An Overview of CAR T Cell Mediated B Cell Maturation Antigen Therapy

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is one of the incurable types of cancer in plasma cells. While immense progress has been made in the treatment of this malignancy, a large percentage of patients were unable to adapt to such therapy. Additionally, these therapies might be associated with significant diseases and are not always tolerated well in all patients. Since cancer in plasma cells has no cure, patients develop resistance to treatments, resulting in R/R MM. BCMA is primarily produced on mature B cells. Its up-regulation and activation are associated with multiple myeloma in both murine and human models, indicating that this might be an effective therapeutic target for this type of malignancy. Additionally, BCMA's predictive value, association with effective clinical trials, and capacity to be utilized in previously difficult to observe patient populations, imply that it might be used as a biomarker for multiple myeloma. Numerous kinds of BCMA-targeting medicines have demonstrated antimyeloma efficacy in individuals with refractory/relapsed MM, including CAR T-cell treatments, ADCs, bispecific antibody constructs. Among these medications, CART cell-mediated BCMA therapy has shown significant outcomes in multiple myeloma clinical trials. This review article outlines CAR T cell mediated BCMA medicines have the efficiency to change the therapeutic pattern for multiple myeloma significantly.

CEO tenure and firm value

Our study is the first to provide systematic evidence of a hump-shaped CEO tenure-firm value relation. Cross-sectionally, firm value starts to decline after fewer years of CEO tenure in more dynamic industries, if CEOs are less adaptable to changes, and in the presence of lower labor market frictions. Overall, the dynamics of CEO-firm match quality appear to be a first-order driver of the CEO tenure-firm value association, as explained by CEO characteristics (adaptability), firm/industry characteristics (dynamism), and labor market characteristics that facilitate optimal matching between firms and CEOs.

Association between SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Risk, Viral Load, and Age: A Nationwide Study in Danish Households

Aim The objective of this observational study was to investigate the association between SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk, RT-PCR Cycle threshold (Ct) values, and age of infected cases in Danish households. Background The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most serious global public health threats in recent times. Understanding transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is of utmost importance to be able to respond to outbreaks and take action against the spread of the disease. Viral load is generally thought to correlate with transmission risk. Methods We used comprehensive administrative register data from Denmark, comprising the full population and all SARS-CoV-2 tests (August 25, 2020 to February 10, 2021), to estimate household transmission risk. Results We found that the transmission risk was negatively associated—approximately linear—with the Ct values of the tested primary cases. Also, we found that even for relatively high Ct values, the risk of transmission was not negligible; e.g., for primary cases with a Ct value of 38, we found a transmission risk of 8%. This implies that there is no obvious cut-off for Ct values for risk of transmission. We estimated the transmission risk according to age and found an almost linearly increasing transmission risk with the age of the primary cases for adults (≥20 years) and negatively for children (<20 years). Age had a higher impact than Ct value on the risk of transmission. Conclusions Lower Ct values (indicating higher viral load) are associated with higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. However, even at high Ct values, transmission occurs. In addition, we found a strong association between age and transmission risk, and this dominated the Ct value association.

Evaluation of the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV assay for simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A/B and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses in nasopharyngeal specimens

Patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A (flu A), influenza B (flu B), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have overlapping clinical presentations, but the approaches to treatment and management of infections caused by these viruses are different. Therefore, rapid diagnosis in conjunction with infection prevention measures is important to prevent transmission of the diseases. Recently, a new Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV (Xpert 4-in-1) assay enables the detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2, flu A, flu B, and RSV in upper respiratory tract specimens. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the Xpert 4-in-1 assay by comparing it with the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 and Xpert Xpress Flu/RSV assays for the detection of the four viruses in nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens. A total of 279 NP specimens, including 66, 56, 64 and 53 positive specimens for SARS-CoV-2, flu A, flu B and RSV respectively, were included. The Xpert 4-in-1 assay demonstrated high concordance with the comparator assays, with overall agreement for SARS-CoV-2, flu A, flu B, and RSV at 99.64%, 100%, 99.64%, and 100%, respectively, and a high kappa value ranging from 0.99 to 1.00, indicating an almost perfect correlation between assays. The cycle threshold value association between positive samples also showed a good correlation between assays. In conclusion, the overall performance of the Xpert 4-in-1 assay was highly comparable to that of the Xpert SARS-CoV-2 and Xpert Flu/RSV assays for the detection and differentiation of SARS CoV-2, flu A, flu B, and RSV in NP specimens.

Big Data Value Creation by Example

The Big Data Value contractual Public-Private Partnership between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) was signed in October 2014. Since then, more than 50 projects and numerous BDVA members have explored how data can drive innovation across the data stack and how industries can transform business practices. Meanwhile, start-ups have been working at the confluence of new sources of data (e.g. IoT, DNA, HD pictures, satellite data) and new or revisited processing paradigms (e.g. Edge computing, blockchain, machine learning) to tackle new use cases and to provide disruptive solutions for known problems. This chapter details a collection of stories showing concrete examples of the value created thanks to a renewed usage of data.

The European Big Data Value Ecosystem

The adoption of big data technology within industrial sectors facilitates organizations to gain competitive advantage. The impacts of big data go beyond the commercial world, creating significant societal impact, from improving healthcare systems to the energy-efficient operation of cities and transportation infrastructure, to increasing the transparency and efficiency of public administration. In order to exploit the potential of big data to create value for society, citizens and businesses, Europe needs to embrace new technology, applications, use cases and business models within and across various sectors and domains. In the early part of the 2010s, a clear strategy centring around the notion of the European Big Data Value Ecosystem started to take form with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of European industries through a data ecosystem which tackles the fundamental elements of big data value, including the ecosystem, research and innovation, business, policy and regulation, and the emerging elements of data-driven AI and common European data spaces. This chapter describes the big data value ecosystem and its strategic importance. It details the challenges of creating this ecosystem and outlines the vision and strategy of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership and the Big Data Value Association, which together formed the core of the ecosystem, to make Europe the world leader in the creation of big data value. Finally, it details the elements of big data value which were addressed to realise this vision.

Achievements and Impact of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership: The Story so Far

The European contractual Public-Private Partnership on Big Data Value (BDV PPP) has played a central role in the implementation of the revised Digital Single Market strategy, contributing to multiple pillars, including “Digitising European Industry”, “Digital Skills”, “Building the European Data Economy” and “Developing a European Data Infrastructure”. The BDV PPP and the Big Data Value Association have also played a pivotal role in the European Artificial Intelligence and Data Strategies launched by the European Commission in 2018. This chapter provides an overview and an in-depth analysis of the impact of the PPP by mid-2019, with a focus on the achievements and the overall impact since the launch of the PPP.

Tax Avoidance and Firm Value Relationship in the Listed Companies of Bangladesh: A Conceptual Overview

The aim of the present paper is to look at whether corporate tax avoidance (CTA) contributes to firm value in the perspective of Bangladeshi listed firms. Our conceptual assumption is that in presence of agency conflicts, corporate managers take on tax avoidance (TA) initiatives to extract their own benefits through taking advantage as of the loopholes of current tax laws. Further, CTA does not fulfill the ethical and social demands. Agency costs and social irresponsibility that produce from TA activities could adversely influence the firm value. It is also among the first paper focusing on the TA and firm value association in the perspective of Bangladeshi listed firms after the gradual decline of stock market index during the year 2019, whereas most of the adjacent South Asian countries’ bourse has achieved gradual improve. However, the present paper aims to integrate relevant studies and theories to extend the intended potentials for limiting corporate tax avoidance to enhance the value of the listed companies in Bangladesh. This study has evaluated CTA behavior from a combination of agency theory and stakeholder theory standpoint rather than traditional sight of tax burden decreasing strategy. Moreover, as existing literature reveals inconsistent and less evidence that attempt to examine the consequence of CTA on firm value, the present paper proposes and shows an imperative proposition for potential empirical research.

Association between FDA and EMA expedited approval programs and therapeutic value of new medicines: retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo characterize the therapeutic value of new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the association between these ratings and regulatory approval through expedited programs.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingNew drugs approved by the FDA and EMA between 2007 and 2017, with follow-up through 1 April 2020.Data sourcesTherapeutic value was measured using ratings of new drugs by five independent organizations (Prescrire and health authorities of Canada, France, Germany, and Italy).Main outcome measuresProportion of new drugs rated as having high therapeutic value; association between high therapeutic value rating and expedited status.ResultsFrom 2007 through 2017, the FDA and EMA approved 320 and 268 new drugs, respectively, of which 181 (57%) and 39 (15%) qualified for least one expedited program. Among 267 new drugs with a therapeutic value rating, 84 (31%) were rated as having high therapeutic value by at least one organization. Compared with non-expedited drugs, a greater proportion of expedited drugs were rated as having high therapeutic value among both FDA approvals (45% (69/153) v 13% (15/114); P<0.001) and EMA approvals (67% (18/27) v 27% (65/240); P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of expedited program for a drug being independently rated as having high therapeutic value were 82% (95% confidence interval 72% to 90%) and 54% (47% to 62%), respectively, for the FDA, compared with 25.3% (16.4% to 36.0%) and 90.2% (85.0% to 94.1%) for the EMA.ConclusionsLess than a third of new drugs approved by the FDA and EMA over the past decade were rated as having high therapeutic value by at least one of five independent organizations. Although expedited drugs were more likely than non-expedited drugs to be highly rated, most expedited drugs approved by the FDA but not the EMA were rated as having low therapeutic value.