Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was removed from her post on Wednesday evening, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, which offered no explanation for the decision.

"Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people," the Department of Health and Human Services announced in an unsigned statement posted on social media. Monarez’s attorneys swiftly challenged the claim, insisting she had "neither resigned nor received any notification" from the White House of her dismissal.

Monarez, confirmed by the Senate only last month, appeared to have clashed with US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after refusing to back sweeping changes to the nation’s vaccine policies, according to reports from the Washington Post and the New York Times.

“First it was independent advisory committees and career experts. Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” her lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, said in a statement. “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”

The ouster has triggered a wave of resignations inside the agency, with at least three other CDC leaders stepping down publicly following the HHS announcement.

The most dramatic resignation came from Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who stepped down as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to Inside Medicine, an industry newsletter that obtained his full statements.

“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health. You are the best team I have ever worked with, and you continue to shine despite this dark cloud over the agency and our profession,” Daskalakis wrote. “Please take care of yourself and your teams and make the right decisions for yourselves.”

Echoing similar concerns, Dr. Deb Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, who also stepped down, stated that "For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subjected to political pauses or interpretations."

Daniel Jernigan, director of the CDC’s Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, has also resigned from the agency.

Hours before Monarez’s removal, Kennedy praised the Food and Drug Administration’s Wednesday decision to revoke the emergency use authorizations for Covid-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax—vaccines that CDC experts estimate have saved 3.2 million lives in the United States.

The FDA now authorizes vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax only for individuals aged 65 and older, or younger people with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness. Even those who meet the criteria will only be able to access the vaccines in the U.S. if the advisory panel—recently reshaped by Kennedy to include Covid vaccine skeptics—votes to approve them.

At 50, Monarez became the CDC’s 21st director and the first to undergo Senate confirmation under a 2023 law. She was appointed acting director in January and formally nominated in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his initial choice, David Weldon. Sworn in on July 31—less than a month ago—Monarez now holds the record as the shortest-serving director in the 79-year history of the agency.

Meanwhile, public health experts are raising alarms over the unfolding chaos.

“What’s happening at the CDC should frighten every American Regardless of whether you are MAGA, MAHA, neither, or don’t give a damn about labels or politics. It’s unclear whether the CDC director—confirmed just weeks ago—has been fired or not. Absolute shitshow,” Dr Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine doctor and professor at Brown University School of Public Health, posted. “And incredible career professionals resigned tonight, sounding a massive alarm,” he added. “This is pure chaos that leaves the country unprepared.”

"RFK Jr. is increasingly becoming a liability for the White House," observed Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University.

“There is a wholesale destruction of leadership at the CDC. The newly confirmed Director is out,” Dr Ashish Jha, the Biden administration’s coronavirus response coordinator, wrote. “Most of the top leaders who run key centers have resigned en masse. Total implosion. All because of [Secretary Kennedy’s] leadership. What a complete disaster.”

Photo: Susan Monarez on Capitol Hill, in Washington DC on 25 June. Photograph: Kevin Mohatt/Reuters

No confirmed reports of illness linked to the consumption of the affected products have been received, the regulator stated.

FSIS detected the problem during routine laboratory testing, which indicated the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the product.

Listeria exposure may lead to listeriosis, a potentially severe illness that primarily affects those with compromised immune systems.

Kraft Heinz has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.

This increases the likelihood of physical inactivity, overeating, prolonged sitting, and heightened stress, anxiety, and depression. Consequently, many individuals may gain weight during the pandemic, and some may retain this extra weight long-term, elevating the risk for serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and other complications.

Here, I’d like to share some simple tips and helpful resources on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, manage your body weight, and support your overall well-being while staying at home and practicing social distancing.

1. Measure and Watch Your Weight: Monitoring your body weight on a daily or weekly basis can help you stay aware of any changes, whether you're losing or gaining weight.
2. Limit Unhealthy Foods and Eat Healthy Meals: Don’t skip breakfast, and make sure to choose a nutritious meal that’s high in protein and fiber while being lower in fat, sugar, and calories. For additional information on weight-control foods and dietary guidelines, please visit: www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/diet-and-weight/.
3. Take Multivitamin Supplements: To ensure you’re getting enough essential nutrients, taking a daily multivitamin can be helpful, especially if your access to a variety of fruits and vegetables is limited. Many micronutrients play a crucial role in supporting the immune system, including vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E, as well as zinc, iron, copper, selenium, and magnesium. However, there is currently no evidence that taking additional supplements or so-called “miracle mineral supplements” can protect you from the virus or speed up recovery. In fact, consuming high doses of certain vitamins may be harmful to your health.
4. Drink Water and Stay Hydrated, and Limit Sugared Beverages: Drink water regularly to stay healthy and hydrated, but there is no evidence that drinking water frequently (such as every 15 minutes) can prevent viral infections. For more information about drinking water and coronavirus, please visit the EPA website: www.epa.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-drinking-water-and-wastewater.
5. Exercise Regularly and Be Physically Active: During this time, exercising at home can be a great option. You can also go for a run or walk your dog outdoors, as long as you stay informed about local guidelines, restrictions, or mandatory quarantines in your area. For more tips on staying physically active while at home, visit the ACSM website: www.acsm.org/read-research/newsroom/news-releases/news-detail/2020/03/16/staying-physically-active-during-covid-19-pandemic.
6. Reduce Sitting and Screen Time: Exercise alone can’t fully offset the effects of prolonged sedentary behavior. Even those who exercise regularly may still face a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke if they spend long hours sitting at a desk or in front of a computer. To counteract this, consider taking short breaks throughout the day — for example, walking around your office or room a few times each day. 
7. Get Enough Good Sleep: There is a strong link between both the quality and quantity of sleep and the strength of your immune system. Getting seven to eight hours of sleep each night helps support proper immune function. For more information, please visit the CDC website: www.cdc.gov/sleep/index.html.
8. Go Easy on Alcohol and Stay Sober: Drinking alcohol does not protect you from coronavirus infection. Keep in mind that alcohol contains calories that can add up quickly. It’s important to consume alcohol in moderation. For more information, please refer to the AHA recommendations: www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/alcohol-and-heart-health.
9. Find Ways to Manage Your Emotions: Feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, and uncertainty are common during a pandemic. To help reduce stress-related weight gain, you can refer to the stress management and coping resources provided by the CDC: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html.
10. Use an App to Keep Track of Your Movement, Sleep, and Heart Rate  

A reminder: Individuals with serious chronic medical conditions—such as severe obesity, diabetes, and heart disease—are at greater risk of severe complications from COVID-19. They should consult their healthcare providers and follow their guidance carefully.

Daniel O'Day, Gilead's CEO, described it as a "historic day" and expressed hope that Yeztugo could play a pivotal role in ultimately bringing an end to HIV.

"This is a medicine that only needs to be given twice a year and has shown remarkable outcomes in clinical studies, which means it could transform HIV prevention," he said in a statement.

Gilead Sciences shares ended the day unchanged at $108.

Gilead Takes On Its Own Pills

Several preventative options are already available for individuals at risk of contracting HIV. These include Gilead’s daily oral medications, Truvada and Descovy, as well as Apretude, an injection from ViiV Healthcare administered every other month. While HIV infections have declined sharply since their peak in the mid-1980s, new cases continue to emerge at a significant rate in the U.S.

"Every week, nearly 100 Americans die from HIV-related illnesses and more than 700 are newly diagnosed," Gilead Sciences said in an email to Investor's Business Daily. "Globally, there are 1.3 million new injections annually."

However, analysts emphasize that both adoption rates and political factors will play a crucial role.

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to cover the cost of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications. However, the Supreme Court is set to rule on whether this mandate will remain in place.

Meanwhile, under new Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services has recently cut numerous funding programs, including grants dedicated to HIV research. According to NBC News, the 2026 budget proposal calls for a 35% reduction in domestic HIV research funding, which includes shutting down the prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some Headwinds Expected

RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams points out that Yeztugo will be priced slightly higher than Descovy, "though we expect meaningful discounting."

Yeztugo may encounter several challenges, such as delayed patient demand for switching, insurance reimbursement hurdles given the availability of lower-cost pills, and the logistical complexities of coordinating biannual injections compared to daily oral medications.

"We remain more conservative on its longer term market opportunity, as we see overall PrEP market given the likely meaningful market share of generic Truvada/step-throughs and overall unwillingness to initiate/adhere to PrEP therapies among high-risk individuals," he said in a note.

He projects peak sales of $3 billion, which falls short of the Street’s more optimistic $4 billion forecast.

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This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Myles McCormick

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This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Isabel Berwick

The company — whose first approved vaccine was for Covid-19 — reported initial data on antibody levels that suggested its vaccine could compete against GSK’s Fluarix. It is discussing the approval process with regulators. 

In another trial, the vaccine elicited a higher antibody response than French drugmaker Sanofi’s Fluzone high-dose, which is often used to vaccinate older people.

Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive, said the results, coming after successful trials of vaccines for Covid-19 variants and the respiratory syncytial virus, showed the messengerRNA platform works. The technology, which uses genetic code to teach the body to recognise pathogens, was first used in Covid-19 jabs. 

Moderna plans to launch products in oncology, rare and latent diseases by 2028. In the five years after these launches, it expects $10bn-$15bn of annual sales from these treatments, on top of its previously announced $8bn-$15bn of expected sales from respiratory vaccines in 2027. It plans to invest about $25bn in research and development from 2024 to 2028.

Investors had hoped mRNA would be a good technology to improve flu vaccines, which are often only about 50 per cent effective, because they can be quickly adapted to new strains each winter.

But in February this year, shareholders were disappointed when a Moderna study reported that an earlier version of its flu vaccine was no better than current jabs for two of the four most common flu strains.

Moderna reformulated it, and the new version is better than Fluzone at tackling three of the strains. It is just as able to target the fourth strain, the company said.

Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, told the Financial Times that in the past year, Moderna had quickly learned how to improve the shot. “We didn’t disclose what that is for competitive reasons,” he added.

Pfizer and BioNTech are also trying to enter the flu market with an mRNA vaccine, which is in a phase 3 trial. Existing manufacturers are also adopting mRNA, including GSK, which is partnering with German biotech CureVac, on a phase 2 trial this winter, and CSL Seqirus, which has licensed a version of mRNA technology from San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics.

Sanofi said in June that its early efforts with using mRNA for flu had shown a similar pattern to Moderna’s previous trial results, missing the mark on two of the four strains. It is also working on updated versions.

Some analysts have been concerned that the flu market will not tolerate the same level of “reactogenicity”, short-term side effects such as swelling and fever that some people experienced after taking Covid-19 mRNA vaccines.

Moderna said the trial showed the vaccine had an “acceptable” safety profile. Hoge said the new flu shot’s reactogenicity was similar to that of existing higher-dose flu vaccines.

“We do not believe that it’s going to be a disadvantage,” he said, “but that’s really will be for others to decide.”

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Hannah Kuchler

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday said since 2016 progress in reducing global maternal mortality had stalled, partly because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In some countries, including the US and Venezuela, maternal death rates had risen in recent years.

With nearly 800 women dying in childbirth every day, the foundation called for “immediate action” to meet the UN’s sustainable development goal of cutting the maternal mortality rate to less than 70 out of 100,000 births, and newborn mortality to at least as low as 12 deaths per 1,000 births, by 2030. The current projection is for 138 maternal deaths per 100,000 births by that date, or almost double the target, it said.

Foundation co-chairs Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates outlined seven “innovations” and practices — many low-cost and deliverable by midwives and birth attendants — that could prevent deaths from childbirth complications such as post-partum haemorrhages, sepsis and other infections. Measures such as increased use of antibiotics and anaemia treatments including micronutrient supplements could save 2mn additional lives by 2030, and 6.4mn lives by 2040, they added.

The report said “policy changes . . . and more investment in women’s health and healthcare workers, including midwives” would be needed to reduce maternal mortality.

Launching the report, Mark Suzman, the foundation’s chief executive, said “huge progress” had been made in reducing deaths during childbirth in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and other regions. Between 2000 and 2015, preventable child mortality had more than halved to fewer than 5mn deaths a year, he said.

Progress had first slowed then stalled “largely [as] a result of the Covid-19 crisis” that had “disrupted health systems and restricted funding”, he said.

The report noted 18 key indicators in the UN’s SDGs — from poverty to gender equality, education to food security, health to climate — may not be achieved by the 2030 target.

But if health authorities implemented the recommended innovations and increased use of vaccines or malaria bed nets, “then it’s absolutely possible to reverse the setbacks and to reach the SDGs”, Suzman added.

Professor Bosede Afolabi, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Nigeria’s Lagos university, told the news conference that giving micronutrient supplements to anaemic women during pregnancy reduced the numbers of stillborn children by about 21 per cent and low birth weights by 19 per cent while also reducing “six-month infant mortality to a large extent”.

Anaemia affects as many as 37 per cent of pregnant women globally. In some places in South Asia, that rate jumped as high as 80 per cent, the report noted.

In a trial across sub-Saharan Africa, use of the antibiotic azithromycin reduced sepsis cases by a third. French Gates added it could also be a game-changer in the US, where sepsis causes 23 per cent of maternal deaths and which had some of the most “inequitable maternal mortality rates among high-income countries”.

Robert Yates, director of the global health programme at London-based think-tank Chatham House, said Covid-19 had exposed global under-investment in health. While he welcomed investment in the interventions recommended by the Gates Foundation, increased funding in infrastructure, workers, ambulances and commodities was also required.

“If we’re going to see improvements in maternal mortality, there’s a role for the international community to help,” he said, but added it would be “big increases in domestic public financing [that will] make the difference”.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Sarah Neville

Anyone 5 years of age and older will be eligible to receive an updated jab from either Moderna or BioNTech/Pfizer as long as it has been at least two months since a previous Covid-19 vaccination, the Food and Drug Administration said on Monday.

“The FDA anticipates that the updated vaccines will be available in the near future,” the regulator said, without giving a specific date. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is set to meet on Tuesday to discuss its recommendations for who should receive the jab, and after its decision distribution could begin as soon as this week.

The FDA said that the updated jabs “are expected to provide good protection against Covid-19 from the currently circulating variants”.

The move comes as Covid-19 hospitalisation in the US have been trending higher since July, according to data from the CDC. There were 17,418 hospital admissions in the week ended August 26, almost three times more than the figure for the week ended July 8. Deaths have increased in the same period, with 658 in the week ended August 26.

“Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of Covid-19, including hospitalisation and death,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality.”

More than 69 per cent of Americans have received at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the CDC. Only 17 per cent have received the updated bivalent booster jab, which was authorised in September 2022.

The FDA on Monday said Covid-19 vaccines “may need to be updated annually, as is done for the seasonal influenza vaccine”, unless a “markedly more virulent variant” emerges, which could require swifter action.

The new wave of infections could reignite polarising debates in the US about how to manage public safety measures, which frequently split across partisan lines between Republicans and Democrats. State-level leaders during the pandemic had to set guidelines on mask-wearing, school attendance and vaccine passports, angering those who found them either too lax or too restrictive.

Last week, first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the virus, while US president Joe Biden, now in India for the G20 summit, tested negative multiple times, according to the White House.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Steff Chávez

They came up with the idea for two products: a body and a fragrance oil, which melded their expertise — and their approach. “We come from very different, albeit similar worlds, and see skincare and fragrance as ritualistic practices,” adds Gorham of the project, which took about a year and a half from start to finish. “We have a similar ethos and taste so that was the easy part — the creative side,” Kaufmann recalls. “There were no egos involved.”

“I’ve always admired what Ben does — coming from sports, building up a perfume brand, and I love his scents,” she says of her decision to work with the 6ft 5in Swede, who was born to an Indian mother and Canadian father, and grew up between Toronto, New York and Stockholm.

Gorham pursued a professional career in basketball in the Swedish capital before visa complications derailed his ambitions. After working on construction sites and earning a degree in fine arts, a chance encounter with perfumer Pierre Wulff in 2004 set him on a new path.

Two years later, Byredo was born. The global brand’s offering of boutique fragrances has now expanded to make-up, body care and leather goods. Spanish luxury group Puig acquired a majority stake in Byredo in a €1bn sale in May 2022.

We love getting in touch with the earth, our roots

Gorham is a serial collaborator — Byredo has partnered with brands as diverse as Off-White and Ikea — but this collection was a chance to explore a shared passion: nature. “We love getting in touch with the earth, our roots and the communities we surround ourselves with,” says Gorham. Their new, limited-edition collection is named after a region in the west of Austria, Bregenzerwald, where Kaufmann was born and raised.

This is Kaufmann’s first collaborative venture — but she has been harnessing the centuries-old knowledge of Alpine plants to create efficacious, science-backed formulas for the past 20 years. Her conscious skincare range began when she took over the family hotel in the 1990s and created her own product line to support the treatments for the spa. She still resides in Bezau, a picturesque village lying in a valley nudging against peaks perennially carpeted in pines. “The clocks turn backwards here,” she laughs.

Susanne Kaufmann and Byredo Bregenzerwald body oil, £90 for 100ml

The fragrance of the oil is based on the Bregenz forest near to where Kaufmann lives. “The woods served as our inspiration and we spoke about how to translate these amazing landscapes into a product,” says Gorham, who describes the scent as both “fresh and invigorating, while also being sensual, natural and sophisticated”. Kaufmann outlines the three different notes: “The head is more flowery, the heart is pine, and the woody base is the moss.” With notes of jasmine and hints of fig, this is a sweet, earthy unisex fragrance that “is not more feminine or masculine, it’s just the scent of the forest”, says Kaufmann.

Intuitively connecting scent and emotion has long been Gorham’s modus operandi. He associates the bittersweet memory of his absentee father with the smell of green peas, which formed the basis for his first fragrance, called Green. “When I began Byredo, I would create products from a completely subjective place and tap into this idea of a collective memory or emotion,” he explains. “Eventually you realise that your position as a creator is more about proposing and inspiring, or igniting an emotional memory for others.”

Gorham had his own particular experience with oils growing up. “My mother is from India and would always use a mixture of different ones for both her skin and hair,” he says. “Oils are synonymous with wellbeing, massage and traditions. It’s one of the true arts of life.” The antioxidant-rich oils found in the Bregenzerwald collection include apricot kernel, meadowfoam seed and sunflower seed, which are sourced as locally as possible from Europe.

It was Kaufmann’s continued commitment to sustainability that was part of the draw for Gorham. “I love that she’s always stayed true to her values as her success has grown,” he says of Kaufmann’s oils, which are bottled in recyclable glass. The cardboard boxes are printed in deep green and bright blue to reflect the vivid colours of Bregenzerwald. “When you come to Bezau you will see why — it’s like the forest is kissing the sky,” Kaufmann smiles.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Clara Baldock

San Francisco-based Eat Just asked three sharia law scholars to examine whether cultivated meat can be halal. The scholars concluded it could, provided any stem cells used to make it were taken from halal sources, among other stipulations. 

While the industry is a long way from reaching commercial scale, US and Singapore regulators have given the green light to a handful of lab-grown meat start-ups, and companies have been looking to test whether their products could be appropriate for the billions of consumers who eat a halal or kosher diet. 

The process is far from simple because religious dietary certification varies from country to country and religious authorities across jurisdictions may have differing opinions.

Mirte Gosker, managing director of alternative protein advocacy group the Good Food Institute in Asia Pacific, said that while the Eat Just decision does not immediately change the halal status of cultivated meat products on the market, it laid the groundwork for commercialisation. 

“This week’s ruling provides much-needed insight on what an approval road map might look like, and we expect that start-ups will immediately begin adapting their production processes to satisfy this new guidance,” she said. 

Lab-grown or “cultured” meat is made from animal cells and grown in bioreactors, in contrast to plant based meat — produced by companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods — which is made of ingredients including pea and soy protein. Over the past year, investors have been betting on cultured meat over the plant-based version.

The Islamic scholars advised that to be considered halal, the product’s cell line had to derive from an animal that Muslims are allowed to eat, that was slaughtered according to Islamic law, and that was fed permitted nutrients. They also stipulated the finished product should be edible, healthy and approved by the relevant regulatory agency.

Eat Just’s chief executive and co-founder Josh Tetrick said that while the company’s products were not currently halal, they would begin the process of ensuring they were. This would involve switching their current cell lines, which derive from a chick embryo, for cell lines from a fresh piece of halal meat.

Tetrick said there was strong demand for lab-grown meat in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East and South-East Asia, partly to improve food security.

“Our priorities are scaling up the technology, reducing costs and ensuring that it’s open to everyone, including 2bn people who simply won’t eat meat unless its halal.”

Eat Just’s cultivated meat division Good Meat, which sells its cultured chicken at one restaurant in Singapore and one in Washington DC, is now working with Saudi Arabia’s Halal Products Advisory — a subsidiary of the country’s Public Investment Fund — to get advice on the certification process. 

In Singapore, the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the only entity with the right to issue halal certification in the city state, is working with Singaporean cultivated meat maker Esco Aster to establish a regulatory framework. 

The world’s largest kosher certification authority Orthodox Union last week certified the chicken cell line used by Israeli food start-up SuperMeat.

There are already signs of disagreement. Indonesia’s leading Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, ruled in 2021 that cells taken from living animals and cultivated in a bioreactor were not halal.

In Israel, meanwhile, which has become a hub for cultivated meat start-ups, the country’s Ashkenazi chief Rabbi David Lau in January said that Aleph Farms’ lab-grown steak was kosher. However, Rabbi Menachem Genack, the chief executive of the Orthodox Union, said it was not, because the cell line was harvested from a living animal.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Madeleine Speed

When the Maybourne group (they of Claridge’s and The Connaught) took over the old Montage Beverly Hills hotel, you could almost hear the cheering. Best of British hospitality in La-La Land is an endlessly appealing proposal; and while the roll-out is being done in stages (the latest news – the arrival of Dante Beverly Hills, a satellite of the cult-favourite Greenwich Village bar, on the hotel’s roof in July), the spa, blessedly, is 100 per cent up and running.

Like the rest of the hotel, it feels airy and indulgent: a cool sorbet palette and lots of light, but rich materials (note the glittering mosaics surrounding the mineral pool in the spa’s double-height entrance). The treatments mean business – clinical-strength Evidens de Beauté products are used in the oxygen facial, for instance, and NuFACE microcurrent wands deployed to work on eye and lip lines. Be we are in California, after all, so CBD oils and muds feature in the massages and anti-ageing treatments, too (excellent for combatting inflammation). maybournebeverlyhills.com, treatments from $180

In Rome, take the waters in style

All hotel-opening roads seem to have led to Rome in 2023, with everyone from Bulgari to Edition to InterContinental planting flags across its hills. Six Senses Rome, which opened in March, is something of a mixed bag: the public spaces have perhaps a bit too much of a could-be-anywhere-in-the-world design vibe; but the food is excellent (and on-brand: a spaghetti alle vongole was dusted with an improbably delicious algae powder – both healthy and scrummy). Rooms are comfortable but slightly anodyne; suites, on the other hand, skew into wow land, with terraces, travertine kitchenettes and basilica views.

The unqualified win is the spa, which features both a hydro circuit – caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium – that nods to ancient history, and innovative half-hour “biohacks” (cell gym hypoxy breath training, LED light face mask) that are wholly 2023. I had a massage from an impressively intuitive therapist, then fitted a LED mask on my face while I sipped a fennel tisana for 20 minutes, which left me looking like I’d had a lifting-brightening facial as well. sixsenses.com, treatments from €45

Sydney’s new wellness eyrie

The Capella, which opened last spring and instantly raised the bar to tiptoe levels on Sydney’s hotel scene, has a lot to recommend it: warm, polished staff, an easy harbour-access location, an exceptional 1,500-piece contemporary art collection. And, its Auriga spa: spread across the hotel’s sixth floor are four large and high-ceilinged treatment rooms, each cleverly fitted under one of the listed building’s original copper light lanterns, which frame squares of sky in James Turrell-like fashion (and saturate each space with daylight, which somehow feels very Oz).

The showpiece here is the 20m-long heated indoor lap and vitality pool, at the head of which is a movement platform for yoga and stretching sessions. My fairly straightforward hour-long massage was very satisfying, between the sunlight pouring in and the skill in evidence, but I left wishing I’d sampled the “Connect to Country” experience: black jade, azoria gold, mookalite and other stones gathered, with the permission of First Australians, from far-flung points (the Northern Territory, the Pilbara) are heated and used to loosen muscles, memories, and whatever else is receptive to them, in tandem with oils infused with native botanicals. capellahotels.com, treatments from AU$150

And back to Les Sources, in Bordeaux

Caudalie is a name familiar to the skincare mavens: Augustinus Bader may be the miracle-crème man of the moment, and Dr Barbara Sturm the reigning queen of serums, but Caudalie’s resveratrol-based products continue to walk the science-based talk they’ve purveyed for two decades. Les Sources de Caudalie, the spa-hotel located in the vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, is a favourite destination spa among those who know the value of vinotherapy (and a Euro); that the spa – where the half-day Vine and Source rituals can be booked by outside guests (and, during the week, single treatments too) – also taps the waters of a 540m-deep hot spring only adds to the appeal.

A chic, understated top-to-toe renovation is what’s put it back on our radar: 40 rooms and 21 suites, three restaurants, hammam and all, now cast in gentle Flemish tones and tons of natural wood and stone, soothing and spacious. sources-caudalie.com, treatment packages from €274

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Maria Shollenbarger

The pharmaceutical company had not yet launched Ozempic, the diabetes drug that would later become famous as celebrities took it off-label for weight loss, and was years from the approval of Wegovy, the version that targets obesity. The management team were debating whether to embark on an expensive trial that would prove whether or not Wegovy would cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, chief executive of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has the majority of voting rights in the company, described executives asking: “Why would we do such a trial with a high risk of maybe not showing anything? Maybe it’s just the anti-diabetic effect that is responsible for the benefits we’ve seen in diabetes. What if we don’t see anything in obesity, and the trial costs hundreds of millions of dollars?” 

But at the end of the day, it was up to Jørgensen. “His head was on the block. It is a lot of money,” he said. 

His gamble paid off: the initial trial data published last month showed that patients who took the Wegovy drug had a 20 per cent lower chance of suffering a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke than those who received a placebo.

Investors hope the data will prove to health systems and insurers that the medicine, which has made headlines as a rich person’s slimming tool, could actually save lives and costs. Shares soared 16 per cent that day, and continued rising until Novo Nordisk overtook French luxury conglomerate LVMH as the largest European company on Monday.

Jørgensen has a huge commercial opportunity: Novo Nordisk is one of two main companies, along with Eli Lilly, in a market that the Canadian investment bank BMO estimates could be worth up to $130bn to $140bn a year at its peak. 

But he also faces giant challenges: the company is still trying to scale up supply of the drug, some health insurers are reluctant to foot the bill, and Ozempic and Wegovy are being used as slimming jabs by people who are far from obese.

Jørgensen learnt to take responsibility at a young age, on the family farm in Jutland, Denmark.

Lars Green, chief financial officer of sister company Novozymes, has known Jørgensen since university. 

“His upbringing means he has always learned that things do not come by themselves. They require an investment, or an effort, and based on those efforts you harvest your returns,” he said.

After studying finance and business, Jørgensen joined Novo Nordisk on the graduate scheme in 1991 and has worked with the company in the US, Japan and the Netherlands, in functions from technology to business development. 

Jesper Brandgaard, former chief financial officer at Novo Nordisk, described Jørgensen when he became interim head of corporate finance at the company, aged just 33. “He is the type of person that very easily will be assigned responsibility, and then takes care of the responsibility, whether it’s needing to feed the pigs or whatever he needs to do,” he said. 

Jørgensen, 56, met his wife at Novo Nordisk and they now have two adult children. As well as responsibility, he stresses the importance of reflection in life, going kayaking on the lake near his house.

Novo Nordisk, which, while it turned 100 this year, is far from a household name, and Jørgensen does not want to become a ‘brand’, like some other chief executives of Big Pharma. Often described by his friends as a humble introvert who listens intently, he is eager to share the stage with his team. 

Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays, said he did not dominate his earnings calls like some better known pharmaceutical leaders. “He has not made himself the face of the company and people really like that. It is about Novo Nordisk, not about him,” she said. 

But one person familiar with the matter said while he liked the idea that the organisation was flat, he held the veto on everything. “At first you think he doesn’t have a lot of gravitas, but after half an hour in a room with him you see he is very calm, very poised, never gets angry. He can control the room by very quickly lifting his head,” he said.

Long before its obesity drugs hit the headlines, Novo Nordisk was under political pressure in the US for rising insulin prices. Recently, the company was suspended from the UK industry association for mismarketing a previous obesity drug. Jørgensen apologised and said the failure to disclose sponsorship of a training course was a “mistake”. 

Now Jørgensen faces scrutiny at home in Denmark, where Novo Nordisk is the largest taxpayer, and he is president of the industry’s European lobby group, battling the biggest EU reform in pharma legislation for 20 years. 

Jørgensen recently met one of his critics in the Danish parliament, Socialist People’s party member Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen, for lunch. She argued that now the company had a market cap and earnings that were “out of this world”, it should consider lowering prices. “Obviously, we didn’t agree, but I had a good impression of him,” she said. 

Nathalie Moll, director-general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, believes Novo Nordisk is a poster child for European innovation. She said Jørgensen was the right person to lead the industry group because he knew how to make Europe better for a company “that grows, not a company that has already grown, or a tiny company, but one that has really evolved over the last 30 years”. 

Additional reporting by Euan Healy

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Hannah Kuchler

Attomarker, a spinout from the University of Exeter, “is revolutionising diagnostic technology and the potential of big data”, said chief executive Andrew Shaw as he demonstrated the new testing devices at the British Science Festival in Exeter.

The technology gave its first clinical results this year in diagnosing long Covid from the presence of six antibodies that showed the Sars-Cov-2 virus persisting in a patient’s body.

It is also being developed to detect “biomarker” proteins associated with female fertility, food allergy, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and to fight antimicrobial resistance by distinguishing bacterial from viral infections.

At present, the technology, which delivers results within seven to 10 minutes, runs on a benchtop laboratory instrument. But next year Attomarker expects to launch a handheld device with a diagnostic cartridge connected to a mobile phone.

Shaw said the apparent similarity between Attomarker and Theranos, the fraudulent US blood-testing company founded by Elizabeth Holmes, “always comes up when I’m talking to investors. The difference is we’ve got the technology to work and demonstrated it, which they never did.”

The scale of funding was different too, he added. While more than $700mn was invested and lost in Theranos, Attomarker has raised £4.5mn since 2017 and hopes to raise another £3mn by the end of 2023. A larger Series A funding round will follow in the next two years.

Attomarker’s technology works with gold nanoparticles printed on an array of sensor spots. The nanoparticles on each spot are treated to bind to a particular protein, and the array can scan for up to 20 biomarkers from a blood sample of just 0.01ml. In contrast, a routine hospital blood test takes a 30ml sample.

When the spots are illuminated from below as blood flows over the array, the nanoparticles scatter the light with a pattern that indicates the quantity of biomarkers that has stuck to the surface.

With several applications under development, Shaw singled out three that he expected to have great commercial potential.

One is a device capable of detecting nine different biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease, including five variants of tau protein and two of beta amyloid protein, will be launched next year.

Another is an “infection chip” to tell whether an infection with non-specific symptoms is caused by bacteria that can be treated with antibiotics or by viruses, which do not respond to antibiotics. A third is capable of detecting hormones associated with fertility and menopause.

The mobile device is likely to cost about £300, Shaw said, with each test array or chip costing between £10 and £20. “The route to market will be private clinics to begin with and then the NHS later,” he said.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Clive Cookson