partnership with HAYA Therapeutics and long non-coding sequence mining. It was questioned whether HAYA would have turned its platform toward obesity without that market commanding so much commercial attention at present.

“The partners will identify multiple regulatory genome derived RNA-based drug targets to address these chronic conditions. Under the terms of the collaboration, HAYA will receive an upfront payment, including an equity investment, and is eligible to receive up to an aggregate $1 billion in pre-clinical, clinical and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales. HAYA’s proprietary regulatory genome discovery platform enables the identification of tissue-, disease- and cell-specific long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) targets and the development of RNA-targeting therapies, with potentially better efficacy and less toxicity than current treatments, to reprogram disease-driving cell states … This partnership with Lilly demonstrates the significant advances we have made with our revolutionary regulatory genome RNA-guided platform and validates the potential of targeting lncRNA for chronic conditions," said Samir Ounzain, CEO, HAYA Therapeutics, in a press release (1). "We look forward to working closely with Lilly, an established leader in developing treatments for metabolic diseases, to help bring patients novel disease-modifying therapeutics that could offer greater efficacy, safety and accessibility than currently available treatments” (1).

The panel also discussed The Centers for Disease Control’s Director Many Cohen’s decision to make free vaccines available for those who otherwise couldn’t afford them ($62 M). Starting in late September 2024 from the Covidtests.gov website, each household can order up to four free at-home tests, which will be delivered through the mail. This is a popular program that has sent out more than 900 million tests since 2021, according to Dawn O’Connell, Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for planning and response. O’Connell said the government’s Paxcess program, which is run by drugmaker Pfizer, will continue to distribute free Paxlovid through the end of the year to people who test positive for COVID-19 and who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid (2).

An advance in mitochondrial basic biological understanding with ramifications for potential disease etiology and diagnostics, alongside drug targeting was also discussed. A recycling system in self-repairing mitochondria has been reported by imaging scientists at the hospital for sick children (SickKids). A report by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News stated, “their research demonstrates mitochondria can recycle a localized injury, removing damaged folds called cristae that contain proteins and molecules needed for energy production. The researchers believe this mechanism could present a future target for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction, including infections, fatty liver disease, aging, neurodegenerative conditions, and cancer” (3).

The panel also discussed the Biosecure Act passage and re-shoring pharma manufacturing to North America. In a survey of small, emerging biotech firms in the United States, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) found that 65% work with China-based contract development and manufacturing organizations in some capacity. Switching to new manufacturers, or manufacturing in the US, would temporarily halt production and potentially cost more in labor (4).

References

1. HAYA Therapeutics. HAYA Therapeutics Announces Collaboration with Lilly to Discover Novel Regulatory Genome Targets for Obesity and Related Metabolic Conditions Using Proprietary RNA Platform. Press Release. Sept. 4, 2024. https://www.hayatx.com/news-and-publications/haya-therapeutics-announces-collaboration-with-lilly
2. Goodman, B. Free Covid Tests, Treatments Will Return to Help the Country Cope Over Fall and Winter, US Officials Announce. CNN.com. Aug. 23, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/health/free-covid-tests-treatments-2024/index.html
3. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Recycling System in Self-Repairing Mitochondria Discovered. Genengnews.com. Aug. 26, 2024. https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/recycling-system-in-self-repairing-mitochondria-discovered/
4. Vedantam, K. US Manufacturing Unprepared for BIOSECURE Act’s Repercussions. BioSpace.com. Aug. 21, 2024. https://www.biospace.com/policy/us-manufacturing-unprepared-for-biosecure-acts-repercussions

Panelists

Alex Philippidis, Senior Business Editor, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Benjamin McLeod, Director, Cell & Gene Therapy Segment, NanoMosaic Inc.

Moderator

Chris Spivey, Director of Industry Relations and Strategic Partnership, MJH Life Sciences