Category: Uncategorized

Power Alley: Merck Scored A Pair Of New Wins For Keytruda®, In Hard To Treat Breast Cancers…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

So… this is very good news, after Merck saw some trial results, at competitors that might narrow its lead in other cancers, in about three years (results posted about ten days ago, now on that one). But as I say, that is at least three years off — and thus, this falls into the “overall immaterial” category. These puts and takes mostly cancel each other out, as the win in triple negative breast cancer is… for a fairly rare condition — only about 13 women out of each 100,000 in the US will get it.

Still net good news — as those women will now see longer lives, from combo therapies that beat Tecentriq®. As ever, Fierce Pharma has done an excellent job capturing all the nuance (so I don’t have to!) — do go read it all:

…In the current analysis, Keytruda’s EFS benefit remained strong, with the drug showing a 35% improvement over neoadjuvant chemo alone. The five-year EFS rate was 81.2% for Keytruda and 72.2% for control.

“We had thought that breast cancer may not be sensitive to immunotherapy alone but giving it in combination with chemotherapy before surgery and then further afterwards improves overall survival in many patients,” Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, M.D., director of oncology at the Hospital of Fribourg in Switzerland, said in an ESMO-facilitated statement. “The finding suggests the possibility that the combination of treatments might lead to a sensitization of TNBC to immunotherapy.”

Keytruda’s KEYNOTE-522 win sets it apart from Roche’s PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq. Last year, following an interim analysis, Roche discontinued the phase 3 IMpassion030 trial, which was testing Tecentriq in combination with chemo as a postsurgical adjuvant therapy in TNBC. Data later revealed that the risk of recurrence or death appeared to be even higher for Tecentriq-chemo versus adjuvant chemo alone….

Now you know — and the Rocky Mountain Showdown trophy will stay in Boulder now until 2029, the next time these two meet (each having switched conferences in the off season). And the Buffs have held it for seven straight years, looking back. Grinning — sorry, Habierto!

[And a house-keeping note: I’ll be off-grid for about ten days later this week, up at a remote cabin high above Lake Tahoe, on the mountain — with my grown wonderful kids… so blogging will be sparse starting this Friday.] Onward — be excellent to one another!

नमस्ते

Not Sure Bill Barr Is A Trust-Worthy Narrator, John.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Wait — Bill Barr?!

Bill Barr… the lawyer who said Trump could charge the taxpayers to cover his and his spouse’s sexual assault and defamation legal defenses, from acts before he was even a candidate?

That guy?

The guy who said (despite our asylum treaties), undocumented putative asylees could be held… indefinitely, in conditions unfit for Geneva Convention detainees??

The guy who made false statements in Roger Stone’s pardon proceedings?!

And… the guy who (while AG!) lied about the content and import of the Mueller report?

That guy?

Nah — I don’t care what he says about… Columbia U.

Shut it, dough boy.

And… This Is How To LOSE — In The Closing Moments: Make Claims About Pets Being Eaten; Commit… More Felonies.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Well, the boys have surely seen this, from this morning, by now.

The fivethirtyeight.com crew (now owned by ABC) has long been a very well-regarded simulations shop, for thousands of casino style regression runs, of various likely election outcomes.

As of this morning, it has Kamala winning 2024 about 60 times out of 100, and Tangerine winning about 39 times out of 100.

I like those odds.

Turnout will still matter, especially in Georgia and North Carolina.

But Trump is a dying quail, if he cannot get Pennsylvania — and he did not, last time.

[To be fair, he got it by a few thousand votes in 2016 — but he was a much less well known animal then. 34 felony convictions will matter, plus over a half billion dollars in fraud-laced judgments against him, since. That too will… matter. Kamala will take Penn., and with it… 1600 Penn.]

But to be sure, her path to 271 features hundreds more options than Tangerine’s.

So it goes.

How Is It — That Mirengoff Has Developed “PSI Powers”, Late In His Sixth Decade?

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Now for the fourth time, in three weeks, Mirengoff makes declarative statements (of purported fact!) — about what was going on inside the MINDS of Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth admissions officers, each and all.

He is such a silly little gnome. [This is not just inadmissible as “hearsay” — this is pure fantasy/fiction!]

Even so, he feeds… an insidious false grievance economy — with his entirely preposterous ongoing lies. He cannot read minds. But the MAGA | KKK-ers, with their pointed-white-sheet hoods, and pointy heads… are plenty stupid enough to believe him.

So it is… no joking matter.

Just like lies about eating pets, and the peril it all has put Haitian immigrants — even US citizens, who’ve come from Haiti generations ago — in potentially mortal danger, in Springfield, Ohio… Paul’s entirely pretend crystal balling is going to incite some nut-job Proud Boy with a tiki torch and khakis… to decide to bomb an admissions office — at an Ivy.

And should that domestic / whyte terrorists’ attack befall some campus, he ought to be charged with inciting… sedition, and felony hate crimes (20 years each).

In short, Paul has ZERO admissible evidence that any college is not abiding by current Supreme Court decisions.

No, the problem is… Paul (and Steve and John and Scott) — cannot read the plain English in the actual decisions… to understand what they do — and more precisely… DO NOT… hold.

Sit down, you dangerous, bitter, decrepit old clowns.

The “Fire Next Time…” Keeps On Spreading… What Are We Prepared… To Do About It? Now, Morocco.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

This is all… deeply frustrating — as almost all of the spread should have been largely avoidable — with an on-ground vaccine campaign.

Here’s the latest, from the Beeb:

…Morocco has confirmed a case of mpox in a man in the city of Marrakech, the health ministry said.

This is the first such discovery since the current outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month.

That was in response to the rapid spread of a new variant, or clade, of the virus in central Africa. The Moroccan authorities have not said which variant the man has. . . .

In 2024, more than 20,000 cases and 500 deaths have been recorded across 14 African countries. The Democratic Republic of Congo is at the centre of the outbreak with more than 5,000 cases this year.

Vaccines, which are thought to be a vital measure in preventing the spread, have arrived in DR Congo, but because of logistical challenges it could be several weeks before they arrive in the most affected areas in the east of the country.

When declaring the outbreak a public health emergency on 14 August, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives….”

C’mon people. Get it together. [And I’m hoping my Buffs win the instate rivalry series this evening, but it is in Ft. Collins, so no way to know. It took three overtimes last year, and the loss (to injury — lacerated liver) of Travis Hunter — but the Buffs did prevail… in Boulder.] Onward.

नमस्ते

The “Boys” Were Clearly Rattled By Pappa Dick’s Endorsement Of Kamala.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Now even Steve Hayward is gnashing his teeth tonight — about losing the support of a guy who’s long been to the right of Attila the Hun — ever since Nixon’s time in the White House.

And like his co-hosts, he cannot admit what all others do see.

To be sure, though I disagree vehemently with their conceptions of the “unitary executive” (see that one — and about 100 other posts, at that now mostly-mothballed property), the theory of a single unitary executive acting as one, with all its power… absolutely cannot survive, with a corrupt felon in the seat. These folks’ worldview is that a President is very nearly a king. [And even so, or perhaps because of that, they well-know that the unchecked power means this must be an exceedingly moral man or woman in the seat.]

And after 260 years or more of experience, they recognize that any malign actor — in a role that powerful (leading the free world)… very soon could end… the free world.

So from that perspective, it makes absolutely perfect sense that Dick Cheney will not support a 34 time convicted felon to be king.

Hilarious.

I think the Powerline boys know… Cheney was a giant wooden stake — into the throat — of the once (but no longer) Teflon Don.

Onward.

Eddy Grant Just Won Summary Judgment — Against Tangerine 2020, For Theft Of His Copyrights, In And To “Electric Avenue.” WOOT!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

We’ve covered this story for about four years. The Trump 2020 Campaign used “Electric Avenue” without payment or permission in his 2020 campaign ads. In sum… he stole it.

Tonight, the USDC in Manhattan ruled he is liable for that. The only task left now, is assess damages by trial. My bet is Tangerine will settle this one — rather than add to bevy of litigation already pending, where judgments have found him liable into the half-billion dollar range. It is supremely ironic that the musical work he stole… was originally a protest against Brixton (UK) police brutality — against Britons of color. Here’s the 31 page ruling — and a bit:

…As the Court previously found, “[a]s to the first consideration, it is clear that Electric Avenue is a creative work and therefore is closer to the core of intended copyright protection.” Grant, 563 F. Supp. 3d at 287–88 (citing Campbell, 510 U.S. at 586; Henley, 733 F. Supp. 2d at 1160). The defendants “concede that [Electric Avenue] is a creative and published work, and therefore the second fair use factor favors Plaintiffs.” Defs.’ Opp’n at 14.

Accordingly, the second factor, although “assigned limited weight in the overall fair use determination[,]” Grant, 563 F. Supp. 3d at 288 (citing Authors Guild v. Google, Inc., 804 F.3d 202, 220 (2d Cir. 2015)), favors the plaintiffs….

The third fair use factor considers “the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.” 17 U.S.C. § 107(3). “In assessing this factor, [the court] consider[s] not only the quantity of the materials used but also their quality and importance in relation to the original work.” Andy Warhol Found., 11 F.4th at 45–46 (quoting Campbell, 510 U.S. at 587).

As this Court found in its decision denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss, “[t]he song plays for the majority of the animation; the excerpt is of central importance to the original work; and the defendants have not articulated any purpose for the copying.” Grant, 563 F. Supp. 3d at 288….

In other words, the issue “is not solely whether the secondary work harms an existing market for the specific work alleged to have been infringed. Rather, [the court] must also consider whether unrestricted and widespread conduct of the sort engaged in by [the defendants] would result in a substantially adverse impact on the potential market[.]”
Id. at 49 (citing Campbell, 510 U.S. at 590).

In this case, there is no public benefit as a result of the defendants’ use of “Electric Avenue.” As the plaintiffs correctly argue, the defendants “could have used any song, created a new song, or used no song at all, to convey the same political message in the Infringing Video.” Pls.’ Reply at 5, ECF No. 121. And as the Court previously found, while “political speech… is a rich part of our First Amendment tradition[,] denying the defendants’ fair use defense in this case… will not chill legitimate political satire.” Grant, 563 F. Supp. 3d at 289. Even after discovery in this case, the defendants provide no evidence of public benefit. See Defs.’ Opp’n at 11-14.

The defendants also argue that the plaintiffs “have previously shown no interest in licensing the Song for political use, and have strongly indicated that they have no interest in doing so in the future[.]” Defs.’ Opp’n at 14. However, the definition of “potential markets” is not so narrow; it includes any markets that “creators of original works would in general develop or license others to develop.” Campbell, 510 U.S. at 592. The plaintiffs’ ability to license “Electric Avenue” in the market for licensed music for videos — political or otherwise — would be affected by widespread, uncompensated use….

Onward, grinning!

नमस्ते

Despite Best Efforts, It’s Still Gonna’ Be October — Before Bulk Vaccine Pallets Reach Remote Areas Of Bas-Uélé Province — From Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be sure — this is an… improvement. But it all remains a vast logistical problem: most modern vaccines still require refrigeration trucks — for effective transport and delivery. They need to be as cold as popsicles.

And keeping anything cold — in the scorching African heat… is a daunting challenge. Doubly so, when the roads the heavy trucks must traverse are in many cases, for the last hundred miles, or so. . . little more than motor-bike paths, deeply rutted, and mostly overgrown. A breakdown of the truck, or its refrigerant system, ruins hundreds of thousands of doses, within hours.

So — we will keep hoping that some nation will donate a small fleet of helicopter services, to the most remote locales in northern Bas-Uélé province. Even then a clear patch to set down on will be a… challenge up there in the mountains. Here is the latest, in any event, from Reuters, reporting in Kinshasa, DRC:

…Democratic Republic of Congo will start its mpox vaccination campaign on Oct. 2, nearly a week earlier than previously planned, the head of its outbreak response said on Wednesday.

Congo is the epicentre of the ongoing mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared to be a global public health emergency last month, but a lack of vaccines has until now hampered efforts to curb the spread of the sometimes deadly virus….

The central African country had been planning to launch vaccinations on Oct. 8 after receiving its first delivery of mpox doses last week. But health authorities now intend to start the campaign on Oct. 2, response chief Cris Kacita told Reuters.

“There are procedures that have evolved and helped reduce delays,” he said, adding that the vaccination campaign will last 10 days and target only adults, including healthcare professionals, park rangers and sex workers, in Congo’s six provinces….

Now you know. Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Needs To End His $10,000 A Month Contract With “Lawfair”. It Is A Two Person Shop With Deep (Newly Former) Ties To Whyte Supremacy Theorists…

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

This is… deplorable. In a word — deplorable. The lead lawyer at this “firm” was once a clerk for… Clarence Thomas.

He then hired a contract basis (it is claimed) co-lawyer, after winning a $10,000 a month retainer — to aid the State of Tennessee in appealing the knock-down, of its anti-trans care laws. [See our prior coverage of the case, generally, here.] That case in now pending before the Supremes, for argument next term.

The only lawyer besides the former Justice Thomas clerk who worked at the firm Lawfair, during the relevant period was… an avowed whyte supremacist, with a decades-long history of posting racist / misogynistic crap on public websites, often in a derivative of his own given name. That he was recently let go… (after this came to light, no less!) is no reason for the taxpayers of Tennessee to continue to spend $10,000 per month, with the firm called Lawfair.

There are literally dozens of more competent, less racist, two-person shops all over the nation who could do as capable a job as these jamokes (this isn’t even a local Tennessee firm — it is a beltway / DC swamp shop, grown out of dank MAGA land). If Gov. Lee doesn’t cut ties with this firm, it will be entirely fair for the Vanderbilt University Health System lawyers to ask — at oral argument — whether Gov. Lee’s goal here is simply. . . ongoing oppression — and political back scratching for odious racists who donate to the GOP coffers in Tennessee. Here’s the latest, but we’ve covered this case for over a year now:

…A WIRED investigation reveals that one of two lawyers known to have worked for or with Lawfair, a firm working on a case that could affect minors’ access to gender-affirming care, has ties to accounts with long histories of posting white supremacist content….

Now you know. Onward — scowling — at the former cross-dresser, one Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee.

नमस्ते