This Year in Biotech – Serene’s Synopsis 99
In addition to disastrous contamination, the biotech industry has seen some interesting events in the news this year. For the final Synopsis of 2024, here are two major biotechnology stories seen in the news, good and bad… but not in that order.
Drug Scandal: Cassava Sciences
Cassava Sciences, a pharmaceuticals company working on simufilam, an Alzheimer’s drug, made headlines for improper and deceitful research practice. In 2021, a law firm standing to gain from the fall of Cassava’s stock filed a citizen’s petition with the FDA, claiming that early studies used to advance to clinical trials included fraudulent photos.
This year, the FDA found Hoau-Yan Wang, co-discoverer of simufilam, to have committed scientific misconduct during testing, and the US Department of Justice charged Wang for “defrauding the National Institutes of Health of approximately $16 million,” in funds for Cassava and simufilam’s development, leading to the company paying the SEC $40 million “to settle charges that it had misled investors about earlier clinical trial results for simufilam.” In addition to Wang, Cassava’s former CEO Remi Barbier and chief scientist Lindsay Burns made individual payments to the SEC and left the company. Journalists and scientists contributing to Cassava’s exposure faced fierce backlash from “SAVAges,” Cassava’s boosters with a history of attacking those who question Cassava’s practices, even to the point of making threats.
Cassava’s deplorable actions are likely to seal the fate of the company, as its stock was reported to drop by 80%, after the news broke out, worth about $1 billion. Hopefully, this will serve as a cautionary tale to other biotechs instead of tainting the industry in the eye of the public. The greed displayed by Cassava Sciences is disgusting and should not represent the biotechnology industry as a whole, which has the potential to do so much good in the world, so long as its power is wielded properly.
Win for GMOs: US Corn in Mexico
Mexico does not allow GM corn to be planted in the country over fears of contamination, but still consumes plenty of it, as Mexico is the top customer for US corn, much of which is genetically modified. A whopping $4.8 billion of corn was sold to Mexico from the US between January and October of this year, but Mexican government officials announced plans to ban GM corn by the end of the year. This is part of an ongoing dispute following the USMCA, or U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement made in 2020, in which Mexican officials began an effort to ban GM corn, whether or not it was grown in another country.
In 2023, the country banned the use of GM corn in tortillas and dough and began phasing it out of other products, prompting the United States to act in defense of its economy. The US challenged Mexico’s decision as a violation of the USMCA and argued that Mexico’s claims about the safety risks of GM corn were not scientific. The US made seven legal claims, including the point that the GM corn ban violated the UMSCA’s chapters on market access and national treatment. The agreement’s dispute settlement panel ruled in agreement of the US, ordering Mexico to comply with its rulings within 45 days. Although Mexico has noted its disagreement with the ruling, the country has agreed to follow the decision.
As GM crops grow in popularity and countries experience opposition, this outcome is particularly meaningful. Using scientific evidence as a metric for GMO approval is exactly how the matter of controversial advancements should be handled, and Mexico’s decision to concede to the panel encourages similar practice. This process can eliminate misinformation in the name of true science, which can help the approval of other GMOs, but more importantly, prioritize research and ensure that new GMOs are completely safe for health and environment. More important than the implementation of GMOs is the fact that they are actually safe to implement, and a scientific mindset will hold facts over opinion, regardless of the side they support.
I was appalled to read about Cassava Sciences and simufilam. It sounded like something out of a movie, and it’s so disappointing that this deception spanned multiple people, especially scientists, working on a product that was supposed to help people.
I’m concerned about how long disasters like this one and the contamination discussed last week can go unnoticed for. Overregulation can stifle progress, especially in new areas, but more checks are clearly warranted in these areas. But whose job is that? How do you enforce them? Definitely some interesting questions to consider going forward, and I hope people are asking them in response to this news.
Hopefully the ruling as a result of the USMCA will set a standard for international GMO policy going forward, but there are a lot of other factors when it comes to accepting GMOs. I’ve started working on a paper I’m contributing to, which analyzes the impact of media framing of GMOs (specifically in Ghana) on public perception. I’ve covered it on this website before, but social attitudes towards GMOs play a major role in their development and implementation. I guess that’s why I’ve dedicated so much of my time researching GMOs; getting my facts straight about them allows me to share my knowledge and combat misinformation, which is sorely needed in a time fraught with fearmongering and polarization.
Thanks for reading and for sticking with me through 2024! In the spirit of education, maybe your new year’s resolution could be to learn new stuff and share it with me! Or sharing this site to those interested in expanding their knowledge, because as we know, it can strongly impact our attitudes, and therefore the success of respective areas. Sorry, it’s not my job to give you homework, but please do stay tuned to learn with me!
GMO Corn Case: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trade-panel-rules-us-favor-mexico-gmo-corn-dispute-case-2024-12-20/
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/reuters/ – Reuters is known for a “very high” factual reporting