New malaria cases raise alarm

Cases of locally acquired malaria have been detected in the U.S.—for the first time in 20 years. Here’s what’s happening. Plus, a new episode of the Vital Transformation podcast features BIO’s Nick Shipley explaining why the IRA is challenging the innovation ecosystem. (540 words, 2 minutes, 39 seconds)

New malaria cases in U.S. raise alarm

Locally transmitted malaria cases have been detected in the U.S. for the first time in 20 years—here’s what you need to know.

The news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has detected at least five “locally acquired mosquito-transmitted” cases of malaria in Florida and Texas, according to an advisory released Monday.

Why it matters: “Locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria has not occurred in the United States since 2003,” says the CDC. Previously, most cases of malaria in the U.S. were contracted from travel.

Experts say it’s unclear whether these cases are linked to climate change—but “climate could be contributing to these cases in more nuanced ways,” says The New York Times.

What they’re saying: “If travelers are returning from places that are at the front lines of climate impacts, there’s just going to be more chances for malaria transmission to take off,” said Georgetown biologist Dr. Colin Carlson. “We live in a connected world, and climate change impacts in other countries can be health problems in our country.”

We know climate change is increasing the risk of malaria—causing mosquitoes to move to higher elevations in sub-Saharan Africa, a migration pattern that matches malaria transmission.

What biotech can do about it:Oxitec has genetically modified mosquitoes to limit their reproduction—and the pilot in Florida is a success. Additional mosquito releases are underway in the Florida Keys. Meanwhile, scientists have been researching gene editing to make mosquitoes resistant to malaria.

IRA ‘an ecosystem-challenging problem’ for orphan drugs

BIO’s Chief Advocacy Officer Nick Shipley joined an episode of the Vital Transformation podcast to talk about the “chilling effect” of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on R&D on orphan oncology (and many other IRA-related topics)—listen up.

What we’re talking about: The IRA permits the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate the prices for certain drugs covered by Medicare, but the terms of the “negotiation” make it clear that the agency will be establishing price caps. The first 10 drugs will be named in September for price controls starting in 2026; the number of drugs will expand every year—and we’re already seeing the impact on innovation.

The impact: The IRA could prevent the development of as many as 139 therapies, says a recent Vital Transformation study, and removes incentives to develop orphan drugs for rare diseases.

“The IRA data is really bad—terrible even,”says Vital Transformation CEO Duane Schultess. “We see a dozen lost therapies a year, huge losses in R&D investment—$6 billion in Massachusetts per year—a gutting of the orphan pathway for oncology.”

“This is an ecosystem-challenging problem,” says Shipley. Although small and mid-cap companies may not be in the first round of targets, the IRA damages the innovation ecosystem, making it more difficult for them to raise capital for R&D.

“We see real tail risks for the orphan portfolio, particularly in oncology,” adds Schultess. “You are basically disincentivizing almost all orphan drug research,” echoes Shipley. “You are clearly going to have less orphan drug research.” 

Listen: The podcast is available on the Vital Transformation website, or on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

President Biden’s Wednesday: Heading to Chicago to talk about what he’s calling “Bidenomics.”

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are in recess through July 7.