Category: Uncategorized

Merck Will Acquire Prometheus Bio In An All Cash ~$11.8 Billion Deal…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

The deployment of targeted monoclonal antibodies has shown great promise in autoimmune diseases, to be sure. And Crohn’s has become a high burden one of those diseases, especially in the late post-industrial world. [Highly-processed food / fat-laden diets may be a factor.]

And so it makes sense that Merck would come knocking. Here’s the rundown — and a bit:

…Merck has agreed to acquire Prometheus Biosciences (NASDAQ:RXDX), a clinical-stage biotech focused on immunology, for $200.00 per share in cash, indicating a total equity value of nearly $10.8B, the companies announced Sunday.

Prometheus has seen promising results in late-stage studies for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and other autoimmune conditions with its lead candidate PRA023, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like ligand 1A (TL1A)….

Not the same scale as the SeaGen / Pfizer deal (~$43 billion)… but it is clear that the major pharmas are… becoming acquisitive, again — even in a potentially deteriorating economic picture.

Now you know. grinning, into a gray and wildly colder Sunday — with snow possible tonight, after 82 yesterday. [But nah, global climate change is a myth. /snark….]

नमस्ते

Mr. Mirengoff Well-Knows Mr. Biden Is More Respected Globally Than Trump Was…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

So, Paul thinks Mr. Biden is harming America’s stature on the world stage?

Specifically, he offers this opinion — as compared to Bush 43 (the torture president), and Trump (the guy who professed love for the genocidal leader of North Korea, among dozens of other putrid examples)?!

No, Mr. Mirengoff, Mr. Macron sees the US as a strong and savvy partner — under Mr. Biden (but one Macron won’t be shy about disagreeing with when it suits his local politicking) — while he, and all the EU leadership saw Trump as a dangerous and embarrassing clown. One who could not even comprehend what would be in the US’s enlightened self interest. [Hint: tariffs on wine and chocolate and jeans and cheeses… were not.]

But none of the Tangerine suck-ups had the guts to explain this to Trump (or more likely — he lacked the intelligence / attention span to get it).

Sure Mirengoff… blame China’s rise on an America “asleep at the switch…” but be sure to accept America was asleep from 2017 to January 2021. [I think Paul (in his later retirement years, here) no longer crosses the pond often enough to have any sense of these things, in truth.]

It will take a bit to rebuild the global stature and credibility Trump destroyed by being Putin’s lil’ poodle.

That’s… reality.

Out.

Q.: Why Is Hinderaker… So Angry All The Time?

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Hinderaker is reduced to college square / student union table tippers, to find someone to demonize tonight.

That’s just precious.

Oddly, we see he’s done nothing to chastise Candace Owens’ viciously ugly fat-shaming attacks upon Lizzo. And for her part, Owens now thinks maybe we’d be better off if women were not allowed to vote. Yup — she said it, tonight… [it might curry favor with her whyte supremacist hubby.]

But that’s Candace — and John for ya’. What a… pair of pigs.

Out.

Well… THIS Will Be The End Of The Tennessee Code Ann. § 7-51-1407 “No Drag Queens” Laws. Flawless!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Overnight, the trial brief — essentially the formal application for a TRO / Preliminary and Permanent Injunction (all rolled into one) in the federal district courthouse in Memphis was filed by a bar group called “Friends of George”.

This law, Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-1407, has already been stayed in this same courthouse, while the able USDC Judge hears argument. But this will make it official: Tennessee cannot save this facially invalid law. [And yes, that’s the current GOP TN Governor, in 1977 — when he himself would have gladly (in fact did) openly violate this supposed law. Charming. I did the same, as a football and basketball captain — in high school — and I think this also proves Tennessee has lost its way. It doesn’t mean that Gov. Lee should be jailed (for this, at least). The Jones / Johnson / Pearson matter…? Perhaps — but I digress.]

This nutty law is one that purports to criminalize… dance. And / or makeup. But only if worn (or performed) by humans born with any male genital parts.

Humans born with any female genital parts may continue to dance in public and wear as much eye-liner, rouge, bronzer or pale pancake as they like — may put on hair weaves, and may wear very short skirts and falsies (or… get breast implants and Brazilian butt implants if they desire).

All of that would be plainly lawful, under the nonsense “law”. And these same women may dance, or twerk, any way they please — in front of children of any age.

Not a single bible thumping legislator cares one wit about that.

But if a person born with male genitalia might do this (whether they’ve had surgery or not)… off to jail, with them!

And so, simply carefully describing how the statute operates… is to prove its facial invalidity, under our First Amendment.

See ‘ya TN GOP (your Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-1407 “law” is… toast) — BTW, howz’ that “super-majority” working for ya’, now?!

Out.

Fascinating That Scott And John Never Complain About DeSantis STILL Doing… The Exact Same Thing…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Scott Johnson goes on at what must be called… tedious length — about the supposedly unfair “media exclusion / access” rules he was allegedly subjected to some years ago in Minneapolis by what he styles as Democratic office-holders.

He ultimately survived a motion to dismiss… so, I guess he has a point, there — that is, I agree that state and local press gaggles should be open to all credentialed media representatives, regardless of supposed political views.

The reason I write though — and it continues to this very morning — is that Florida Gov. DeSantis (the Powerline boys new “favorite” GOP primary candidate for the 2024 nomination)… does this exactly, to all press representatives he’s labeled as “Democrats”.

DeSantis almost always holds his political press conferences as closed door events, even inside state facilities, during the regular work week / working hours of the state government.

He almost always uses state police and security guards to bar the door at these events, and checks IDs of all that get admitted — unsurprisingly, they are all GOP operatives.

Yet Powerline hasn’t sought a TRO, or even so much as whispered / whimpered… about that glaring violation of the free press / first amendment rights… in Florida.

A puzzlement, indeed, boys.

Out.

Citi Moved Merck Up — To “Buy”; Now At ~$115.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Citi had long been a Merck skeptic. That state of affairs lasted from at least 2009 through late last year.

I guess it is better to be late to the party… than never to arrive, at all. Here is MarketWatch on it all:

…Citi Research turned bullish on the drug maker, citing “materially revised forecasts” for cancer treatment MK-2870/SKB-264. Baum raised his rating to buy, after being at neutral since November 2021, and lifted his stock price target by 23.8%, to $130 from $105.

“Today’s report highlights positive recent evolution of Merck’s recent R&D and business development, in particular Merck’s recently licensed range of ADC [antibody-drug conjugates] from Kelun, most notably MK-2870/SKB-264 for breast, lung and multiple other solid tumors; and… for sotatercept in PAH [pulmonary arterial hypertension],” Baum wrote in a note to clients….

Indeed, now you know… and this may serve to effectively “smooth out” any bumpiness from the Zetia antitrust trial starting in Virginia next week.

नमस्ते

Ms. Betsy Stauffer… CANNOT READ THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE?!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

In scoring (what she thinks of, at least as) some sound bite points, Stauffer quotes with approval some “Truth Social” miscreant using a Darth Vader avatar (highly trustworthy source there, “Bits”), for the proposition that Walmart’s job is “NOT to provide goods to be stolen” — on Chicago’s west and south sides.

Except that Walmart itself has officially put out a press release averring that “theft losses” had nothing to do with the closure of the four stores (while leaving four more open) in Chicago.

In sum, Betsy… you are a stone cold liar.

Or just maybe… you cannot read English.

Dunno.

Either way… you bore me.

Out.

Here’s Why Powerline Yammers On And On — About Hunter Biden: To Deflect From Trumpian Corruption — WHILE PREZNIT

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Tangerine was absolutely the most corrupt preznit America has ever seen. Consider this, from CREW:

…Donald Trump made up to $160 million from international business dealings while he was serving as president of the United States, according to an analysis of his tax returns by CREW.

Throughout his time in office, President Trump, his family and his Republican allies repeatedly assured the public that his refusal to divest from his businesses wouldn’t lead to any conflicts of interest.

Americans were promised that Trump would donate his salary, which he did, until maybe he didn’t—all while siphoning millions from taxpayers that more than offset his presidential pay. When it came to foreign conflicts of interest, Trump and his company pledged to pause foreign business. They did not….

In 2019, Trump stunned the US foreign policy establishment by pulling US troops out of northeast Syria. The decision had no obvious benefits to the US and was a bombshell reversal to allied Kurds, but it was a victory for Turkey, where Trump had done business for years. In China, Trump again shocked even his GOP allies when he pledged to help sanctioned Chinese company ZTE because, as he tweeted, there were “[t]oo many jobs in China lost,” despite warnings from US intelligence officials that the company’s products may be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans….

Ms. Stauffer’s regular drumbeat of “what-about-ism” posts are all to deflect from the above, of course.

In any event, it is no wonder Tangerine wants to run again — it lets him make back all the graft he’s lost — in defending rape charges, and hush money payment cases and stolen top secret documents — on top of tax and bank fraud investigations.

Damn.

Tonight, Hinderaker Pretends To Ask A Serious Question…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

John (purportedly earnestly) asks the question this late Friday evening: “which US major party is the stronger, at the moment?”

I cannot accept that he is serious. Or… if he is, we must assume he is… fully senile.

You see, in a post not two hours earlier… he casually mentions (as though it is trivial news to him!) — mentions, as one would mention that his neighbor across the way just bought a new riding mower, or gas grill — that in ten days, the leader of his party (GOP) will go on trial for… rape.

And that guy is the runaway favorite to be the GOP nominee for 1600 Penn., come 2024.

John’s question (for any sane human) answers itself: the Democratic Party is the only still legitimate major political party in the US. The MAGA controlled GOP is simply… nothing more than a very-poorly run crime syndicate.

And it’s not just Tangerine: MTG today is lauding a treasonous Air National Guardsman who has leaked lots of SCI / Top Secret documents that are curiously helpful to Russian- and Putin-led narratives in Ukraine.

Why (did he — and why) is she doing that? [Isnt she on Intel committees in the US House?!] Certainly NOT just because he is young, male, whyte and claims to be deeply devout as a… X-tain…?!

Nope.

She too is a traitor to her nation, for Russian payola, it seems.

Disgusting… but this IS Hinderaker’s “Grand Old Party”. He actively made it Trump’s and the racists’ (radical right) — for five long years.

Now he’s upset it cannot win a single national election.

Hilarious.

Out.

Update: Kyle Rittenhouse Will Be Tangled Up In Very Expensive Civil Litigation For Years In Wisconsin Federal Courtrooms… That’s Appropriate.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

As we said in early February… it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Very much like OJ’s civil travails, these acts will follow him in the civil courts for at least a decade to come. I note his latest, largely-dissembling answers mostly to laugh at them, here.

Here’s the second one — for grins.

And here is some actual law on the topic — from the able USDC Judge in Milwaukee. He will be deposed, under oath, again [and this time he won’t have the insulating protections of criminal law presumptions in his favor].

And we will remind the readership that he said he was going to sue many people for defamation, libel and slander.

It seems likely that all the lawyers he’s talked to have (correctly) explained to him that such suits would be losers. He’d have to pay the opponents’ legal fees, in the end. [And, where is that retired Trib opinion columnist, now?! Heh.]

Truth is an absolute defense here.

Out.