GSK’s blood cancer medicine Blenrep failed to meet the primary goal of a late-stage research designed to demonstrate that it was superior to an existing treatment on the market, the company announced on Monday.
GSK’s shares plummeted 3% after its comments, which raised concerns that Blenrep’s regulatory licence may be revoked. Oncology is a significant area of concentration for GSK as a separate prescription pharmaceutical and vaccine business.
GSK said that Blenrep did not reach the primary endpoint of “progression-free survival,” or the time a person lives with the disease without it worsening following therapy, in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
The business decided to buy Sierra Oncology in April, acquiring access to its primary experimental medicine for a rare blood cancer and complementing GSK’s Blenrep.
GSK’s blood cancer medicine Blenrep failed to meet the primary goal of a late-stage research designed to demonstrate that it was superior to an existing treatment on the market
The medicine obtained accelerated approval in the United States in 2020 and is currently approved as a therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have had at least four prior therapies.
Blenrep was compared in the experiment to a combination of pomalidomide and low doses of the steroid dexamethasone. Celgene, which is now part of Bristol-Myers Squibb, developed pomalidomide, which was authorised as a therapy for multiple myeloma in 2013.
J.P.Morgan analysts noted in a note that findings from the so-called superiority trial termed DREAMM-3 may put into doubt Blenrep’s existing approval, adding that several regulatory scenarios now exist, including existing licences being revoked or authorities waiting for additional evidence.
“Overall, given these evidence putting into doubt Blenrep’s approvability in the current environment and the likelihood of success in previous treatment lines, we expect the market to price in the possibility that Blenrep authorisation is revoked,” they said.
GSK stated that results from the trial will be shared with health authorities, and that conversations are presently underway, with future Blenrep trials continuing as scheduled.
The medicine is part of a promising class of treatments known as antibody drug conjugates, which are designed antibodies that bind to cancer cells and then release cell-killing chemicals.
(In Bengaluru, Pushkala Aripaka and Amna Karimi contributed reporting, and Rashmi Aich, Uttaresh.V, and Susan Fenton edited the piece.)
According to a new Wall Street Journal article, Meta, the parent corporation that owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, may begin major layoffs as soon as this week. While it’s unclear how many of Meta’s around 87,000 employees may lose their employment, the new report says it’s in the “thousands.”
Meta has a massive global reach, with over 2.7 billion Facebook users and 2 billion WhatsApp users. According to the Wall Street Journal, the corporation has been on a hiring binge over the previous three years, with over 37,000 new jobs since the beginning of 2020.
The layoffs would be the first in the company’s history, as it just relaunched as Meta in an effort to focus on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s grand vision for the metaverse. However, that ambition has not been properly achieved, according to stories from behind the scenes, where Meta’s product developers refuse to even use the metaverse. According to the Wall Street Journal, most visitors to Horizon Worlds do not return.
Meta is to lay off thousands of employees beginning this week, according to a report
According to September reports, Meta expected to cut spending by around 10%, although it’s unclear how much of that would come in the form of layoffs. When it was still known as Facebook, Meta had a market cap of almost $1 trillion in September 2021. The company’s current market capitalization is under $240 billion.
In recent weeks, the US tech sector has experienced significant layoffs, with Stripe laying off 14% of its 8,100 employees and Twitter terminating around 50% of its employees when Elon Musk took over. In recent months, Netflix, Spotify, and Shopify have all experienced significant personnel reductions.
Despite low unemployment, the United States, like the rest of the world, has been battling with high inflation, causing businesses to fret about the prospect of a recession. The Federal Reserve has been boosting interest rates in an attempt to increase unemployment in the hope of slowing inflation.
Meta did not respond to an early Monday comment request. If we receive a response, Gizmodo will update this article.
Twitter Inc. let off more than 90% of its employees in India over the weekend as part of Elon Musk’s global layoffs, significantly depleting its engineering and product personnel in a prospective growth region.
The company employed slightly over 200 workers in India, and the cuts reduced it to about a dozen employees, according to persons familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation.
India is an important growth engine for global internet companies like Twitter, Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which rely on its vast potential pool of new online users. However, the companies are also subject to more stringent content laws aimed at limiting the country’s large digital firms.
According to one source, over 70% of the employees lost in India were from the product and engineering team, which worked on a worldwide mandate. Positions were also reduced in functions such as marketing, public policy, and corporate communications, according to the sources. Globally, the San Francisco, California-based company Twitter cut its workforce by approximately half, or 3,700 employees.
Twitter Inc. let off more than 90% of its employees in India over the weekend as part of Elon Musk’s global layoffs
Twitter did not respond immediately to an email requesting comment
On Twitter, India has one of the most heated political debates, with rival parties frequently hurling accusations at each other and accusing each other of spreading misinformation. On the service, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has over 84 million followers. It’s unclear how Twitter plans to manage that debate with its newly decreased employees in the country, which speaks more than 100 languages.
Twitter’s India offices are in New Delhi, Mumbai’s financial capital, and Bengaluru, India’s southern IT hub.
According to Bloomberg News, the company still employs approximately 3,700 people worldwide. Musk is pressuring those who remain to produce new features swiftly, and in some cases, employees have even slept at the office to fulfil new targets.
US Midterm Elections 2022: Democrats reduced the polling gap throughout the summer, hoping for a much closer race.
For much of the year, the US midterm elections were considered as a landslide victory for Republicans, with President Joe Biden’s favour ratings plummeting amid spiralling inflation, record migrant arrivals, and escalating violent crime.
The Democrats closed the polling deficit over the summer and were anticipating for a much closer race after a string of legislative victories and lower gas costs, but momentum appears to have shifted back to the right shortly before the November 8 elections.
The midterm elections do not receive the attention that presidential elections do, but they are critical in determining which party controls Congress – and hence the power to advance or stymie the president’s agenda.
All 435 House of Representatives seats (the lower chamber) are up for grabs, while one-third of senators are running for re-election.
The upper chamber, with its statewide constituency and six-year terms, is regarded more powerful and prestigious, and is controlled by Democrats courtesy to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
At least eight of the 35 Senate races are considered competitive, but the battle for control of the chamber will most likely be decided in five important states.
US Midterm Elections 2022: Democrats reduced the polling gap throughout the summer, hoping for a much closer race.
Pennsylvania
Democrat John Fetterman’s strong advantage over Republican celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz has all but vanished, turning the contest into a squeaker.
Fetterman is recovering from a stroke suffered in May, and his weak performance in the campaign’s only debate has slowed his momentum even further.
The two are competing for the seat of a retiring Republican, which remains Democrats’ top aim for flipping a seat.
Democrats have painted Oz as an opportunistic New Jersey carpetbagger with shaky local ties and a penchant for gaffes that show he is out of touch.
Meanwhile, Fetterman is under examination for his health and has been chastised for his law enforcement record as lieutenant governor, which opponents claim was too lenient.
Nevada
In Nevada, the country’s tightest contest for some time, Republican candidate Adam Laxalt leads Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by 0.6 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Democratic strategists have raised concerns about turnout, with many Latinos vowing to boycott the election despite Cortez Masto being the first Latina woman elected to the United States Senate.
“It’s what keeps me awake at night,” said Melissa Morales, president of the pro-Cortez Masto Somos PAC.
“What I’m interested in is whether or not Latinos vote this year. We will win in Nevada if there is a large turnout.”
In the summer, the National Republican Senatorial Committee released Spanish-language ad messaging emphasising the Democratic candidate’s criminal justice record as the state’s attorney general.
Georgia
In Georgia, Republican contender Herschel Walker appeared to be the GOP’s best shot to defeat incumbent rookie Democrat and pastor Raphael Warnock.
Despite a series of gaffes, Walker’s name recognition as a former football star has kept him in the race, and he leads Warnock by 1.4 points in the polling average.
Warnock has prioritised lowering prescription drug costs, tackling climate change, and assisting in the restoration of abortion rights.
Walker has concentrated on the economy and anti-abortion rhetoric.
However, his campaign has been dogged by allegations of past domestic abuse, an overstated resume, fathering children outside of his marriage, and paying to have the pregnancies of two former girlfriends aborted.
Ohio
The battle to replace retiring Republican Rob Portman was previously thought to be the Democrats’ greatest chance for a pickup, but Republican J.D. Vance has held a solid, if tiny, advantage since a shaky start to his campaign.
Democrat Tim Ryan, who has represented the Buckeye State in the US Congress for the last two decades, has won only two of 15 major surveys against the Silicon Valley venture entrepreneur and author, who leads by an average of two points.
Economic issues are at the top of the list of voters’ concerns, as they are across the country, with inflation and the cost of living energising Ohioans the most, followed by abortion.
“Right now, it’s considerably better to be a Republican candidate than a Democratic candidate,” said Brent Buchanan of polling firm Cygnal.
“Voters are scrutinising the issue landscape and their candidate alternatives, emphasising topics that directly touch them, which is driving more undecided voters to the (Republicans).”
Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Republican Senator Ron Johnson battled during the summer but moved ahead of Democratic rival Mandela Barnes in mid-September and is now leading by 3.3 points in a poll average of the latest 16 polls.
Barnes, like Fetterman, is a lieutenant governor who has been accused of being soft on crime, especially due to his lobbying for less stringent bail terms.
“Wisconsin has released 784 violent offenders back into our community under Mandela Barnes,” Johnson tweeted.
“There have been 270 murders and attempted murders. Mandela Barnes’ policies endanger our neighbourhoods. He’s too far out for Wisconsin.”
In the final days of the campaign, former President Barack Obama criticised Johnson as someone who “understands granting tax benefits for private planes more than he understands ensuring that seniors who’ve worked all their lives can retire with dignity and respect.”
Elon Musk announced on Sunday that any Twitter account that impersonates another will be permanently suspended.
The platform’s new owner issued the warning after some celebrities changed their Twitter display names — not account names — and tweeted as ‘Elon Musk’ in response to the billionaire’s decision to offer verified accounts to all comers for $8 per month while also laying off a large portion of the workforce.
“Any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly mentioning “parody” will be permanently suspended going forward,” Musk tweeted. While Twitter previously offered warnings before to suspensions, now that “widespread verification” is being implemented, “there will be no warning.”
In fact, “any name change at all” would necessitate the temporary loss of a confirmed checkmark, according to the world’s richest man.
Kathy Griffin’s account was terminated on Sunday after she changed her screen name to Musk. She admitted to a Bloomberg reporter that she had used his profile photo as well.
On Friday, November 4, 2022, people walk outside Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco. On Friday, Twitter employees were braced for mass layoffs as new owner Elon Musk overhauled the social platform. Jeff Chiu/AP Photo
Bertinelli noted the original purpose of the blue verification tick prior to the prank. It was given away for free to those whose identities Twitter workers confirmed, with journalists making up a large share of the receivers. “It just meant that your identification has been validated.” Scammers would have a more difficult time imitating you,” Bertinelli observed.
“That is no longer true. “Best of luck out there!” She continued.
Musk believes that the $8 verified accounts are his approach of democratising the service. Users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can obtain the blue check next to their names “exactly like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you currently follow,” according to a Twitter update for iOS devices featured on Apple’s app store on Saturday.
It stated that the service would first be available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. However, it was not available on Sunday, and no timetable was provided. Esther Crawford, a Twitter employee, told The Associated Press that it will be available “soon but not yet.”
On Sunday, Twitter did not respond to an email requesting comment on the verified accounts issue and Griffin’s suspension.
Musk later tweeted, “Twitter must become by far the most accurate source of global information.” That is our goal.”
If the firm removes blue checks from current verified users — which has not happened — this might encourage disinformation on the platform during Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Following layoffs that occurred on Friday that apparently affected roughly half of Twitter’s 7,500-employee workforce, some Twitter users, like Griffin, have already begun migrating away from the platform — Counter Social is another popular option. They are concerned that a breakdown in moderation and verification will result in a free-for-all of disinformation on what has been the internet’s primary channel for accurate communications from government agencies and other institutions.
Many businesses have delayed advertising on the platform for fear of it becoming more unruly under Musk.
In a Friday message, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, attempted to allay such fears. He claimed that the employment reduction had the least impact on the company’s front-line content moderation team.
Musk tweeted late Friday that there had no alternative but to terminate workers “when the firm is losing over $4M/day.” He did not disclose specifics on the daily losses at Twitter, but said staff who were let go were given three months’ pay as severance.
Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul each hit fifty in India’s 71-run victory over Zimbabwe in the final Super 12 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday at the MCG in Melbourne.
Suryakumar Yadav smashed another stunning 61* from 25 deliveries to help India reach a mammoth score of 186/5.
Zimbabwe’s Early Collapse:
Zimbabwe needs a strong start to come anywhere near the lofty goal of 187. Instead, they experienced an early collapse, losing half of their team for only 36 runs. All of the Indian pacers were on fire, taking full advantage of the circumstances to extract swing and movement. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami contributed with their experience, while Arshdeep Singh shone once more.
Suryakumar Yadav becomes the first Indian and only the second player in history to score 1000 T20I runs in a calendar year..
India defeats Zimbabwe to go to the semi-finals against England: T20 World Cup Super 12
Suryakumar Yadav becomes the first Indian and only the second player in history to score 1000 T20I runs in a calendar year.
India will face England in the T20 World Cup semi-finals after defeating Zimbabwe by 71 runs in Melbourne.
Following South Africa’s loss against the Netherlands earlier in the day, India has already qualified for the semi-finals. However, their victory over Zimbabwe helped them finish first in Group 2 and set up a semi-final match against England in Adelaide on November 10.
Mortgage rate has dropped for the second time in eleven weeks in the week ending November 3. Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell 13 basis points to 6.95%. In the previous week, 30-year fixed rates rose 14 basis points to 7.09%.
Following the current drop, rates are up 196 basis points from the most recent low of 4.99% on August 3. Year over year, 30-year fixed rates increased by 386 basis points.
The drop on Thursday also corresponded with the release of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ gross domestic product data, which revealed that the US economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter. That is a generally regarded indicator of impending recession. According to the preliminary estimate, GDP declined 0.9% on an annualised basis over the period. Dow Jones polled economists, forecasted 0.3% growth.
As this news coming-out, investors rushed to the relative safety of the bond market, prompting rates to plummet. Mortgage rates are influenced by the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond.
“This is an extremely quick drop!” exclaimed Matthew Graham, COO of Mortgage News Daily. “Perhaps even more interesting (and unexpected) is that mortgage rates have fallen faster than US Treasury yields.” It’s usually the other way around, with investors flocking first to the most basic, risk-free bonds.”
Graham stated that the recent rate move has produced a situation in which investors would choose to hold mortgage debt with lower interest rates.
In the coming week:
US consumer inflation expectations will be closely watched ahead of Tuesday’s wholesale inflation results. Retail sales, on the other hand, are expected to have the greatest impact on yields and mortgage rates.
Following last week’s US Jobs Report, the figures would have to impress in order to push mortgage rates back down to 7%. Despite Fed Chair Powell’s hawkish FOMC news speech on Wednesday, December Fed pivot bets remain.
Twitter temporarily closed its headquarters and restricted employees’ access to internal systems on Friday, a week after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media network.
Musk announced the layoffs shortly after tweeting that the firm had seen “a big loss in revenue, due to activist groups pressing advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content filtering and we done everything we could to placate the activists.” Totally messed up! They are attempting to undermine free speech in America.”
According to internal sources, the “entire” curation team on Twitter had been fired, while system lockouts made confirmation difficult. Twitter’s curation staff is critical in covering “civic integrity” events like elections, breaking news, and sports, ensuring users receive validated content presented as moments, trends, and subjects items. Internally, it is seen as a critical filter against deceptive posts.
Flags from partner news organisations concerning probable misrepresentation on the platform, according to the staffer, went unanswered. “The platform is going to grow more poisonous with less healthy information to challenge the disinformation or misinformation narratives,” stated an anonymous employee.
Some employees awakened on Friday to find their laptops locked and their access to business Gmail and Slack terminated. “Well, this isn’t looking promising,” Chris Younie, who works for Twitter in entertainment partnerships in the UK, tweeted. I’m unable to access my emails. Mac will not turn on. But I’m grateful that this is happening at 3 a.m. I really appreciate your consideration on the time front, gentlemen…”
The policy on misleading content on Twitter involves labelling disputed posts and highlighting contextualising information next to such messages. The employee stated that they were notified through email that their position was being reviewed.
The layoffs were announced in an email to employees on Thursday. “We will go through the arduous process of decreasing our global workforce in order to put Twitter on a healthy path,” the email added. “We know that this will have an impact on a lot of individuals who have made significant contributions to Twitter, but this move is unfortunately required to ensure the company’s continued success.”
Twitter
The abrupt manner of the layoffs may have also violated California employment law, and Musk is already facing legal action.
Employers with at least 100 employees are required to declare layoffs involving 500 or more employees under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (Warn) legislation, regardless of whether the company is publicly listed or privately held.
According to Barry White, a representative for California’s workforce development department, the government has not received any such notices from Twitter as of Thursday.
Former Twitter senior community manager Simon Balmain told the Guardian he was “shocked, but not surprised” by the company’s rapid employment layoffs. “I had finished work but still had my laptop open and we all received an email from the employer announcing a reduction in head count,” said Balmain, who had been with the company for a year. My laptop flashed and was deleted an hour later, and I lost access to my programmes.”
The Food and Drug Administration advised parents on Thursday not to use infant head shaping pillows to affect a baby’s head shape or symmetry.
The FDA stated that head shaping pillows are unsafe for babies and can increase their “risk of suffocation and death.”
According to the government, these goods can create a “unsafe sleep environment” for babies and increase their “risk of suffocation and death,” as well as sudden infant death syndrome. According to the FDA, no such products have been approved.
Head shaping pillows are often shaped like a tiny mat that dips downward in the centre to cradle the back of an infant’s head. They are frequently formed like a distorted donut but can also be hearts or ovals with animal-like ears.
Some of these pillows are referred to as “infant head support pillows,” “head cushions,” “flat head pillows,” or “anti-flat head pillows.”
The FDA recommends parents against using infant head shaping pillows
Infants should sleep without any cushions, toys, loose bedding, or soft things nearby, according to the National Institutes of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics. They should instead be placed on their backs in a naked crib on a flat surface.
According to the FDA, marketing claims for head shaping pillows frequently state that they can improve an infant’s head shape and symmetry, as well as prevent or treat flat head syndrome. However, the FDA stated that it is unaware of any “demonstrated benefit” of the goods for “any medical reason.”
Flat head syndrome, also known as positional plagiocephaly, occurs when a baby sleeps on the same side of the head for the first few months of life. According to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, this can result in a flat patch on one side or the rear of the head.
According to the FDA, flat head syndrome usually resolves on its own as the infant develops and does not cause any developmental problems.
Parents who are concerned about this, according to Johns Hopkins, should practise more supervised tummy time with their babies, change the direction their infant faces in the crib, or hold their baby more frequently.
“If you have an infant head shaping pillow, throw it away; do not donate or give it to anyone else,” the FDA said.
“The use of newborn head shape pillows may postpone the necessary examination and care of innocuous diseases, such as flat head syndrome, or more serious conditions, such as craniosynostosis,” the report continued. (Craniosynostosis is a condition in which the bones of a baby’s skull fuse together too soon.)
The FDA also encouraged doctors to discourage the use of infant head shaping pillows and to educate parents about the dangers they pose.
After tracking about 180 flights by North Korean warplanes inside North Korean territory, South Korea scrambled about 80 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, on Friday in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
North Korea mobilized warplanes after testing around 30 ballistic missiles in the previous two days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan, in retaliation for ongoing joint exercises involving hundreds of US and South Korean military planes.
After tracking about 180 flights by North Korean warplanes inside North Korean territory, South Korea scrambled about 80 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, on Friday in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea stated that North Korean warplanes were detected in various areas inland and along the country’s eastern and western coasts, but did not fly particularly close to the Korean border. The South Korean military observed about 180 flight trials between 1 and 5 p.m., but it was unclear how many North Korean planes were involved or whether some flew more than once.
None of the planes crossed the South Korean military’s virtual “tactical action” line, which is located 20 to 50 kilometers (12 to 30 miles) north of Korea’s land and sea borders and is used for monitoring to allow the South enough time to respond to provocations or attacks.
The United States and South Korea have been conducting joint “Vigilant Storm” aerial exercises involving approximately 240 warplanes, including F-35s. The exercises were supposed to end on Friday, but the allies decided to extend them until Saturday in response to North Korea’s increased testing activity this week.
The drills were extended on Thursday after North Korea conducted an ICBM test, which triggered evacuation alerts and temporarily halted trains in northern Japan. Following the launch, it launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.
A senior North Korean military official, Pak Jong Chon, subsequently made a statement threatening reprisal for the drills’ continuation. North Korea then fired three more missiles into the sea and fired approximately 80 artillery rounds into the eastern areas of maritime buffer zones established by the rivals of their eastern and western coasts in 2018 as part of tension-reduction agreements.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup issued a joint statement Thursday following a meeting at the Pentagon in which they “strongly criticized” North Korea’s recent nuclear demonstrations.
Both defense leaders emphasized that any use of nuclear weapons, including tactical nuclear devices, against Seoul or other regional allies like Japan, would “result at the end of the Kim Jong Un regime by an overwhelming and decisive response of the alliance,” Lee said at a joint news conference with Austin.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
