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Power Alley: Deep Pockets Gilead Passes On Would-Be Competitor To Merck’s Welireg, In Certain Cancers — Despite Encouraging Clinical Results…

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I think this can only be read as Gilead conceding that Merck’s HIF-2a inhibitor in certain cancers, branded as Welireg (having earned two more EU approvals recently — including in renal cell carcinomas) will be the market leader by a pretty fair distance. [Especially when it is using Keytruda as the launch pad, in the space.]

That is not by any means a death-knell for Arcus Biosciences’ candidate. No, as the Arcus CEO says — the market is more than big enough for Arcus to do very well… once approved, but Gilead sees investing in its own stable as the higher return, lower risk bet at the moment. And in many ways, Merck and Gilead are “friendlies“ — on several deals, so no need to antagonize Rahway, in any way.

Here’s the latest — from the expert analysis at Fierce BioScience:

…Gilead had the right to opt in to develop and sell Arcus’ experimental hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2a) inhibitor, called casdatifan, once Arcus had delivered a qualifying data package. Last October, the biotech unveiled phase 1 data in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) showing casdatifan achieved a general overall response rate (ORR) of 34% and a confirmed ORR of 25%. The readout led Evercore analysts to predict that Gilead would opt in to the program by early 2025.

But, this morning, the company announced that the window for Gilead to take up this option had expired, and the rights to casdatifan would in fact be staying with Arcus….

Now you know — with an update on the lunacy in DC later today. I may be reaching saturation point on that particular dumb show. When Trump 2.0 quotes… Napoleon (unwittingly, no less!) — to justify his lawlessness… we have likely-turned onto a perilous page, here.

Onward, resolutely just the same….

नमस्ते

Mirengoff Concludes Tangerine 2.0’s Letter On Educational Admission Decisions Is… Impotent.

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Paul Mirengoff quotes from a Trumpy agency head’s letter — sent to “dear colleagues” — on what is purportedly no longer permitted in admissions decision making.

As ever, Tangerine makes statements flatly contradicted by binding Supreme Court precedents, all directly on point.

But all Mirengoff can muster the courage to intone is that it is an “interesting” open question. In fact Paul, it is a closed question: Tangerine cannot invalidate Supreme Court holdings. But here’s the goof’s formulation, in context:

…It’s an interesting and important question whether the portion of the letter I just highlighted is consistent with the SFFA v. Harvard majority opinion’s discussion of the use of personal essays in the admissions process. The majority stated that “nothing in the opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise” 600 U.S. at 230….

Trump’s statements are… lies. He has no power to legislate by Sharpie.

He needs the Congress — and even this hard right leaning Congress will never pass the statutory language needed, to get at what Trump is attempting.

So Paul should say so.

But he chickened out.

Y A W N.

Out.

Hinderaker… Thinks He Should Be The “Boss” Of Germans’ Lives — And Laws. Hilarious.

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Well… some of us are old enough to remember when John accused what he said were Muslim terrorists — of a train bombing attack, in Germany.

It turned out the terrorists were… whyte German Neo-Nazis.

John never apologized. He just deleted his post.

Charming.

Tonight — in another act of his little delusion-ridden-play… he rises to burp about how German law, and Germans… are beneath him, because they don’t support a robust “freedom to lie“ jurisprudence — around demonizing people due to their race, religion or skin color.

Color me… utterly unsurprised.

But the irony is inescapable: he feels free to tell racist lies, and then blame people who call him on it. And though no one should burn another’s offices, he should scarcely be surprised that this is likely in response to his decades of hate speech.

He’s the first to NOT defend this “expression” — when he cannot find substitute offices, because no one wants to insure his far right “nut-job think tank”.

Sure John — you alone… are supremely qualified to tell Germans — who survived the horrors of Hitler’s hatred in action… that they must allow you and your minions to keep spewing the same BS — inside Germany (where you are at best an unwelcome interloper)… all without consequence.

Trust me, John: I couldn’t give a sh!t – about what you think, about much of anything, any longer.

These are here because your own site/blog bans people who disagree with you boys.

And that too is just supremely… ironic.

Here’s A More Substantive One — Via EmptyWheel… On JD Vance’s Feckless Foreign Policy Idiocy.

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Now, as to policies that might actually matter, in the time of Trumpian Max-Chaos — do read EmptyWheel.

She is exceptionally well-informed — sharp-witted, analytical — and a literal U of Michigan doctorate of US policy. Here is her morning take-down of the eyeliner wearing creepy putz who was elected as the Veep in the Tangerine 2.0 dumb show (Vance):

…[The US Department of State, in the person of Marco Rubio] doesn’t want employees telling the press that life-saving grants haven’t been resumed, because Marco Rubio doesn’t want to confess to Republicans that he failed to deliver what he promised them.

Whether intentional at USAID or the inevitable outcome of arbitrary ignorance, the effect is the same.

It’s not just that the DOGE/2025 attack on government has destroyed critical expertise. But absent that expertise, Trump’s minions are finding it difficult to reverse the ill effects of their initial assault, because the initial damage they do to both systems and expertise makes it far harder to reverse their initial failures.

Last July, JD Vance envisioned this process as “a de-Ba’athification” — which he imagined was targeted at a caricature of liberal culture, but which in reality targeted the civil service. Someone who served in Iraq really did set out to recreate the same insanely stupid policy decision that made Iraq a decade-long clusterfuck — he really did set out to launch that same kind of attack on his own government.

We’ve seen this movie before. It was, perhaps, America’s biggest failure ever….

Spot on. Flawless. Onward, on Presidents’ Day 2025. [He is not mine.]

Out.

As Long As Paul Wants To Settle Scores — On Trivialities — And, On Presidents’ Day, No Less(!)…

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But first here — let me set the stage. Here is Mirengoff, gloating that Tangerine 2.0 has been able to do to the people that let Sean Spicer go, the same thing that they did to him, here in his second incarnation — at Kennedy Center:

…Sure enough, on February 7, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was firing multiple Kennedy Center board members and making himself chairman. One of those fired was Katherine Petrelius, whom Biden had placed on the board. She’s the former Biden White House official who had sent Spicer and Vought emails “asking” them to resign from the Naval Academy Board of Visitors….

Charming.

Whatever, Paul. But you forget to mention that Mr. Biden as POTUS never ousted a private entertainment venue’s board — en todo — solely to name himself head honcho. That is minor (in the grand scheme of things), but bespeaks Trump’s illusory belief that he is a show-biz empresario.

That alone is… hilarious.

But unlike the situation at the Naval Board of Visitors, the firing of two did not end in a voluntary strike at the Naval Academy. Far from it, given Mr. Biden’s son — Beau’s — service and sacrifices.

But here, there will be no events for Tangerine to sit in a box and nod, all Nero like, as someone plays a ditty — or recites lines in a play.

You see Paul, Tangerine is so widely reviled by people of substance (including renown artists and thespians) that the entire 2025 Kennedy season has been cancelled. The acts have all… bailed.

There are no acts willing to be seen in the presence of… Herr Trump.

So tell me now: who exactly is getting the last laugh, here Paul?

Trump is the would-be Acalda (in dusty old Mexico)… that no one of the locals will show up for — to honor, in any way.

Excepting of course, Musk’s teenage band of racist / hacker / gamer buddies.

As I say. . . charming. Hey! Maybe they can “put on a gamer show!” — for him.

Out.

Team Tangerine 2.0 Cannot Understand The Word “Temporary” — In The Granting of A TRO. Ugh — Now To Supremes.

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We’ve not mentioned this case Tangerine has been “TRO-ed on“, before. He seeks to fire the head of a federal ethics agency watchdog — that is plainly beyond his remit.

He was enjoined, with a TRO at the DC trial level, and late Friday night, was told — by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals — that it in turn had no jurisdiction… since TROs are not “final” orders — they are… wait for it! T E M P O R A R Y.

Yes. Judicial review takes a lil’ time. Deal with it. Again, we remind the readership that we Democrats waited over two years to stop his 1.0 version of a “dead hand” border provision, in Texas — also clearly beyond his remit.

So — do read this… and smile — as the Supremes will tell Tangerine the same, later this week:

…[Team Tangerine 2.0, here “the government”] fails the Cheney test at every step. First, the government obviously has other adequate means to attain the relief it seeks — it can attempt to persuade the district court to deny the preliminary-injunction motion and allow the President to remove Dellinger during the pendency of the case; and if the government fails in that attempt, it is entitled to appeal the district court’s ruling. See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).

As noted, the legal standard governing the issuance of preliminary injunctions is identical to that governing the entry of TROs. Thus, a premature appeal of the TRO ruling would unduly impinge on the district court’s ability to resolve the preliminary-injunction motion that is presently before it. In Flynn, we noted that we were unaware of any precedent in which “our Court, or any court, issued the writ to compel a district court to decide an undecided motion in a particular way — i.e., when the district court might yet decide the motion in that way on its own.” Flynn, 973 F.3d at 79….

[The reference to Flynn here, is priceless — since that was also a Trump 1.0 case.] I guess it is fair then, to say Tangerine 2.0 is now… one-for-23. It is… amazingly obvious, then, that his theories on executive power… are (and I am being charitable, here)… bunk.

नमस्ते

There Is Nothing Sensible — Or Moral — About This. Ukraine Is Our Steady Ally — NOT Putin.

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I realize we are now in an era, on the world stage — where the US presents the “Sideshow Bob” (clown show) view on most topics (witness JD Vance in Europe, last week)… but this is well-beyond, and beneath… just stupid.

This is… malignant. What it all very strongly suggests (to a rational mind)… is that Tangerine himself, personally… is somehow beholden to Vladimir Putin.

Can anyone imagine. . . John F. Kennedy, or even Richard M. Nixon… sitting down [and excluding NATO — and, the country involved — entirely] to “carve up” a steadfast US ally — with the old Soviet Union’s Politburo — to say nothing of Breznev or Kruschev?

This isn’t just unwise… it is despicable. And Marco Rubio beclowns himself — by going along for the ride. Disgusting. Zelenskyy is right. This will be… no peace. None, at all.

नमस्ते

We Should Note The One “Black Sharpie” TRO Case Decided On A Paucity Of Evidence In DC…

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We are fair-minded.

And there has been one case where (the unions in this case) were not granted a TRO against the DOGE filching of private data. It was the even-handed sensible USDC Judge John Bates in DC — and he denied it solely on inadequate evidence. It remains open litigation, with a preliminary injunction hearing approaching — which means that as the record is more fully developed, he is likely to grant the injunction.

And even if he doesn’t, there are at least three other TRO/prelim. inj. actions which block Musk, DOGE and Tangerine 2.0, nationwide. They will… persist.

Note that the above three part list does set out who is really in charge — by orders of magnitude.

Musk (after his presser lording over Trump at the Resolute Desk in the White House) is in charge.

To the extent there is an adult in the room, it is Musk — though I love that X, Musk’s tot, mouthed “shut your fucking mouth” to Trump — and picked his nose. This is exactly what these dolts voted for. And Musk bought all of 1600 Penn.

D A M N.

In any event, here is that at best… minor case. Trump is still 1-for-22.

OUT.

The Ethics Of A “Third Grade Bully”? Yep. Sounds About Right… Per The Ringside Boys.

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In the past few days, on differing cases — but both involving Tangerine 2.0’s granting hall passes to what very likely are particularly abusive felonious public corruption indictees, and in one case, a felon… we finally see the boys say “enough is enough“. Though only half-heartedly.

Here is Bill Otis’s installment; here is Paul Mirengoff’s. [And I note each, in part, to point out that the Powerline boys cannot bring themselves to say… any of this. They are each in full on “boot-licker” mode.]

As a former prosecutor, I find it… surprising though, that Mr. Otis chose only to compare Tangerine here to Mr. Biden — and not Kamala Harris, also a former prosecutor (when rethinking the vote he cast in November 2024). [And by “surprising“… I mean to say… racist, sexist and dismissive. She was the candidate in opposition, you dolt.]

He failed to do so, largely because he’s afraid to admit that on this, and many other dimensions, he now realizes he cast his vote in a… mistaken fog of “hopeium“. Hopeium — that Trump would not be the person he’s been uniformly, for six long decades (minimum), in his second tour of 1600 Penn. [How stupid was that?!?]

There is zero chance that Kamala would have Pardoned the J6 felons ever, and certainly not without looking at each case — as Trump plainly admits. She was threatened that day, as well.

She’d never push her thumb down on the scale in the Eric Adams/NYC public corruption prosecution at Main Justice. She’s never ever going to give Blado a pardon. Ever.

And all this leaves us with the thought that the Ringsiders are getting exactly the chaos that they well-knew to expect — if they’d been honest with themselves.

Saying only now “What’s wrong with Trump?” is thus wildly duplicitous. This is exactly what was wrong with the 1.0 version — only distilled to its tarry, sticky essence — by the crucible of his own plainly just public corruption felony convictions.

To a person, Trump voters owe us all an apology. But I guess Musk is in fact Preznut now.

So it will only get… zanier.

I weep for Ukraine. Out.

[U] This Is What Happens — When A FAKE Govt. NON-Agency Is Created In Musk’s Bat-Cave, On An All-Night Rager…

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Updated: Meanwhile, late night tonight, in a slightly related vein, Hinderaker tries to convince himself that somehow Musk is going be able to “send back” imaginary savings from equally imaginary “fraud” — into regular taxpayers’ pockets… all as part of his “actual” DOGE initiative. Hilarious. Um… nope. End, updated portion.

Well… no one should really be very surprised — at all. Elon Musk surrounds himself with teenage reprobates, many of them racists, and turns them loose — promising to bail them out if their “hi-jinks“… lead to felony indictments.

This may be one time, his bail card will be called. These jokers were seeking government records and electronic communications without authority, and under false pretenses, a five year felony under 18 USC §§ 1030 and 1031. When the surveillance videos are released, and they are ID-ed, as of course they will be… the full power of the SF DA should land on their foreheads. Here’s the ABC.com “you couldn’t be any dumber“ story:

…Three men in shirts referencing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency showed up at San Francisco City Hall on Friday demanding access to city files, authorities said.

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office does not believe the men were actually DOGE representatives, the office said in a statement.

The men, who were also wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, entered multiple offices in city hall around 12 p.m. local time, demanding employees turn over digital information related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud, the sheriff’s office said….

Musk better be able to prove that these jokers are not among his merry band of hacker/idiots. Otherwise he may well be… an accessory. That’s five years — each offense. Damn.

नमस्ते