And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is, once gain, rather modest. We plan to promenade with the official mascot and his stay-over playmate, catch up on our reading, and hold another listening party with Mrs. Pharmalot — the rotation will include this, this and this. And what about you? Given the spate of tumultuous news these past few days, perhaps spending time by calming ocean waters or in the solitude of a woodsy area is in order. Or you could zone out and binge-watch something fanciful on the telly. Or perhaps this is an opportunity to plan the rest of your life. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon. …
Genentech said an internal review of misconduct allegations concerning a landmark 2009 paper co-authored by Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a former top executive at the company and currently president at Stanford University, did not find evidence of fraud or intentional wrongdoing, STAT reports. But the review also points to another previously undisclosed case of scientific misconduct by a post-doctoral researcher in Tessier-Lavigne’s lab. The findings come after the university newspaper reported former Genentech employees claimed an internal review uncovered falsified data and that the neuroscientist tried to keep that information quiet.
AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson intend to voluntarily withdraw the accelerated approvals of their Imbruvica drug in the U.S. for patients with certain types of blood cancer, Reuters notes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised that the primary outcomes from late-stage studies of the drug for the indications were considered insufficient to support conversion to full approval. A late-stage study in previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma patients met its main goal of progression-free survival. But addition of the drug to chemoimmunotherapy was associated with increased adverse reactions compared to the placebo-controlled arm.
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