– Activist investor Carl Icahn secures a board seat for one of his three nominees in Illumina Inc.– BioNTech aims to introduce a COVID-19 shot by early fall that is adapted to currently dominant virus variants.– Elon Musk’s Neuralink gains FDA approval for its first-in-human clinical trial for brain implants.– A cholera outbreak in South Africa reignites anger over service delivery.– Two US citizens die after contracting meningitis in a Mexican hospital, with 400 suspected cases being investigated.
As seen on a recent report by Devdiscourse, activist investor Carl Icahn has secured a partial victory with Illumina Inc. Icahn secured a seat on Thursday for one of his three nominees to the board of gene sequencing machine maker Illumina Inc, a partial victory for the activist investor who is struggling to burnish his credentials following a shortseller attack on his company.
Illumina confirmed that Icahn nominee Andrew Teno won enough shareholder votes for election, and he will take the seat of board Chairman John Thompson, who failed to win reelection. This news comes as a relief to Icahn, who has been under pressure to defend his investment acumen following the shortseller attack.
In other news, Germany’s BioNTech is on track to introduce a COVID-19 shot by the early fall in the northern hemisphere. The shot is adapted to currently dominant virus variants in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization. BioNTech is targeting regulatory approval by the end of the summer to allow for a seasonal vaccination campaign to start in early autumn. CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin told shareholders at the biotech firm’s annual general meeting on Thursday that they are proceeding with the COVID-shot in line with WHO guidance.
Elon Musk’s brain-implant company Neuralink has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first-in-human clinical trial. This is a critical milestone after earlier struggles to gain approval. The FDA nod “represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people,” Neuralink said in a tweet. It did not elaborate on the aims of the study, saying only that it was not recruiting yet and more details would be available soon.
However, the news is not all positive. A cholera outbreak in South Africa has re-ignited anger over service delivery. When a cholera outbreak was confirmed in Hammanskraal, just north of South Africa’s capital Pretoria, it was hardly a surprise to many of its residents queuing up for handouts of bottles of clean water and soap. “If you drink the (tap) water, your stomach is running,” Joyce Tshweau, 51, said, after braving the long line for the clean water meant to help curb an epidemic that has already killed 21 people.
In another unfortunate incident, two U.S. citizens died after contracting meningitis while getting treatment in a hospital in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros. Authorities are investigating some 400 suspected cases in the area. The incident highlights the need for proper medical facilities and care, especially in border areas where access to medical care can be challenging.
When it’s all said and done, the health news roundup highlights both positive and negative developments in the healthcare sector. While there is progress being made with the development of a COVID-19 shot and the approval of Neuralink’s clinical trial, there are still challenges with service delivery and access to proper medical facilities and care. As the healthcare sector continues to evolve, it is essential to address these challenges to ensure the well-being of individuals and communities.
