Johnson & Johnson announced its bladder cancer treatment known as “the pretzel” has shown promise in a Phase II study called SunRISe-1. The treatment involves decades-old chemotherapy being delivered through a pretzel-shaped device, and it showed efficacy in tackling tumors in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. (Endpoints News)
Late-stage clinical biopharma company Acelyrin said that it was seeking a valuation of up to $1.5 billion in its initial public offering. The Los Angeles-based company is aiming to raise up to roughly $370 million, by selling 20.6 million shares at nearly the top-end of its proposed price range of $16 to $18 per share, the company said in a filing. (Seeking Alpha)
The Food and Drug Administration declined to approve Ascendis Pharma’s experimental hormone disorder therapy, TransCon PTH. Ascendis said it would aim to meet with the FDA to determine its path forward for TransCon PTH, which treats hypoparathyroidism. (Reuters)
Senators crafting legislation that would reform the practices of pharmacy benefit managers have delayed the effective date by 10 months. The changes will now take place 30 months after the law is passed, or after November 2025. (STAT News)
A study showed that OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool may display more empathy than doctors when it comes to answering patient questions. Researchers at the University of California San Diego, La Jolla found that people preferred AI responses 80% of the time over human doctors. (Axios)
