The virus has taken the life of a young American teacher who became famous for a 2018 video of her students. Meanwhile, confusion and shortages impede some U.S. vaccination campaigns. 
And, India has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a local version.
— NYT: Top Stories
Health workers participate in a COVID-19 vaccine delivery system trial in Hyderabad, India, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a nationwide trial on Saturday as it prepares to roll-out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Saturday’s exercise included necessary data entry into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry had said.(AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
NEW DELHI (AP) — India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a nationwide trial on Saturday as it prepares to roll out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic.
The trial included data entry into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry said in a statement.
The massive exercise came a day after a government-appointed panel of experts held a meeting to review the applications of potential vaccine candidates, including front-runner Covishield, developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca.
India’s vaccination drive is expected to start in a few days once the country’s regulator approves a vaccine.
The government plans to inoculate 300 million people in the first phase of the vaccination program, which will include healthcare and front-line workers, police and military troops, and those with comorbidities who are above the age of 50.
The government is expected to initially lean on the vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company. The company has been contracted by AstraZeneca to make 1 billion doses for developing nations, including India. It has applied to India’s drug regulator for early approval for emergency use in the country. Applications for vaccines made by Pfizer Inc. and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech are also being reviewed.
Serum Institute of India’s vaccine doesn’t require the ultra-cold storage facilities that some others do. Instead, it can be stored in refrigerators. This makes it a feasible candidate, not just for India but also for other developing nations.
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed the preparedness for the vaccination drive at a government hospital in New Delhi on Saturday and urged the public not to pay heed to anti-vaccine rumors. “We will not compromise on any protocol before approving a vaccine,” he told reporters.
Pooja Moriya, a health worker in the capital who will be one of the first to be inoculated, said hospital staff has had several meetings about the vaccine and how it works. “Our seniors have told us to not be scared at all,” Moriya said.
India has confirmed over 10.3 million coronavirus cases, second in the world to the U.S. More than 149,000 people have died from the virus in India.
— Associated Press
Some Republicans who once scolded about fiscal austerity are now embracing government spending, underlining that the public supports more generous relief.
— NYT: Top Stories
A year of hardship in parts of Cleveland has left many with the sense that the fabric of their communities was fraying.
— NYT: Top Stories
Those behind the widespread intrusion into government and corporate networks exploited seams in U.S. defenses and gave away nothing to American monitoring of their systems.
— NYT: Top Stories
President-elect Joe Biden, right, listens as Janet Yellen, who Biden nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury, speaks at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to be treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees in 2019 and 2020 from major financial firms and tech giants including Citi, Goldman Sachs and Google, according to disclosure forms filed as part of her nomination.
Yellen’s was one of three financial disclosures filed by Biden transition officials that were made public on Thursday by the Office of Government Ethics. In a separate filing, Yellen listed firms and banks where she had received speaking fees and said she intended to “seek written authorization” from ethics officials to “participate personally and substantially” in matters involving them.
Yellen was the Federal Reserve chair from 2014 to 2018. Her term was not renewed by President Donald Trump.
Her selection by Biden to lead the Treasury Department has been cheered by progressive Democrats, who support Yellen’s work as a labor economist who has long prioritized combating economic inequality. Since her nomination was announced, Yellen has pledged to work to combat systemic racism and climate change.
But receiving steep payments from Wall Street bankers and other powerful corporations could become an issue as her nomination works its way through a closely divided and potentially contentious Senate. Hillary Clinton faced criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party while running for president in 2016 for having received past, lucrative speaking fees at Wall Street firms.
Also released Thursday were disclosure forms from Biden’s choice to be secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who detailed advising clients including Bank of America and Facebook as part of a consulting firm he co-founded. Avril Haines, Biden’s choice to be national intelligence director, disclosed being a consultant at the same firm, WestExec Advisors.
— Associated Press
Vice President Mike Pence waves as he walks off the stage after speaking at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a last-gasp lawsuit led by a House Republican that seeks to give Vice President Mike Pence the power to overturn the results of the presidential election won by Joe Biden when Congress formally counts the Electoral College votes next week.
Pence, as president of the Senate, will oversee the Wednesday session and declare the winner of the White House race. The Electoral College this month cemented Biden’s 306-232 victory, and multiple legal efforts by President Donald Trump’s campaign to challenge the results have failed.
The suit names Pence, who has a largely ceremonial role in next week’s proceedings, as the defendant and asks the court to throw out the 1887 law that spells out how Congress handles the vote counting. It asserts that the vice president “may exercise the exclusive authority and sole discretion in determining which electoral votes to count for a given State.”
The Justice Department is representing Pence in a case that aims to find a way to keep his boss, President Donald Trump, in power. In a court filing in Texas on Wednesday, the department said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and a group of Republican electors from Arizona “have sued the wrong defendant” — if, in fact, any of those suing actually have “a judicially cognizable claim.”
“It is the role prescribed for the Senate and the House of Republicans in the Electoral Count Act to which plaintiffs object, not any actions that Vice President Pence has taken. … A suit to establish that the Vice President has discretion over the count, filed against the Vice President, is a walking legal contradiction.”
Trump, the first president to lose a reelection bid in almost 30 years, has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud. But a range of nonpartisan election officials and Republicans has confirmed there was no fraud in the November contest that would change the results of the election. That includes former Attorney General William Barr, who said he saw no reason to appoint a special counsel to look into the president’s claims about the 2020 election. He resigned from his post last week.
Trump and his allies have filed roughly 50 lawsuits challenging election results, and nearly all has been dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost twice at the Supreme Court.
— Associated Press
Other cases involving the highly contagious variant that was first identified in Britain have been found in Colorado, California, and now Florida.
— NYT: Top Stories
Constraints on rituals did not end them, even if we raised our glasses from inside lighted rooms. Yes, a year’s end may be an illusion, but we made it.
— NYT: Top Stories
PRINCETON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$BMY #BMS—Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the Biologics License Application (BLA) for lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma after at least two prior therapies remains under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the company has not received a decision. As previously announced, the FDA has not provided a new action date for this application. Bristol Myers Squibb continues to work closely with the FDA to support the ongoing review of the BLA for liso-cel and is committed to bringing this therapy to patients.
Since the FDA approval of liso-cel did not occur by December 31, 2020, one of the three required milestones for payment of the Bristol Myers Squibb Contingent Value Right (CVR) (NYSE: BMY-RT) was not met. As a result, on January 1, 2021, the Contingent Value Rights Agreement (CVR Agreement), pursuant to which the CVRs were issued, terminated automatically in accordance with its terms and the CVRs are no longer eligible for payment under the CVR Agreement. The CVRs will no longer trade on the NYSE.
For additional information, please refer to: https://news.bms.com/news/corporate-financial/2021/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Statement-on-Status-of-Liso-cel-Application-and-Contingent-Value-Rights/default.aspx or call EQ Shareowner Services at 1-833-503-4131.
Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer
Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision — transforming people’s lives through science. The goal of the company’s cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine, and through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep scientific expertise, cutting-edge capabilities and discovery platforms enable the company to look at cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient’s life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. Because as a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future.
About Bristol Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Juno Therapeutics, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In certain countries outside the U.S., due to local laws, Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are referred to as, Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company and Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.
Bristol Myers Squibb Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, whether liso-cel will be approved by the FDA. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb’s business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.
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