Category: Uncategorized

Power Alley, Delayed: One Of Merck’s Older C.Diff. Injectable Therapies To Be Phased Out In 2025: Zinplava®

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This was buried rather deeply in the holiday news, but last week, the FDA website was updated to indicate that Merck’s bezlotoxumab, branded as Zinplava®, would be discontinued shortly, by Merck.

As we’ve mentioned in the past (see this 2012 item), there is a more… biological treatment for C.Diff. — and I supsect the “in clinic, real world” year-by-year data is confirming that it is generally more effective and better tolerated, than this pricey bio-engineered monoclonal antibody injectible.

In any event, here is Reuters on the latest:

…Merck will discontinue its drug for a bacterial infection that can lead to fatal diarrhea, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website showed on Monday.

The antibody drug, Zinplava, was first approved by the regulator in 2016 to prevent the recurrence of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI)….

Now you know — onward, to close out an even year — and enter what will be literally, and metaphorically… an odd one. Candlepin bowling outing, here — with all the grown, great kids and cousins, this evening — woot!

नमस्ते

And… The Implosion Begins. MAGA Vs. Sane High Tech Immigration Policies… Hilarious!

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Paul takes belated note of the fundamental opposing forces to which Tangerine 2.0 told separate (irreconcilable) lies — to get elected.

He promised the tech bros he’d help them get huge swaths of high skill Nigerians, Asians and people from India… into their workforces, via expanded work visas.

Moreover, in the very same breath, he promised the dead end, low education MAGAts… all local… he’d give them these same $80,000 to $120,000 a year jobs.

And now — the jig is up.

The MAGA dead enders are just now realizing they were lied to: they will never be qualified for these jobs, largely because they’ve repeatedly made egregiously-poor life choices throughout their educational careers… and into the present day.

So — the Musk/Trump honeymoon is dying — even before the inaugural is held.

I love it. [EmptyWheel expertly lays it all bare, as of a few days ago.]

And Paul candidly admits this likely means the Republicans lose one or both of the houses of Congress — in 2026.

Welcome to the House of Chaos — 2.0.

D A M N.

“The law imposes consequences on parties who disregard their obligations”: Giuliani Edition, Updated.

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The very capable USDC Judge Liman in Manhattan entered a Friday night order squarely warning Hizzoner that he may be headed to jail by January 3, by about mid-afternoon. The end of the road, for him — now arrives.

And I love it. Here’s the full memoradnum opinion, and order — and a bit:

“…The law imposes consequences on parties who disregard their obligations.” Id. Defendant failed to show any good cause for his tardy responses, and in any event, his objections were without merit. Id. The information requested by Interrogatory # 4 was “squarely relevant to Defendant’s claim for a homestead exemption.” Id. at 4. Plaintiffs had “more than met their burden” to require Defendant to answer Interrogatory # 8 because “Defendant’s repeated noncompliance with his discovery obligations” had given substantial reason to doubt the completeness of his disclosures to date in this case. Id. at 6.

The Court ordered that Defendant answer the interrogatories by December 20, 2024 or show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violation of the Court’s order Id. Defendant failed to show any good cause for his tardy responses, and in any event, his objections were without merit. Id. The information requested by Interrogatory # 4 was “squarely relevant to Defendant’s claim for a homestead exemption.” Id. at 4. Plaintiffs had “more than met their burden” to require Defendant to answer Interrogatory # 8 because “Defendant’s repeated noncompliance with his discovery obligations” had given substantial reason to doubt the completeness of his disclosures to date in this case. Id. at 6. The Court ordered that Defendant answer the interrogatories by December 20, 2024 or show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violation of the Court’s order….

The record is now closed on the order to show cause why Defendant should not be held in contempt. The Court will be prepared to announce its decision on the contempt request as early as the hearing on January 3, 2025. The parties should be prepared to address the question of why, if Defendant is held in contempt, the Court should not impose the sanctions requested in Plaintiff’s letter of December 26, 2024….

Yowza, yer ‘Oonor! Smoke that. Out.

नमस्ते

[U] All You Need To Know: Tangerine Has 14 Million TikTok Followers, Now. Remember Sept. 2020?!

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Updated: the NY Times (finally!) has a story hinting that maybe Tangerine took 2024 campaign contributions from larger equity holders in the ByteDance orbit, in return for doing an “about face” on TikTok needing to be divested, from Chinese state affiliated control. The story says he “backed off“. More likely, he “sold off” his position. Disgusting — end, update.

Apparently (and hilariously so!) Tangerine 2.0 DIRECTLY opposes… Tangerine 1.0’s “TikTok Banning” Executive Orders.

D A M N.

It is frustrating to me personally that none of tonight’s stories on his brief just filed with the Supremes — not a single one I’ve seen — mentions that he spent two years trying to ban TikTok, all by himself, last time around. [His sole, and venal, motive was that the Tik-Tokers embarrassed him with a swarm, at his rally, in Tulsa.] See here:

“…This unfortunate timing,” his brief said, “interferes with President Trump’s ability to manage the United States’ foreign policy and to pursue a resolution to both protect national security and save a social-media platform that provides a popular vehicle for 170 million Americans to exercise their core First Amendment rights….”

Well… that’s just silly.

If he’s right (he’s not), he can convince Congress to amend the law, after his inaugural. When he possesses actual authority. [Right now, he’s just another crooked jamook. And Chief Justice Roberts knows it.]

Even if he’s right, the Supremes are duty bound now to decide cases on appeal. The only way forward now, is for Congress to amend the law if the Supremes uphold it.

But rest assured, Trump only cares about keeping control of every megaphone he might.

What a putz. See his prior very strident 2020 views, when TikTokers pranked him, here (starting at page 8, onward).

But now he has a vested interest in keeping that 14 million Watt megaphone of his. Just… damn.

Out.

No Alarm Yet — But Bird Flu Just Mutated — In Louisiana Patient: CIDRAP

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The concern is that this new mutation may more easily infect humans’ upper respiratory tracts. And regular readers will recall that the first confirmed US children’s case was seen in California about a month ago, now.

The “Louisiana” mutated form of virus hasn’t been shown to easily invade hosts in the wild yet, but experts in Minnesota say it now plainly has that potential, as a matter of pure biology. Here’s the latest, out of San Diego:

…The CDC said the mutations in that patient were similar to ones observed in a hospitalized patient in British Columbia, Canada. The changes may make it easier for the virus to bind to receptors in a person’s upper respiratory tract.

“Although concerning, and a reminder that A(H5N1) viruses can develop changes during the clinical course of a human infection, these changes would be more concerning if found in animal hosts or in early stages of infection… when these changes might be more likely to facilitate spread to close contacts,” the CDC said in the report. “Notably, in this case, no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other persons has been identified….”

Now you know. Onward — be careful out there.

नमस्ते

And Now, Kosovo Sees Its First Mpox Clade 1b Case — A Man Returning Home, From Western Africa…

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The good news is that all the people he interacted with in Kosovo — and the contacts of his contacts — may be vaccinated promptly. And the vaccine (closely related to the smallpox vaccine) is nearly 100% effective.

The tough news (as we said last night, most recently) is… this is going to be a fairly regular news item, country by country for the foreseeable future, into 2025. Here is Reuters reporting, on it all:

…Kosovo health authorities said on Friday they had detected the country’s first case of mpox, in a man who had recently returned from Africa.

Kosovo’s Institute of Public Health said a 30-year old Kosovo citizen was admitted to hospital on Dec. 24 after returning from a west African country. It did not name the country.

“His symptoms were fever, chills, and skin changes in face and hands,” the institute said in a statement, adding that the patient appeared stable….

Even so, we plan to meet the new year with hope, and a sense of purpose — in blunting the darker, more hateful and malign forces now taking shape in our nation — and the wider world. Onward.

नमस्ते

A Venus Motif Ring — Last Seen 1,700 Years Ago — In Northern France / Brittany…

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These sorts of finds will always fire my imagination — whose finger did this last adorn? Was she royal? Or was she just very, very lucky?

And, why the warring version of Venus? It clearly was not made for a man’s hand. Was it dropped plunder from a road robbery? How did it come to rest between cobblestone cracks in that long abandoned roadway?

In any event, here is the latest:

…Archaeologists in France recently unearthed a 1,700-year-old ring engraved with an ancient religious motif. The ornately decorated artifact was unearthed during an excavation in Pacé, a small town in Brittany, according to a December 19 news release from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).

Specifically, archaeologists found the ring while digging up an ancient road… and it depicts the “war-like” version of Venus…

This mystery (whose — and how and why) is unlikely to be unraveled, even with the passage of another 2,000 years’ time. Onward, to a new year!

नमस्ते

Belgium Sees Its First Mpox Clade 1b Case…

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While the overall risk outside of DRC remains very low, this is likely to be a several month theme here: more EU geographies seeing sporadic Clase 1b outbreaks.

Obviously, had world health cooperatives and authorities pushed the identified vaccine candidate ahead, two years ago — and then stockpiked quantities in Western African nations. . . this all might have mostly been averted. Here’s CIDRAP, with the latest:

…Belgium reported the case on December 18 in an adult traveler returning from an African country where the clade 1b virus circulates. The patient, who had sexual contact with a person with mpox-like symptoms, isolated on their own before diagnosis. No high-risk contacts in Belgium have been identified, and the risk to the public in the country remains low, according to the ECDC.

Clade 1b cases have also been reported in Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States….

Now you know… with more grown kids now due in to the cacti, by Friday night. Grin!

नमस्ते

Mirengoff: 29 Paragraphs To Avoid The Obvious: Musk Is An Unlawful Lobbyist.

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The sheer number of paragraphs proves his mendacity.

Because Paul well knows Musk’s non registered efforts are presently… felonies, he makes his long winded argument about… strawmen.

The facts are these: Musk bent the CR to his whims, and did so to protect his China agenda in his EV company.

The CR was changed twice — both times, in his favor — after private meetings and phone calls with GOP US House Reps.

This violates our post-Watergate “open government” federal laws.

Full stop.

He hasn’t disclosed his interests under the LDA. That’s a felony, carrying five year prison terms, and $200,000 fines.

Take a seat, Paul. You’re an apologists’ putz.