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Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

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Friday, Sep 11 2020

Full Issue

Court Document Reveals Elizabeth Holmes Mental-Disease Defense

The trial for the founder of Theronas was delayed until March, but a CNN report looks at her defense teams efforts to introduce evidence of a mental issue bearing on guilt. Industry news is on Roche, Novartis, Korro Bio and Casma Therapeutics, as well.

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos, may seek a "mental disease" defense in her criminal fraud trial, according to a new court document. Holmes, whose failed biotech company purported to have revolutionized blood testing and was once valued at $9 billion, was indicted on federal wire fraud charges in June 2018, along with Theranos' former COO. The indictment alleged they engaged in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors, as well as a scheme to defraud doctors and patients. They could face up to 20 years in prison. (O'Brien, 9/10)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech industry news —

France’s anti-trust regulator fined Roche (RHHBY) and Novartis (NVS) a combined $528 million for conspiring to boost sales of a pricey treatment for a serious eye disease by discouraging unapproved uses of a less expensive medication. At issue is a long-running drama over Lucentis, which is used to treat age-related macular degeneration, a common disease among the elderly that can lead to blindness. (Silverman, 9/10)

Korro Bio, a Cambridge biotechnology firm, said Thursday it has raised more than $90 million in venture capital to advance its technology to repair genetic mutations that cause a variety of diseases.The startup, which was founded in 2018 by Cambridge venture capital firm Atlas Venture, hopes to treat disorders through RNA editing, a cutting-edge approach that makes changes to the molecular messengers that create proteins implicated in various illnesses. (Saltzman, 9/10)

Casma Therapeutics, a Cambridge biotech trying to develop new medicines based on discoveries about how cells detoxify and repair themselves, has raised $50 million in fresh venture capital and wants to use the money to create drugs for treating muscular dystrophy. It’s the second fund-raising round for Casma, which was launched by Boston-based Third Rock Ventures in 2018 with $58 million in venture capital. (Saltzman, 9/10)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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