Elon Musk’s brain implant startup Neuralink is worth around $5 billion based on privately executed stock trades described by five sources with knowledge of the matter. The company was worth close to $2 billion in a private fundraising round two years ago. (Reuters)
Biogen said it is cutting its Phase 3 Parkinson’s trial for BIIB122, a drug that targets Parkinson’s disease linked to LRRK2 mutations, as part of a research and development restructuring. Biogen, which was developing BIIB122 with Denali, said it will instead refocus efforts on its Phase 2b LUMA study in early-stage Parkinson’s. (Endpoints News)
Public health officials applauded the White House for its plan to appoint Mandy Cohen, North Carolina’s health secretary, as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to replace outgoing Rochelle Walensky. The decision isn’t finalized and President Biden is expected to make a formal announcement later this month. (Science)
Gilead Sciences’ CAR-T therapy Yescarta, developed by its Kite unit, was effective in lengthening the lives of patients with large B-cell lymphoma by 27%, new trial results show. Yescarta is the first CAR-T therapy to show meaningful survival benefits for patients with that blood cancer, which is currently treated with chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. (STAT News)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin launched the Chasing M’s Foundation CPR Tour, which will bring CPR training and distribute automated external defibrillators to communities around the country. While the full slate of locations and dates will be announced soon, Hamlin said that the cities will include Pittsburgh, his hometown, and Cincinnati, where he went into sudden cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football. (The Buffalo News)
