Beam's gene edit for sickle cell meets its main goal in a 31-patient trial

The stories

20 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Beam's gene edit for sickle cell meets its main goal in a 31-patient trial

   31

   patients in Beam's trial, each followed for 12 months

   none had a severe pain crisis, Fierce Biotech reported [2]

   $2.2 million

   US list price of Casgevy, a rival gene treatment

   Lyfgenia, the other one, lists at $3.1 million [2]

   5

   people given Casgevy in the second half of 2024

   64 people got it in 2025 [1]

   What happened

   • Beam Therapeutics, a US gene-editing company, reported a trial result for its sickle cell treatment on 10 November. [2]
   • The treatment, risto-cel, met its main goal in the trial Beam will use to seek approval. [1]
   • Fierce Biotech reported that the 31 patients had no severe pain crises over 12 months. [2]
   • It is the first positive late-stage result for base editing, a way to change single letters of DNA. [1]
   • Doctors take out the patient's own cells, edit them in a lab and put them back. [1]
   • The edit switches on fetal haemoglobin, a special protein that carries oxygen. [1]
   • The new cells settle in the bone marrow and start making normal blood cells. [1]
   • Beam's shares fell as much as 10% on the morning of the news. [1]

   Casgevy$2.20 million

   Lyfgenia$3.10 million

   Who is involved

   Sickle cell disease is inherited, and it mostly affects people with African ancestry. [1]

   Its blood cells bend into a sickle shape and cause painful attacks called vaso-occlusive crises. [1]

   • Beam Therapeutics a US gene-editing company; its sickle cell treatment risto-cel met its trial's main goal
   • John Evans Beam's chief executive; he called the data a defining milestone for the company
   • Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics the partners behind Casgevy, the gene treatment Beam would compete with
   • Genetix Biotherapeutics formerly Bluebird Bio, maker of Lyfgenia; it sold itself after struggling to sell its treatments

   How it unfolded

   Two gene treatments for sickle cell, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, were approved in the US in 2023. [2]

   Casgevy's US list price is $2.2 million, and Lyfgenia's is $3.1 million. [2]

   Both sold slowly at first: only 5 people got Casgevy in the second half of 2024. [1]

   In 2025, 64 patients got Casgevy, which Vertex sells with CRISPR Therapeutics. [1]

   Genetix Biotherapeutics, which makes Lyfgenia, sold itself after struggling to sell its gene treatments. [1]

   1. 2023 Casgevy and Lyfgenia approved in the US [2]
   2. 2026 Beam's trial result
   3. December full details due at the ASH blood doctors' meeting [2]
   4. End of 2026 application to the FDA
   5. Late 2024 only 5 people get Casgevy in six months [1]
   6. 2025 64 people get Casgevy [1]
   7. 10 Nov Beam says risto-cel met its main goal [2]
   8. End of 2026 Beam plans to apply to the FDA [2]

   Why it matters

   Beam's managers told analysts in September that supply, not demand, has held these treatments back. [1]

   Analysts at RBC said risto-cel needs a shorter making process and fewer rounds of cell collection. [1]

   William Blair analysts predict peak sales of $2.9 billion for risto-cel. [2]

   How it works

   Geneticists call this base editing: it swaps single letters of DNA instead of cutting through the DNA. [1]

   Risto-cel edits the cells at a gene called BCL11A. [2] That switches on fetal haemoglobin, which is meant to stop cells sickling. [1]

   Seen it before

   A phone with a broken main camera can switch to its spare camera and still take photos.

   Why some targets in the body cannot be hit by a pill

   Medicinal chemists call a target druggable when a pill's small molecule can sit in a pocket on it, and many disease targets have none.

   The twist

   A pill is small enough to reach almost anywhere, but it needs a pocket to hold on to. The tools that need no pocket are too big to get around easily, so medicine has to carry them in.

   The picture

   A pill's moleculeneeds a pocket

   vsvs

   An antibodygrips a flat surface

   Step by step

   1. 1 A pill carries a small molecule that works by sitting in a pocket on its target
   2. 2 Many disease targets have no such pocket: a sticky protein, an RNA tangle, a virus coat, a gene
   3. 3 Bigger tools can hold them: antibodies, RNA strands, degraders, gene editors
   4. 4 But bigger tools struggle to get into cells and into the brain
   5. 5 So they are injected, split into pieces, or the cells are taken out of the body to be fixed

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Oyster raises $60 million for tau drugs

     Tau has no nooks for a pill to grip, so Oyster's drug tags it for the cell to destroy, and splits in two inside the body so the pieces are small enough to reach the brain.

   • PepGen's drug untangles a muscle disease

     The fault in DM1 is a clump of RNA with no pocket, so PepGen uses a short strand of genetic letters that travels through the blood, where kidney harm is the worry.

   • Mirum's hepatitis D antibody wins again

     An antibody is far too big to swallow, but it can grip the hepatitis B protein on the virus's coat, so patients inject it every week.

   • Beam's sickle cell result

     No pill can rewrite a gene, so Beam takes the patient's cells out of the body, edits them in a lab and puts them back.

   Where you've seen this

   Rock climbing

   a climber needs a hold to grip; a smooth wall needs a rope lowered from above

   Tools and screws

   a screwdriver needs a slot in the screw head; a smooth bolt needs a spanner that grips the outside

   Shipping

   a giant ship carries the most but needs a deep port; a small boat can land on any beach

   The catch

   The line moves. Chemists keep finding pockets on targets once written off, so a target with no pill today may have one later.

   And the whole of it

   A family waiting for a sickle cell treatment, a person with Alzheimer's and a chemist at a lab bench all depend on what one molecule can reach. Most of us swallow pills without knowing how many illnesses those pills cannot touch, or what it costs to carry bigger tools into the body.

   The truth

   • Beam announced the result without detailed figures, BioPharma Dive reported. [1] Full details are due at a meeting of blood doctors in December. [2]
   • Safety matched the hard cell transplant the treatment needs, the company said. [2]
   • Who gains Beam, if risto-cel is approved — William Blair's analysts think it could be priced above Casgevy, because its shorter process cuts hospital costs. [2]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many of Beam's 31 patients had any pain crisis at all.

     Fierce Biotech reports that all 31 stayed free of severe crises, while BioPharma Dive says Beam released no specific details. [2][1]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether risto-cel will reach patients faster than Casgevy did.

     Beam blames the slow start of these treatments on supply, not demand, but that claim has not yet been tested on its own product. [1]

   What comes next

   Beam plans to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration, the drug regulator, by the end of 2026. [2]

1. 02

   Mirum's hepatitis D antibody wins again

   What happened

   • Mirum Pharmaceuticals, a drug company, reported a second final-stage win for its hepatitis D drug. [3]
   • The trial, Azure-4, enrolled 113 patients new to treatment. [3]
   • The goal was less virus in the blood and normal liver tests after 24 weeks. [3]
   • It was met by 59% on a weekly dose and 44% on a monthly dose. [3] No one left without the drug for 12 weeks met it. [3]

   Who is involved

   Hepatitis D is the most severe form of viral hepatitis, an infection that inflames the liver. [3]

   It affects up to 4% of people who also carry hepatitis B. [3]

   How it unfolded

   An earlier Mirum trial, Azure-1, met the same goal in September. [3]

   1. September Azure-1 meets its goal
   2. This week Azure-4 meets it too
   3. First half of 2027 application to the FDA
   4. End of 2027 launch, Mirum hopes

   Why it matters

   Gilead's rival drug Hepcludex, approved in the US in May, is not approved for people with cirrhosis. [3]

   More than half of Mirum's patients had cirrhosis, a badly scarred liver, so it may suit sicker patients. [3]

   How it works

   Immunologists call brelovitug a monoclonal antibody: a lab-made copy of one immune protein. [3]

   Brelovitug grabs a hepatitis B protein that also sits on the coat of the hepatitis D virus. [3]

   Seen it before

   A key cut for one lock opens that lock and no other.

   An antibody is far too big to swallow, but it can grip the hepatitis B protein on the virus's coat, so patients inject it every week.

   The idea, in story 01: Why some targets in the body cannot be hit by a pill →

   The truth

   • The group given no drug went without it for only 12 weeks, while results were read at 24 weeks. [3]
   • Who gains Hepatitis D patients with a scarred liver — Hepcludex is not approved for them, so a successful Mirum application in 2027 could give them an approved option. [3]

   What comes next

   Mirum plans to apply for US approval in the first half of 2027, and to launch by that year's end. [3]

2. 03

   PepGen's drug untangles a muscle disease

   What happened

   • PepGen, a biotech company, reported early results for its drug for a rare muscle disease on 10 November. [4]
   • In DM1, faulty RNA, the cell's working copy of a gene, clumps together and jumbles muscle instructions. [4]
   • After 4 monthly doses, the drug fixed on average 46.5% of those jumbled instructions in 6 patients. [4]
   • Side effects were mild to moderate, and no lasting kidney damage was seen over 16 weeks. [4]
   • PepGen's shares rose more than 90% that day. [4]

   Who is involved

   The disease, myotonic dystrophy type 1 or DM1, slowly weakens and shrinks the muscles. [4]

   It affects about 110,000 people in the US and Europe, PepGen says. [4]

   How it unfolded

   1. 10 November first results
   2. First half of 2027 higher-dose results

   Why it matters

   No treatment cures DM1, and a rival drug that Novartis bought recently failed a key trial. [4]

   How it works

   PepGen's drug is an oligonucleotide: a short strand of genetic letters made in a lab. [4]

   The strand gets into cells and breaks up the RNA tangles, so fewer instructions come out jumbled. [4]

   Seen it before

   Untangling a knotted headphone cable lets the music reach your ears again.

   The fault in DM1 is a clump of RNA with no pocket, so PepGen uses a short strand of genetic letters that travels through the blood, where kidney harm is the worry.

   The idea, in story 01: Why some targets in the body cannot be hit by a pill →

   The truth

   • Why it works on people PepGen's shares rose more than 90% on a 6-patient result, and a price move that big feels like proof before anyone outside the company has seen the data. [4]
   • Only 6 patients were treated, and no one in the US has been given it. [4] The FDA partly paused the trial there last year over animal findings. [4]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether PepGen's drug stays safe at the higher dose now being tested.

     Those results are due in the first half of 2027, and the FDA's partial hold still keeps US patients out. [4]

   What comes next

   PepGen expects results from a higher dose in the first half of 2027. [4]

3. 04

   Insulin could lose makers, report warns

   What happened

   • The Access to Medicine Foundation, a Dutch non-profit group, ranks drugmakers on reaching poorer countries. [8]
   • Its new report warns that the rush into weight-loss drugs could pull firms away from insulin. [8]
   • Firms can charge far higher prices, with bigger profit margins, on weight-loss drugs than on insulin. [8]
   • Diabetes affects about 589 million adults, and 81% of them live in low- and middle-income countries. [8]
   • Novo Nordisk plans to phase out some older diabetes products, including insulin pens. [8]

   Who is involved

   Its chief, Jay Iyer, said Sanofi, Lilly or Novo Nordisk could leave the insulin market. [8]

   • Sanofi insulin maker
   • Eli Lilly insulin maker
   • Novo Nordisk insulin maker

   Why it matters

   Iyer said people with type 1 diabetes, 'after 105 years of insulin development', still cannot get it. [8]

   How it works

   Economists call this opportunity cost: whatever a firm spends on one product, it cannot spend on another.

   A weight-loss drug earns bigger margins than insulin, so new factory lines and lab teams go to it. [8]

   Seen it before

   A cafe that sells more cake than toast puts its baker on cakes, and the toast runs out.

   The truth

   • The foundation is part-funded by the UK and Dutch governments. [8] Novo Nordisk said it would carefully review the findings. [8]
   • Who pays People with type 1 diabetes in poorer countries — If one of the 3 big makers left insulin, it would be disastrous for their supply, the foundation's chief said. [8]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether any of the 3 big insulin makers will really leave insulin.

     The foundation named the risk and Novo Nordisk is phasing out some insulin pens, while Sanofi is building a new insulin factory. [8]

   Good news

   • Sanofi has just started building a new insulin factory in Frankfurt, Germany. [8]
   • Nearly two-thirds of cancer drugs are now covered by plans to make them available in poorer countries, the Access to Medicine Foundation found.
4. 05

   Dengue is caught locally in Florida

   What happened

   • Florida has had 880 cases of dengue this year, more than any other US state. [6]
   • About 503 caught it inside the US, says the CDC, the US public health agency. [6]
   • That beats the earlier high of 189 local cases, set in 2023. [6] In 2025, only 72 were caught locally. [6]
   • Most local cases are now around Tampa, where 395 people caught it, against 12 in Miami. [6]
   • A Tampa woman, Gay Small, died of dengue in September, on her 80th birthday. [6]
   • Three Florida counties declared emergencies, and the CDC sent $800,000 for mosquito control. [6]

   Who is involved

   Dengue is a virus spread by mosquitoes, and it can cause high fever and severe pain. [6]

   Why it matters

   The CDC's dengue chief, Gabriela Paz-Bailey, said locally caught dengue will become the norm. [6]

   How it works

   Epidemiologists call cases caught nearby local transmission, unlike cases brought home by travellers. [6]

   Warm, wet weather helps the mosquitoes breed, and travellers from the Caribbean may bring the virus back. [6]

   Seen it before

   One child brings a cold back from holiday, and soon classmates who never left town have it too.

   The truth

   • The WHO counts a dengue vaccine among new tools against tropical diseases. [15] Experts told the New York Times the vaccines on offer are not very effective. [6]
   • Who pays People living around Tampa — They now face a virus usually caught abroad, with no vaccine approved in the US to protect them. [6]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Why Florida's dengue moved from Miami to Tampa.

     The CDC's dengue chief called it 'the $100 million question', and more travellers from the Caribbean is one idea, not yet shown. [6]

5. 06

   An early flu season hits the young

   What happened

   • The US has counted at least 1.7 million flu cases and 1,400 deaths so far this year, CDC data show. [7]
   • Case counts are higher than usual for early November, with clusters in southern states and the West Coast. [7]
   • It surged earlier this year in Japan. [7] Vin Gupta, a lung doctor, said travel from Asia probably drove the West Coast spike. [7]

   How it unfolded

   This year's main strain is a changed form of the flu behind the 2009 swine flu pandemic. [7]

   1. 2009 swine flu pandemic
   2. This year a changed form spreads

   Why it matters

   One early study found teenagers and young adults hit harder by this strain than older people. [7]

   How it works

   Immunologists call it imprinting: the first flu strains a child meets shape how the body fights flu later.

   Immune defences are shaped partly by the flu strains people caught as children, which could explain the age gap. [7]

   Seen it before

   A goalkeeper who trained on one striker's penalties may misread a newcomer's kicks.

   The truth

   • Higher early counts do not mean the season will be more severe or peak higher, STAT noted. [7]
6. 07

   Scotland's first blood amber alert

   What happened

   • Scotland's blood service has issued an amber alert for the first time, as blood stocks fell to record lows. [9]
   • Hospitals are told to use type O blood only when it is essential. [9]
   • Type O stocks fell below 2 days' supply several times, against a target of 5 to 7 days. [9]
   • Only about 2% of Scotland's people are signed up to give blood. [9]

   How it unfolded

   Donor numbers fell 24% in 10 years, about 30,000 people. [9]

   Why it matters

   O-negative blood can be given to any patient, and O-positive is the most common UK type. [9]

   Emergency operations, transplants and cancer surgery will carry on as normal, the service said. [9]

   How it works

   Supply planners call a reserve like this a buffer stock: what covers the weeks when too few people give.

   Only 85% of donor appointments are filled, so each short week eats into the reserve. [9]

   Seen it before

   A family that spends a little more than it earns each week slowly empties its savings jar.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     How long Scotland's blood stocks stay below target.

     The amber alert runs for 4 to 6 weeks at first, and only 85% of donor appointments are being filled. [9]

   What comes next

   The alert is set for 4 to 6 weeks at first and will be kept under review. [9]

7. 08

   Merck's liver drug clears fatty liver disease

   What happened

   • Merck, a giant US drugmaker, reported mid-stage trial results for its liver drug efinopegdutide. [5]
   • The trial ran for 52 weeks in 386 patients. [5]
   • At the middle dose, 63% had MASH cleared, against 13% on a dummy drug. [5]

   Who is involved

   The disease, MASH, is fat and swelling in the liver that can lead to scarring and liver failure. [5]

   About 5% of the world lives with it, Merck says. [5]

   How it unfolded

   Merck paid $10 million for it in 2020 to Hanmi Pharmaceutical, which got it from Johnson & Johnson. [5]

   Hanmi had paid Johnson & Johnson $105 million for it in 2015. [5]

   1. 2015 Hanmi buys it from Johnson & Johnson
   2. 2020 Merck pays $10 million

   Why it matters

   Wegovy, Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug, is the only drug of its kind approved for MASH. [5]

   In the same trial, 53% of patients on semaglutide, Wegovy's active ingredient, had MASH cleared. [5]

   How it works

   Pharmacologists call efinopegdutide a co-agonist: one drug that switches on two receptors at once. [5]

   It switches on the receptors for 2 hormones, GLP-1 and glucagon, while semaglutide works on GLP-1 alone. [5]

   Seen it before

   Two fans dry wet washing faster than one fan does.

   The truth

   • The results come from Merck's own announcement, which said side effects matched semaglutide's. [5]
8. 09

   63 countries have beaten a tropical disease

   What happened

   • A WHO report on 4 November said 63 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease by June 2026. [15]
   • That is up from 42 countries at the end of 2020. [15]
   • The number of people needing treatment fell to 1.41 billion in 2024, down 36% since 2010. [15]
   • In Africa, Togo became the first country in the world to eliminate 4 of them. [16]

   Who is involved

   These diseases, such as sleeping sickness and Guinea worm, mostly strike the world's poorest communities. [15]

   Why it matters

   A few donors give nearly 80% of the aid, so sudden cuts have disrupted mass treatment. [15]

   Money for these diseases is still 30% below its level before COVID-19, the report says. [15]

   How it works

   Disease experts call one method preventive chemotherapy: giving medicine to whole communities, sick or not. [16]

   Most of the people who need help need these rounds of medicine for whole communities. [16]

   Seen it before

   A school treats every child for head lice on the same day, so no one passes them back.

   The truth

   • Only 3 of the disease targets met their 2025 milestones, the WHO found. [15]
   • Who pays Communities that rely on donated tropical-disease medicines — When aid is cut, donated medicines sitting in stores can expire before anyone takes them. [15]

   Good news

   • Guinea worm disease fell to a record low of 10 human cases in 2025. [15]
   • Sleeping sickness cases have fallen by 98% since 1999, the World Health Organization reported in its review of neglected tropical diseases.
9. 10

   Chemotherapy may speed up ageing

   What happened

   • Researchers at Georgetown University in the US estimated how much some breast cancer chemotherapy speeds up ageing. [12]
   • Women given the harshest chemotherapy were estimated to lose 9.4 years of remaining life on average. [12]
   • The study, in the journal JAMA Network Open, used a computer model of the population. [12]

   Who is involved

   Biological age measures how worn the body is, and it can run ahead of a person's real age. [12]

   How it unfolded

   Breast cancer survivors are the largest group among the 18.6 million cancer survivors in the US. [12]

   Why it matters

   Survivors treated young, or with the harshest drugs, were projected to age fastest. [12]

   How it works

   Ageing scientists call such cells senescent: damaged cells that stop dividing but refuse to die. [12]

   Chemotherapy raises the number of these cells, and they release substances that inflame nearby tissue. [12]

   Seen it before

   One rotten apple left in a fruit bowl makes the apples around it go off faster.

   The truth

   • The authors say cancer doctors should not change treatment because of these findings. [12] The model assumed the ageing harm affected only deaths from other causes. [12]
   • Who pays Breast cancer survivors given the harshest chemotherapy — The model says their bodies may age faster, with frailty and memory problems arriving earlier. [12]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether chemotherapy shortens survivors' lives as much as the model says.

     The 9.4-year figure comes from a computer simulation built on a blood marker, not from following real women. [12]

10. 11

    Oyster raises $60 million for tau drugs

    What happened

    • Oyster Therapeutics, a London biotech, raised $60 million on 10 November for drugs against tau. [10]
    • Oyster's drug links a part that grabs tau to an enzyme that tags it for the cell to destroy. [10]
    • It targets only the disease-causing forms of tau, the company says. [10]

    Who is involved

    Tau is a sticky protein that clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, as amyloid does. [10]

    Eli Lilly was among the investors in the round, which a British venture fund led. [10]

    • A British venture fund led the round
    • Eli Lilly one of the investors

    How it unfolded

    Drugs aimed at amyloid, like Lilly's Kisunla and Leqembi from Biogen and Eisai, only modestly help memory. [10]

    Why it matters

    Several tau drugs have failed, and rivals from Biogen and Arrowhead are much further along in testing. [10]

    How it works

    Chemists call this a protein degrader: it removes its target instead of blocking it. [10]

    Tau has no nooks for an ordinary drug to grip, so Oyster's drug marks it for disposal instead. [10]

    Seen it before

    A bin tag tells the collectors which bag to take away.

    Tau has no nooks for a pill to grip, so Oyster's drug tags it for the cell to destroy, and splits in two inside the body so the pieces are small enough to reach the brain.

    The idea, in story 01: Why some targets in the body cannot be hit by a pill →

    The truth

    • Oyster has not said when its drug will first be tested in people. [10]
11. 12

    5 states join suit against Hims & Hers

    What happened

    • 5 US states joined a government lawsuit against Hims & Hers, an online clinic, US officials said on 10 November. [13]
    • The suit, led by the Federal Trade Commission, says Hims shared customers' health details with advertising platforms. [13]
    • It also says Hims misled users about billing and cancelling. [13]

    Who is involved

    The states are Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. [13]

    How it unfolded

    The commission first sued in July, with Los Angeles County and Utah. [13]

    1. July the commission sues
    2. 10 November 5 more states join

    Why it matters

    Hims is one of the biggest online sellers of weight-loss drugs, and also ships hair-loss and mental health pills. [13]

    How it works

    Lawyers call this a deceptive practice: telling customers one thing and doing another. [13]

    Hims told users their details stayed private while sharing them with ad platforms, the commission says. [13]

    Seen it before

    A diary lock means little if its owner lends out the key.

    The truth

    • A Hims spokesperson said: 'We will vigorously defend ourselves.' [13]
    • Who pays Hims & Hers customers — Their private health details may have reached advertisers, the suit alleges. [13]
12. 13

    US biotech lobby's plan to stay ahead of China

    What happened

    • BIO, a big US biotech lobby group, set out a 7-part plan on 10 November to keep the US ahead. [14]
    • China now starts more than a quarter of the world's clinical trials, BIO says. [14]
    • Western firms have struck more than 100 licensing deals for Chinese-made medicines, BioPharma Dive counts. [14]
    • BIO wants a White House Office of Biotechnology to run the plan. [14] It also asks for faster first tests in people and more research money. [14]

    How it unfolded

    It came 2 months after China set out a 5-year plan to grow its own biotech industry. [14]

    1. September China's 5-year plan
    2. 10 November BIO's 7-part plan

    Why it matters

    Many US companies now run early trials in China and Australia, where BIO says it is faster and cheaper. [14]

    How it works

    Economists call this industrial policy: a government steering money and rules to grow one industry.

    When early trials are faster abroad, companies move them there, so BIO wants more flexible US rules. [14]

    Seen it before

    A shop with the longest queue loses customers to the shop across the road.

    The truth

    • An investor, Lindy Morris Fishburne, said: 'the world moves on incentives and people'. [14]
    • Who gains Countries such as China and Australia — US companies send their first human tests there because, BIO says, it is faster and cheaper. [14]
13. 14

    AstraZeneca buys a vaccine partner

    What happened

    • AstraZeneca, a large drug company, said on 10 November it had bought Omniose, a vaccine design firm. [11]

    Who is involved

    Omniose's announced funding has mostly been grants, including $3.6 million from the US National Institutes of Health in 2022. [11]

    • AstraZeneca the buyer
    • Omniose vaccine designer

    How it unfolded

    The two had worked together since January 2024 on vaccines against drug-resistant superbugs. [11]

    The first vaccine of this kind reached the US market in 1987. [11]

    1. January 2024 partnership begins
    2. 10 November AstraZeneca buys Omniose
    3. 1987 first such vaccine in the US
    4. 2025 a rival vaccine is stopped

    Why it matters

    A similar vaccine that Sanofi co-developed with Johnson & Johnson was stopped in 2025 after a final trial fell short. [11]

    How it works

    Immunologists call these conjugate vaccines: a germ's sugar coat joined to a protein. [11]

    The joining step is hard chemistry, so Omniose does it inside bacterial cells instead. [11]

    Seen it before

    Baking chocolate chips into the dough beats pressing them into each cookie afterwards.

    The truth

    • AstraZeneca did not tell Fierce Biotech what it paid. [11]
    • Who gains AstraZeneca — It now owns a method for making these vaccines that was built partly with US government research grants. [11]
14. 15

    COVID shots and lasting illness

    What happened

    • A German study followed 660 adults for a year after they caught COVID-19. [18]
    • Post-COVID syndrome, illness that lingers long after the infection, hit 70.7% of the unvaccinated. [18]
    • It hit 45.6% of those with 2 doses and 52.4% of those with boosters. [18]
    • Boosted patients felt healthier as the illness ended, but by 12 months the gap was too small to count. [18]

    Why it matters

    The study suggests symptom lists alone miss how patients feel, the authors wrote. [18]

    How it works

    Doctors call these patient-reported outcomes: health as patients themselves score it. [18]

    Patients rated their own health on standard forms at 3 and 12 months, beside the symptom checklist. [18]

    Seen it before

    A thermometer can say a fever is gone while the child still feels too tired for school.

    The truth

    • Most of the patients, 85%, had been in hospital, so it says little about mild COVID-19, the authors said. [18]
15. 16

    Kyorin buys Japan rights to a lung drug

    What happened

    • Kyorin, a Japanese drugmaker, will pay $12 million upfront for the Japan rights to Edesa Biotech's lung drug. [17]
    • Kyorin could pay up to $134 million more, plus a share of sales. [17]

    Who is involved

    Edesa is a Canadian biotech, and its drug, paridiprubart, is an antibody for acute respiratory distress syndrome. [17]

    That syndrome is a severe lung failure that needs intensive care, Kyorin's chief said. [17]

    How it unfolded

    In a 100-person trial of COVID-19 patients, the drug was linked to better survival and recovery. [17]

    Edesa then turned to lung failure from any cause after a US agency, BARDA, picked it for a wider trial. [17]

    Why it matters

    Kyorin will pay for testing, approval and sales in Japan. [17]

    How it works

    Dealmakers call this a regional licence: one firm buys the rights to a drug for one country only.

    Edesa keeps the drug outside Japan, and earns from Japan through the $12 million and later payments. [17]

    Seen it before

    A band can sell the rights to its song for adverts in one country and keep them everywhere else.

    The truth

    • Edesa halted the COVID-19 trial, and its kidney findings came from extra exploratory analyses. [17]
    • Who gains Kyorin — Beyond Japan rights, it gets the first chance to bargain for the drug's use in kidney injury there. [17]
16. 17

    A machine makes cell therapy cheaper

    What happened

    • Currus Biologics, an Australian company, moved the making of its cancer cell therapy onto an automated machine. [20]
    • The switch cut how much lentiviral vector, a virus that carries new genes into cells, each batch needs. [20]
    • The therapy is for solid tumours and has not yet been tested in people. [20]

    Who is involved

    A Melbourne manufacturer, Cell Therapies, will now make it for the first trials. [20]

    • Cell Therapies Melbourne manufacturer
    • Currus Biologics the therapy's owner

    Why it matters

    Making a separate batch for every patient is a big barrier, said Sam Cobb, Currus's chief. [20]

    How it works

    Factory engineers call this process automation: a machine repeats steps a person used to do by hand.

    Each patient's cells are a batch of one, so fewer hand steps make every batch more alike and cheaper. [20]

    Seen it before

    A bread machine makes the same loaf every time, while loaves kneaded by hand vary.

    The truth

    • Cobb said fully automatic factories are unlikely, and steps like quality checks and shipping are harder to automate. [20]
17. 18

    A fly brain map plays Doom

    What happened

    • In September, scientists published the first detailed map of a male fruit fly's brain and nerves. [19]
    • The map, called a connectome, shows more than 166,000 nerve cells and the links between them. [19]
    • Programmers have since set the virtual fly to play the video game Doom and trade bitcoin. [19]

    Who is involved

    Gerald Rubin, one of the map's makers, called it fun and a spotlight on the research. [19]

    • Gerald Rubin Janelia Research Campus, helped build the map

    Why it matters

    Fruit flies are a key lab animal, and their brains share pathways with ours. [19]

    How it works

    Computer scientists call this training: a program adjusts its own settings until it gets a task right.

    The programmers fed the map into an AI model, which keeps changing the wiring until the task is done. [19]

    Seen it before

    A recipe changed again and again to win a contest is no longer grandma's recipe.

    The truth

    • Bing Wen Brunton, a University of Washington neuroscientist, said a real brain upload is still far off. [19]
18. 19

    UAE approves a national genomics plan

    What happened

    • Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, approved the UAE's national genomics plan for 2026 to 2031. [21]
    • The plan moves from collecting genetic data to using it in care, early prevention and precision medicine. [21]
    • The Emirati Genome Programme already has 1 million participants, officials say. [21]
    • The plan aims to cover every Emirati citizen and send personal gene reports to 900,000 people. [21]
    • The reports start in December 2026 on the Tamm platform and cover 214 inherited conditions and traits. [21]
    • Newborn screening will go nationwide, checking more than 730 genes linked to over 815 childhood conditions. [21]

    Who is involved

    Its secure research platform has had invitations from 21 research and health bodies worldwide. [21]

    How it unfolded

    1. December 2026 gene reports begin
    2. 2031 the plan ends

    Why it matters

    Early treatment is available for each of those childhood conditions. [21]

    Officials want to join the gene data to an AI-run health system to prevent illness across communities. [21]

    How it works

    Doctors call this precision medicine: matching care to a person's own genes. [21]

    Screening a baby's genes can find one of those 815 conditions while early treatment can still help. [21]

    Seen it before

    A car's warning light shows a fault before the engine breaks down.

    The truth

    • The claim that it is the world's most complete population genome programme comes from officials. [21]
19. 20

    A new COVID variant spreads worldwide

    What happened

    • A new COVID-19 variant, PJ.2.1, now causes a growing share of cases around the world. [22]
    • It has since been found in Australia, Singapore and Spain. [22]
    • Doctors say it does not seem more harmful than other recent variants, and its symptoms can look like a cold. [22]
    • In the 28 days to 18 October, 56,471 new infections were reported, over 35,000 fewer than the month before. [22]
    • Home rapid tests will most probably still pick it up, said Eskild Petersen, a Danish infection expert. [22]

    How it unfolded

    It was first found in Ontario, Canada, in May, and in New York at the end of June. [22]

    COVID-19 has been linked to about 7 million deaths worldwide since it emerged. [22]

    1. May found in Ontario, Canada
    2. End of June found in New York

    Why it matters

    Elderly people and those with weak immune systems still face serious illness, an emergency doctor in Sharjah said. [22]

    How it works

    Virologists call ACE2 the virus's receptor: the protein on human cells it latches onto to get in. [22]

    Studies found PJ.2.1 grips ACE2 better than other variants, which may explain its fast spread. [22]

    Seen it before

    A key that turns more easily lets more people through a door in the same time.

    The truth

    • A Russian professor said it may bring worse sore throats. [22] A UK expert, Paul Hunter, sees no evidence of more severe disease. [22]