Category Archives: Progress

The kiddos have their virtual Santa visit scheduled for tonight its like a Zoom from the North Pole which Im very happy they get to do, because its sweet and silly and fun, but Id be lying if I didnt admit its a painful reminder of how things are still effed up even after two years of this crap. I just hate how things have been for my kids for so long now.

As expected, the public fronting from certain aldermen about not permitting sportsbooks at stadiums and arenas around the city led to lobbying behind the scenes, and then an approval from a key committee. The full vote at City Council is today, which would allow all the major teams to construct/operate sportsbooks at their various facilities. The Chicago Cubs already have a deal in place with DraftKings to open one of the largest sportsbooks in the country at Wrigley Field, so this approval is the final step before construction will begin.

Cubs Owner and Chairman Tom Ricketts testified at the committee, per ABC-7:

Before the final vote, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said his team is ready to go today on its $100 million partnership with DraftKings that will pave the way for Wrigley Field to house the first stadium sportsbook in Major League Baseball.

With your approval of this ordinance, construction would begin immediately with the aim of opening a restaurant with a sportsbook in time for the 2023 season. This will create construction jobs and revenues now and permanent jobs in just over a year, Ricketts said.

Ricketts said the ordinance would provide additional resources to the citys professional sports teams that will help them compete.

This is not a casino or even a mini-casino. Its a sports bar-restaurant. It only allows for fans who wish to place a wager to have a window to do so. I expect many fans will come to the sportsbook and never place a bet, he said.

Personally, I have no issue with sportsbooks and look forward to this one opening. I think it will be fun. But your mileage may vary, and I respect that. One thing I think we can all get on board with, though, is that if the book is going to generate significant extra revenue for the organization as Ricketts says then it will be fair game to hold the organizational accountable for using those revenues to contribute directly to baseball operations.

Endeavor has added the Triple-A Dodgers to their stable of minor league clubs (they are the group that bought the Iowa Cubs), as they are clearly going for as many premium opportunities as they can:

Not every athlete lives permanently in the city where they played, and life changes can make for a moving decision that is based on a lot of things. Still, you get at least a whiff of finality:

Im still welcoming Anthony Rizzo back on the Cubs if the circumstances lead to a reunion, but I just dont think those circumstances probably takes a bargain deal that he cannot find anywhere else are going to come to pass.

A look at Cedric Mullins breakout with the Orioles this year after dropping the switch-hitter thing and exclusively hitting from the left side. Mullins had been so bad against lefties when batting as a righty that it kinda made sense to just say eff it, and see how much it could hurt just sticking with his natural side it turns out, he wound up being excellent against lefties when batting lefty. A switch made during his age 26 season. Pretty incredible. I mention this, because a lot of us have thought for years about Ian Happ making the same change, given his huge splits and how awkward his right-handed swing looks at times. The big difference, though, is that Happ has periodically been close to a league-average hitter from the right side, albeit in very limited doses. Mullins, by contrast, hit like a terrible-hitting pitcher from the right side. Still, you will always wonder when a switch-hitter would be better off accepting the platoon disadvantage in exchange for getting to use his more natural swing.

Scott Rolen really fell off in his plate coverage this past year, and the defense took a step back, too:

Twitter asked, I answered:

The Bulls are obviously in the middle of their outbreak (thankfully games have been postponed), now the Bears have a little outbreak starting (four positives over the past couple days), and the NHL is having all kinds of issues, too. None of this is good, and you try not to read too much into limited data points, but simultaneous pops like this just make you wonder if this thing is hockey-sticking everywhere again. Apropos of my intro: I just hate all of this so much.

The trade market opens up in the NBA today:

Read the original here:

Wrigley Sportsbook Progress, Rizzo Moves Out, Dropping Switch-Hitting, and Other Cubs Bullets - bleachernation.com

When Hong Kong venture capital firm ORI Capital poured $30 million into CAR-T developer AffyImmune Therapeutics in October, the VC firms founder Simone Song cited more than a half-dozen obstacles facing AffyImmune and other biopharmas seeking to translate CAR-T technology to solid tumors.

But Song, who also serves on AffyImmunes board, said she was confident the Natick, Massachusetts-based companys could overcome those hurdles.

AffyImmune is one of several startups raising interestand dollarsto back innovative strategies for cell therapies to treat solid tumors. Verismo Therapeutics, a spinout from CAR-T pioneer University of Pennsylvania, and PACT Pharma are also making headway with their solid-tumor technologies, as are several research teams in academia.

But their task is far from easy. FDA-approved CAR-Ts like Novartis Kymriah and Gileads Yescartaboth of which treat blood cancerswere considered the low-hanging fruit of cell therapies, because they could be programmed to recognize a single target, or antigen, on cancer cells and kill them. Finding one or more targets that exist in solid tumorsbut not normal tissuesis considerably more challenging.

Then, as AffyImmunes Song pointed out, there are other hurdles like manufacturing complexities and the risk of T-cell exhaustion, a process by which engineered immune cells poop out, allowing the cancer to roar back.

And all of the innovation in CAR-T for solid tumors is happening against a backdrop of safety worries, many stemming from a clinical hold the FDA placed on Allogene in October. Allogene is developing off-the-shelf T-cell therapies for both blood and solid tumors but had to pause all of its clinical trials after a lymphoma patient in one of the studies was reported to have developed a chromosomal abnormality.

RELATED: AffyImmune attracts $30M with its CAR-T strategy for beleaguered solid tumor cancers

Allogene is still collecting data and engaged in discussions with the FDA about the side effect, said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and CEO, in an interview. But the safety scare hasnt dampened the companys enthusiasm for developing off-the-shelf cell therapiesor for translating the technology to solid tumors.

A few years ago, everyone was questioning whether CAR-T therapy will work in solid tumors, Chang said. But there has been positive data from CAR-T as well as T-cell receptor approaches, so I think the next few years will be quite exciting.

AffyImmunes approach follows the model of the CAR-T products for blood cancers in that its cell therapies are tailored to individual patients. The companys lead asset, AIC100, targets Intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), which is highly expressed in thyroid, gastric and triple-negative breast cancers. The product is made from each patients T cells, which are removed, reengineered to target ICAM-1 and then infused back into the patient, in a process that takes about 20 days.

In addition to designing the CAR-T to bind to ICAM-1, AffyImmunes scientists built the CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) with a natural ligand that not only fine-tunes the affinity to ICAM-1 but also up-regulates its expression so the T cells can better recognize the cancer, explained Matt Britz, senior vice president of business development, in an interview. The hope is that these features will help prevent T-cell exhaustion.

AffyImmune also included a tracking feature in AIC100 that allows its scientists to use PET scans to see exactly where the CAR-T cells are going in patients. The company is using the technology in an ongoing phase 1 study in thyroid cancer patients.

Weve seen CAR-T localization to tumors and not to normal healthy tissues, Britz said, raising optimism that the cell therapy will not cause unexpected toxicities, he added. A readout from the thyroid cancer trial is expected in early 2023. AffyImmune hopes to expand the trial to include gastric cancer patients in a year or so, he added.

AffyImmune is also in preclinical studies with CAR-Ts that target ICAM-1 and another molecule found in abundance in solid tumors, mesothelin, as well as CAR-Ts that secrete cytokines to maintain a strong immune response to cancer. Were armoring CARs with things that will aid in their longevity and their ability to kill, Britz said.

Penn spinout Verismo is taking a different approach that it has dubbed SynKIR-T. In place of traditional CARs, Verismo uses KIRs, or killer immunoglobulin-like receptors, which T cells and natural killer (NK) cells use in modulating the response to foreign invaders. Verismos lead asset, SynKIR-meso, targets mesothelin, which is highly expressed in mesothelioma, as well as ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

The SynKIR-T cells are specially designed to overcome elements of the tumor microenvironment that normally prevent immune cells from invading and killing solid cancers, explained Laura Johnson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Verismo, in an interview.

Tumors sometimes form barriers around themselves so immune cells cant get in, Johnson said. They shut off T cells or make themselves invisible by hiding their antigens. That requires a different approach to treating these types of cancers.

Instead of using an artificial CAR, Verismos cells use a signaling component that occurs in natural killer cells, she said. When a binder in the engineered cell finds its target, it brings a stimulatory protein into contact with the cell that activates it and prompts it to kill tumor cells.

The company hopes to be dosing the first patients in a phase 1 trial about a year from now and is targeting mesothelioma and ovarian cancer to start, Johnson said. Like AffyImmune, Verismo will personalize the treatment to individual patients by engineering their own T cells.

RELATED: A personalized CAR-T to attack every solid tumor? Pact Pharma has a plan

PACT Pharma is taking the notion of personalized cell therapies even further with its imPACT isolation technology. The platform is designed to target cancer-related proteins that are so specific to each patients tumor that theyre highly unlikely to be found in another persons cancer. The companys technology identifies these neoantigens, which typically result from many different mutations. Then theyre built into T cells and infused back into patients.

The notion here is that because cancers are so unique, and their mutation structure is so different, its best to understand the underlying mutations of each patient and target those, said Scott Garland, CEO of PACT, in an interview.

The company uses an algorithm to pare down the hundreds of mutations found in a tumor to the three most likely to generate a strong response, Garland explained, creating a polyclonal T cell. The company is now in the dose-escalation portion of a phase 1 study in eight tumor types, including melanoma, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer.

The risk of safety issues is top of mind, Garland said. And not just because of Allogene. One rival with a prostate-targeted CAR-T, Tmunity, stopped development of its product in June after two patients in a clinical trial experienced neurotoxicities and died. (Tmunity did not respond to a request from Fierce for an update.)

One of the reasons PACT went for a personalized approach was to try to minimize the probability of side effects, Garland said. The specificity should result in a better toxicity profile, but well have to wait until the clinical trials are complete to make definitive statements about safety, he added.

The genetic abnormality seen in Allogenes clinical trial patient is unlikely to be related to the behavior of the artificial T cells, said Wendell Lim, Ph.D., a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco and a member of Allogenes scientific advisory board, in an interview.

Lim is also working on a CAR-T approach to solid tumors called synNotch. The cells are engineered to be able to distinguish between tumor tissue and healthy tissue. In preclinical studies published earlier this year, synNotch cells cleared glioblastoma tumors that didnt respond to either T cells or traditional CAR-Ts. Lim hopes the cells will be ready for clinical trials in about a year.

One thing that all the developers of CAR-T for solid tumors share is an integrated approach to clearing the hurdles raised by these challenging cancers, Lim said. People have worked on the individual problems of increasing specificity, overcoming heterogeneity and attacking the suppressive microenvironment, he said. We need to integrate those into one intelligent cell.

The rest is here:

Biopharma charts progress in translating CAR-T cell therapies to solid cancers - FierceBiotech

Nick Yorke was a surprise pick with the No. 17 overall selection in the 2020 draft but nobody is questioning the decision following a strong season at the Single-A levels that has him rapidly rising in prospect rankings. Hes now the top second baseman in the Boston Red Sox farm system and the only question is whether or not hell remain at that position long-term.

Yorke was outstanding in his first season of professional baseball, hitting .323 with a .913 OPS, 10 home runs, 14 doubles, four triples and 11 stolen bases in 76 games with Low-A Salem. The 19-year-old impressively performed even better when tested at High-A Greenville, hitting .333 with a .978 OPS in 21 games following his promotion.

Baseball America named Yorke their Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year. Hes only the 10th teenager since 2006 to slash .300/.400/.500 in a full minor league season, joining an impressive list that includes Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Theres little doubt that Yorke will continue to hit as he climbs the minor league ladder but his defense has been a bit questionable. He committed nine errors in 85 games this year to produce a .976 fielding percentage. Only six major league second baseman owned a lower fielding percentage this season (minimum 50 games at the position).

According to Chad Jennings of The Athletic, Red Soxdirector of player development Brian Abraham was encouraged by Yorkes progress in the field and believes hell stick at the position.

He showed how much improvement he can make in one offseason, just with his body, his athleticism, his improvements on defense, Abraham said. To me, theres no reason to think he couldnt continue to improve and be an impact player there.

Its notable that all nine of Yorkes errors were committed during his time in Salem. The sample size in Greenville is small with only 19 games as a second baseman (he was the designated hitter for two games) but Yorke was mistake-free in the field when he moved up to the higher level. This points to the improvement that Abraham noted and bodes well for Yorkes future.

The Red Sox value versatility and weve seen them test their prospects at different positions to open more paths for them to advance through the system. Many teams let their prospects focus on one position early in their careers before expanding their versatility as they move up in the system but the Red Sox are embracing a utility role for certain players early. Ceddanne Rafaela is a defensive wizard who can provide elite defense at almost any position. TylerMcDonough was drafted primarily for his bat but he was used as an infielder and in the outfield when he arrived in Salem.

The same approach to development wasnt taken with Yorke, who remained exclusively at second base or DH. It seems the Red Sox are intent on grooming him as their second baseman of the future by giving him every opportunity to improve and learn the fundamentals.

That strategy could change depending on what the Red Sox do with their major league roster in the time it takes Yorke to reach the big leagues. Top prospect Marcelo Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick in this years draft, wont be far behind in his ascension to the majors. Assuming Xander Bogaerts doesnt opt-out with the intention of leaving after next season, he should still be around when Mayer emerges to claim the shortstop position. Moving Bogaerts to second base to clear a path for Mayer would be a logical solution but that would block Yorke.

While the lockout has temporarily frozen activity on the free-agent market, the Red Sox are expected to be active once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. If the Red Sox sign a middle infielder to a long-term deal to handle second base or push Bogaerts to the position earlier than anticipated, Yorke would find another roadblock in his path.

Yorke is still several years away from reaching the majors and we could see plenty of turnover with Bostons roster in the meantime. Second base appears to be a position of need right now but its uncertain if that will be the case when Yorke is ready. The Red Sox could cycle through temporary solutions until then but if they find a long-term option instead, Yorke needs to be prepared to adapt.

Yorkes bat will undoubtedly lead him to the majors at some point, its just a matter of where hell play. His promising improvements are an encouraging sign that hes capable of sticking at second base. If the Red Sox ultimately move him to another position, it should be based on a need to fit him on the roster rather than a sign that he cant handle second base.

More:

Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke making progress defensively at second base - BoSox Injection

All organizations have three elements in common: structure, systems and culture. Generally, we tend to tinker with structure and systems much more often than we do with culture. This is not to say that changes in structure and systems cannot accomplish progress.

There is no doubt, however, that culture guides change in an organization. Large health care organizations interested in becoming more equitable can take a page from community health centers, and their approach to community engagement. Not surprisingly, many of these organizations have African American and Latinx individuals who have risen through the ranks to become leaders. They have the proverbial finger on the pulse of community issues, both those directly related to the provision of medical care, but even more criticallythose that impinge on access and outcomes: the social determinants of health.

The scale of challenges in health and health care in Chicago demands a lot more than what community health centers may achieve on their own. The opportunity for leadership of larger health care institutions in this space is so vast that even if we were able to involve all of them immediately, it would take some time to achieve equity. It is worth reiterating that diversity, equity and inclusion is everyone's job. Diversity facilitates forward movement and is a catalyst for change, but genuine change in culture is imperative for lasting progress.

Jorge A. Girotti, Ph.D., is research assistant professor of medical education and founder and former director of the Hispanic Center of Excellence, and associate dean for admissions and special curricular programs at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

Read more here:

Culture shift is needed to achieve equity in health care leadership - Crain's Chicago Business

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PureTech Health plc (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) (PureTech or the Company), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, today reported on the key progress made across its Wholly Owned Programs1 and Founded Entities2 in 2021, including some updates that were not previously reported.

Daphne Zohar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PureTech, commented: 2021 has been a year of profound achievements and fundamental growth across our Wholly Owned Programs and our Founded Entities. With the support of our shareholders, we have pioneered a unique R&D model that has been successful in identifying, inventing and advancing novel therapeutic candidates for serious diseases and creating wholly-owned programs as well as both public and private Founded Entities with substantial value. We are proud of our execution and successes and are excited about using that strong foundation to catalyze value as we enter into an important, milestone-rich 2022, having the benefit of a strong balance sheet from which to drive value.

PureTechs Wholly Owned Programs are comprised of six therapeutic candidates and four lymphatic and inflammation platforms. Additionally, PureTechs Founded Entities are advancing 19 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates, of which two have been cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and granted marketing authorization in the European Economic Area, and 14 are clinical stage. Key highlights include the following:

Wholly Owned Programs

Founded Entities:

About PureTech HealthPureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including inflammatory, fibrotic and immunological conditions, intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases and neurological and neuropsychological disorders, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and development team and its extensive network of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders. This pipeline, which is being advanced both internally and through PureTech's Founded Entities, is comprised of 25 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates, including two that have received both U.S. FDA clearance and European marketing authorization, as of the date of PureTech's most recently filed Half Year Report and corresponding Form 6-K. All of the underlying programs and platforms that resulted in this pipeline of therapeutic candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key validation points based on the Company's unique insights into the biology of the brain, immune and gut, or BIG, systems and the interface between those systems, referred to as the BIG Axis.

For more information, visit http://www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter @puretechh.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those related to our anticipation of catalysts in 2022 and beyond, the treatment potential of our Wholly Owned Programs, our expectations around the completion of enrollment and the timing for results with respect to the Phase 2 and Phase 2a clinical trials for LYT-100, our plans to provide further detail around our development plans for LYT-100, our anticipation of results from the Phase 1 portion our clinical trial for LYT-200, our expectations related to the potential uses of the results from the LYT-300 Phase 1 clinical study, the plans to file an Investigation New Drug Application for LYT-503, our evaluation of potential therapeutics candidates leveraging the Alivio Technology Platform, our expectation for data generation and potential approaches utilizing the Orasome Technology Platform, the treatment potential of therapeutic candidates of our Founded Entities, our expectations related to the business combination between Gelesis and Capstar Special Purpose Acquisition Corp., our expectations with respect to Karunas Phase 3 clinical programs, and our expectations regarding Follicas potential commencement of Phase 3 registration program. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, those risks, uncertainties and other important factors described under the caption Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC and in our other regulatory filings. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the Company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

See the article here:

PureTech Provides End of Year Report on Key Progress Across Wholly Owned Programs and Founded Entities - Business Wire

Over the course of the 2021 season, eight of the last nine White Sox first-round picks suited up for the major league team. It is far too difficult to reach the majors for this to be anything but highly impressive, but it probably overstates the current strength of the pipeline.

Closer to three Sox first-rounders will return in 2022 with established roles (Andrew Vaughn, Garrett Crochet and Tim Anderson) while Jake Burger and even Zack Collins are still working to transform major league appearances into footholds. And the drafts through the middle portion of this stretch cannot yet claim to play a major role in helping sustain the contention window.

Despite having two first-rounders, the 2016 Sox draft is in the negative for wins above replacement, with Jimmy Lambert and Matt Foster possibly best suited to reverse it. The 2017 class made its major league debut in 2021, but only over-slot second-rounder Gavin Sheets will arrive at spring training with a near-guarantee to crack the Opening Day roster.

View post:

White Sox draft class review: Success stories and works-in-progress from the last 3 years - The Athletic

By Dave Burge

The New Mexico State University mens basketball team is wrapping up an important nonconference stretch where it will learn a lot more about the type of team it is.

And how it may fare in the upcoming Western Athletic Conference season in the new year.

Every team is a work in progress, and we will just try to get better in as many facets as we can, said Aggie head basketball coach Chris Jans Dec. 5.

The Aggies are off to an 8-2 start and are finishing a tough stretch of three contests against archrivals and four straight road games.

NMSU lost to the University of New Mexico 101-94 on Nov. 30 at the Pan Am, in a game most fans will remember for a 40-minute power outage. It was also the second straight game that Jans missed because of Covid protocols.

Jans returned to the bench Dec. 3 for a 72-69 road win over I-10 rival UTEP. NMSUs Jabari Rice hit the game-winning shot with 1.6 left in the game.

Three nights later, the Aggies got revenge on the Lobos, beating them 78-76 in overtime at The Pit in Albuquerque. This time, Nate Pryor converted a reverse layup as time expired in overtime for the win.

Making this stretch even more challenging, the Aggies went on the road against two quality opponents on the West Coast. NMSU beat Loyola Marymount 63-58 in Los Angeles Dec. 11 despite making a season-high 26 turnovers.

After that, the Aggies took on Washington State on Dec. 15 in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars are usually one of the better programs in the Pac-12 and held Arizona State to just 29 points in a conference game in Tempe, Arizona, Dec. 1.

This game was past our deadline so I dont have any results to report.

Jans said Washington State is projected to have a good season and they have a great coach (Kyle Smith).

Obviously, they have some good players, Pac-12, etc., Jans said.

Jans said his team will learn a lot about itself during this stretch.

There arent many teams in the country that look at themselves as a finished product, he said. We are like everybody else. There are some things we are getting better at. There a lot of things and areas we have to shore up. We have to get it right heading into the holidays.

The Aggies will host Northern New Mexico at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18 and will follow that up with a home game against UT Permian Basin at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20. That game was recently added to the schedule and will replace a home game with Cal State Fullerton that was canceled shortly after the schedule was released.

One area the Aggies could improve is their rebounding.

Rebounding is part of the game, Jans said. But at the end of the day, what they keep track of for the win-loss column is how many points you score and give up. The most important stat is the final score.

Certainly, there are all sorts of ways to achieve being a good basketball team, Jans continued. Hopefully, we will get better at it (rebounding). I dont think theres a chance we will get the numbers we had the first three years we were here, but we definitely need to get better.

The Aggies will open WAC play at Seattle U Thursday, Dec. 30. The game is scheduled to be televised at 8 p.m. on ESPN+. NMSU will then play its conference home opener at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, against Chicago State at the Pan Am.

Read more from the original source:

Aggies a 'work in progress' as conference play nears - Las Cruces Bulletin

GREEN BAY, Wis. Justin Fields is getting better, and thats the only thing that matters about this Bears season.

Regardless of a 45-30 defeat Sunday night, hes the only one in the organization who can say he took a step forward in the Bears game against the Packers at Lambeau Field. He would say hes too competitive to accept a figurative victory, but hes too new to the Bears to see this through a wide-angled lens.

The true purpose of Sunday and the Bears remaining four games is to build toward a Fields-led future. Anything that brightens that outlook is a positive, and Fields provided some good indicators in his return after missing two games with cracked ribs.

He completed 18 of 33 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions (one was a desperate shot at the end) and ran nine times for 74 yards. With the help of Jakeem Grants punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter, he had the Bears up 27-21 at halftime. That alone was better than how almost anyone thought theyd fare at Lambeau.

The Bears various maladies Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers clubbing the withered defense in another monstrous embarrassment, coach Matt Nagys questionable decisions, the roster moves that led to Xavier Crawford covering Davante Adams ... theyre just ancillary and temporary.

Nearly everything around Fields is irrelevant at this point because most of it probably wont be around him next season.

The Bears stumbled into giving him a season of learning on the job, diverted to that course only after original starter Andy Dalton hurt his knee in Week 2, and it was the best thing for them. It might not have been the best thing for Nagy and his job security, but thats where the gauging of success for Fields and the rest of the organization split.

Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace needed to win now. Theyre overdue and long past their grace period. Dalton, tight end Jimmy Graham, defensive end Akiem Hicks and other veterans face that same level of urgency as they try to prolong their careers.

But Fields has time. Its not imperative that he arrives this season only that he continues in the right direction. The real evaluation comes next season.

And so far, everything looks right. Fields is far from a finished product, but he has consistently shown elusive running ability, precise deep passes and decisiveness. All of those abilities have improved steadily as he has expanded his understanding of NFL defenses.

To his credit, he has done all of that in spite of the Bears disarray and his injury. Nagy put Fields on a slower track than necessary because he had already locked into the idea of Dalton being the starter all season and Fields learning through observation. But there are some things Fields must learn through his own interceptions rather than Daltons, and thats a choppy process everyone is going to have to accept.

Back-to-back possessions in the second quarter Sunday illustrated that growth. Fields misfired to wide receiver Darnell Mooney in the flats with 5:09 left in the half, and cornerback Rasul Douglas jumped the route for a pick-six to give the Packers their first lead of the night, 14-10. The throw needed to be between Mooney and the sideline, but Fields left it too far inside and allowed Douglas an opportunity.

Fields atoned for it three snaps later when he dropped a spot-on pass over the middle to Damiere Byrd, who went 54 yards for a touchdown. It would be easy to overlook Fields contribution to that play since the throw was just six yards past the line of scrimmage and Byrd did most of the legwork, but his accuracy and touch were essential. Had Fields not hit Byrd perfectly in stride, he wouldnt have been able to outrace the three defenders in proximity. Had he needed to reach up or back at all, he likely would have been stopped.

It was a great ball by him, Byrd said. He put it right where it needed to be.

In addition to the throw being accurate, it was just the right speed. Thats a big upgrade from the beginning of the season, when virtually every pass was a fastball.

Fields most impressive drive, though, was when he led the Bears to a field goal just before halftime. The Bears were up 24-21 and had the ball at their own 42 with 37 seconds left. It was an easy time to take a knee and go into the locker room with a lead, but the threat of Rodgers getting the ball to start the second half prompted the Bears to go for it.

Fields hit tight end Cole Kmet near the sideline so he could get out of bounds and stop the clock, then ran out of bounds on a 20-yard run to put the Bears in scoring range. They capped the drive with Cairo Santos 44-yard field goal as time ran out.

Throughout all the turmoil and turbulence, Fields is rising. Thats crucial because he was one of the few players on the field Sunday who is clearly part of the Bears future. Hes central to it and driving it, and thats the best thing about the Bears as they close out another underwhelming season.

Link:

Bears fall to Packers, but QB Justin Fields progress is all that matters - Chicago Sun-Times

It has been methodical. It has been incremental. It has been, to put it bluntly, slow.

But St. Johns is showing progress. It has performed better in each game since the blowout loss to Kansas nine days ago. It didnt have to sweat out the final minutes against Fordham. It knocked off MAAC contender Monmouth a team that had already defeated Cincinnati, Saint Josephs and Princeton despite a shaky finish. And it played more like the team it expects to be on Sunday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena.

In one of the Johnnies best performances of the season the argument can be made that this was their most complete effort they shook off a slow start to manhandle Patriot League co-favorite Colgate, 82-64, on coach Mike Andersons 62nd birthday.

We lost to Kansas by 20, so that was enough for us to say, OK, we got to pick it up, said Julian Champagnie, who had an efficient 19 points on 12 shots and reached 1,000 points for his career in the win. That Kansas game gave us that incentive of, Were going to fix this, and were going to play the basketball that we know how to play.

Want more news and exclusive insights from Zach?Become a member of Post Sports+ and join his Inside St. Johns text-message conversation.

I think today was a good showing of what we can do, he added.

The poor stretches were kept to a minimum. St. Johns (8-2) defended the 3-point line well in the second half and turned 16 turnovers into 24 points. It committed just one turnover over the opening 28 minutes en route to a season-low six, received offensive production from a variety of sources and the bench left its imprint all over the game.

And that may have been the most significant positive. St. Johns reserves poured in 34 points and keyed a game-turning 14-3 run in the first half.

Freshman Rafael Pinzon had a career-high 14 points and three assists. Stef Smith and OMar Stanley contributed a combined 13 points. After getting benched in the win over Monmouth, Aaron Wheeler responded with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and difference-making defense in compiling a plus-17 rating. He was focused on bringing energy and making an impact at both ends of the floor, instead of worrying about his offense.

I always tell guys, stay ready, and we saw Aaron stay ready, Anderson said of the Purdue transfer. Hes got a lot of potential. He brought it to the game today. Thats what we expect out of him. The key is consistency. The beauty is it wasnt predicated on offense.

Colgate (4-7), which won at Syracuse this season and has reached the last two NCAA Tournaments, shot 13 of 35 from 3-point range but just 6 of 17 in the second half. The Raiders, it should be noted, were without leading scorer Nelly Cummings (upper-body injury) and have struggled of late.

This was by no means a perfect performance. Anderson wasnt ready to say this team has turned a corner. But there was a lot to like about this win. Most importantly, it continued the Red Storms recent trend of improved performances entering Saturdays non-conference finale against Pittsburgh at the Garden.

I saw the script that I normally would see with one of our teams when were playing well, Anderson said. The second half, the last 10, 11 minutes I thought fatigue was a factor [for them]. It kicked in. You saw our guys move a little quicker, faster. Their guys slowed down a little bit. Our defense spearheaded everything.

Later, Anderson smiled in assessing the win.

Appreciate the birthday gift, he said.

See the rest here:

St. John's finally showing progress with win over Colgate - New York Post

Hypoimmune CAR T cells evade both innate and adaptive immune systems in murine models, even in animals with pre-existing immunity to CAR T cells

CD8- and CD4-targeted fusosomes generated functional CAR T cells in vivo, demonstrating T cell-specific delivery and therapeutic function in animal models

SEATTLE, Dec. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: SANA), a company focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines, presented data at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, taking place from Saturday, December 11 to Tuesday, December 14, 2021, which highlighted further progress with key technologies supporting Sanas in vivo and ex vivo CAR T cell programs.

The data presented at ASH showcase the progress we are making with Sanas CAR T cell programs, said Terry Fry, M.D., Sanas Head of T Cell Therapeutics. The hypoimmune and fusogen technologies are designed to address significant challenges that lead to sub-optimal patient outcomes and prevent widespread utilization of cell and gene therapies, including cell persistence and cell-specific delivery. We continue to move these potential therapies toward clinical trials in patients, with a goal of filing two INDs as early as next year.

On Saturday, December 11, Sonja Schrepfer, M.D., Ph.D., Sanas Head of Hypoimmune Platform, presented a poster (Abstract 1690) titled Engineered hypoimmune allogeneic CAR T cells exhibit innate and adaptive immune evasion even after sensitization in humanized mice and retain potent anti-tumor activity. Data demonstrated continued progress with Sanas hypoimmune allogeneic CAR T cell platform, showing in murine models that these gene-modified CAR T cells targeting CD19 can evade both the innate and adaptive immune systems without any evidence of a change in their ability to eliminate leukemia. This immune evasion was present in nave subjects as well as in sensitized subjects that had previously rejected non-hypoimmune CAR T cells. In the study, the hypoimmune allogeneic CD19 CAR T cells did not induce activation of the adaptive immune system, T cells or B cells, in the treated subjects (p<0.0001 when compared to non-modified CD19 CAR T cells), and also evaded the subjects innate immune responses. These findings are an important step toward the possibility of off-the-shelf allogeneic CD19 CAR T cells that persist without immunosuppression, including in patients that have previously been treated with a CAR T therapy.

Story continues

On Sunday, December 12, Terry Fry, M.D., presented a poster (Abstract 2769) titled In vivo delivery of a CD20 CAR using a CD8-targeted fusosome in Southern pig-tail macaques (M. nemestrina) results in B cell depletion. The presentation outlined the potential to deliver a CAR gene to make CAR T cells in vivo. B cell depletion in these healthy non-human primates is used as a surrogate marker for an anti-tumor effect against B cell malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma. Following the infusion of the CD8a-targeted fusosome carrying the gene for an anti-CD20 CAR into macaques, B cells were meaningfully reduced in 4 of 6 animals after 7 to 10 days. Scientists found the anti-CD20 CAR transcripts via measurements of mRNA expression in spleen cells isolated from treated animals; conversely, no expression was detected in tissues from control animals. Subjects in this study received no lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Additionally, the fusosome treatment was well-tolerated in all animals with no evidence of adverse effects. These findings suggest that the fusosome technology represents a novel therapeutic opportunity to treat patients with B cell malignancies, with the potential for in vivo delivery of the CAR gene to CD8 T cells.

On Sunday, December 12, Sana Scientist Christie Ciarlo, Ph.D., presented a poster (Abstract 2942) titled CD4-targeted fusosomes are capable of transducing resting T helper cells to generate highly potent CAR T cells. The presentation highlighted the ability of select fusosomes to effectively target the correct cells and to deliver an integrating CAR payload that can develop CAR T cells in vivo. CD4-targeted CD19 CAR fusosomes efficiently transduced activated T cells (34% 1.5% CD4+CAR+; 0.54 0.18 c/dg) and resting T cells (20% 0.5% CD4+CAR+; 0.28 0.14 c/dg). The data showed that these fusosomes were specific to certain T cells based on their functionality and also that they could deliver their payloads to helper T cells without activation, opening up new potential pathways for in vivo cell therapies. Investigators concluded that targeting the CD4 co-receptor through in vivo delivery of a genetic payload can produce potent and functional CAR T cells, with the potential to target certain cancers.

About Sana BiotechnologySana Biotechnology, Inc. is focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines for patients. We share a vision of repairing and controlling genes, replacing missing or damaged cells, and making our therapies broadly available to patients. We are more than 350 people working together to create an enduring company that changes how the world treats disease. Sana has operations in Seattle, Cambridge, and South San Francisco. For more information about Sana Biotechnology, please visit https://sana.com/.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements about Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (the Company, we, us, or our) within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including those related to the Companys vision, progress, and business plans; expectations for its development programs, product candidates and technology platforms, including its pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory development plans and timing expectations, including with respect to the filing of IND applications; and the potential activity, uses and advantages of hypoimmune CAR T cells and fusosome technology, including CD4-specific fusosomes and CD8-targeted fusosomes. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including, among others, statements regarding the Companys strategy, expectations, cash runway and future financial condition, future operations, and prospects, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as aim, anticipate, assume, believe, contemplate, continue, could, design, due, estimate, expect, goal, intend, may, objective, plan, positioned, potential, predict, seek, should, target, will, would and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to vary materially, including, among others, the risks inherent in drug development such as those associated with the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results of the Companys current and future research and development programs, preclinical and clinical trials, as well as the economic, market and social disruptions due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis. For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that could affect the Companys actual results, please refer to the risk factors identified in the Companys SEC reports, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 24, 2021 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 8, 2021. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

Investor Relations:Nicole Keithinvestor.relations@sana.com

Media:Morgan Warners, Finsbury Glover Heringmedia@sana.com

Continue reading here:

Sana Biotechnology Presentations at 2021 ASH Annual Meeting Highlight Progress with Platforms and CAR T Cell Programs - Yahoo Finance