Put Your Trust In The Experts

SciTech Daily: In a follow-up investigation into the multibillion-dollar drug ticagrelor, The BMJ has identified new concerns.

For more than a decade, the multibillion dollar drug ticagrelor (Brilinta in the US and Brilique in Europe) has been recommended in the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome. As generic versions of the antiplatelet drug prepare to launch this year, The BMJ has investigated the evidence underpinning the drug’s approval and continued use. In our first story we revealed serious data integrity problems in the PLATO study, the 18 000 patient randomised trial that brought ticagrelor to market.1

The BMJ now turns its attention to two key supporting AstraZeneca studies that convinced doctors of ticagrelor’s ability to rapidly and consistently inhibit platelets—critical for managing patients following percutaneous coronary intervention. Our investigation was based on interviews with trial investigators and platelet experts and access to the underlying trial data submitted to regulators, as well as readouts from laboratory equipment used in the studies. We found evidence that the trials were inaccurately reported. In one instance AstraZeneca’s trial failed to show statistical significance, but was published in a leading cardiology journal as significant. Extraordinarily, most investigators, including the principal investigator and the drug company, were unreachable or declined to be interviewed. The findings raise even deeper questions over the approval and decade long use of the drug.

Elbows and Arseholes

The myth of the “Trump whisperer” comes crashing down.

Dan Knight- Carney’s Digital Tax Debacle: How Ottawa Triggered a Trade Fallout with Washington

The Digital Services Tax, passed by the Liberal government and implemented under Mark Carney’s leadership, applies a 3% levy on revenue—not profits—earned by large digital firms operating in Canada. And it’s retroactive. That means it’s being applied to earnings from as far back as January 1, 2022, with companies forced to make lump-sum payments by June 30, 2025.

Juxtapose!

The elbows are flapping now – Canada rescinds digital services tax to advance broader trade negotiations with the United States (update by Kate)

Seal His Coffin With Pig Grease

Via Owen Gregorian;

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday confirmed that they had “eliminated” one of the founders of Hamas in a joint operation with the Israel Security Agency (ISA).

Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa, a senior figure in Hamas’ military wing, was killed in Gaza City in an airstrike in the Sabra on Friday, the IDF said.

Issa’s current role in the Hamas military wing was as head of combat support headquarters, and he led force-buildup efforts in the Gaza Strip, served as head of the training headquarters and was a member of Hamas’ General Security Council.

He played a “significant role in the planning and execution of the brutal October 7th massacre,” the IDF said, and over the past few days he has helped plan attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip.

Issa was also attempting to rebuild Hamas’ organizational systems that were damaged by Israel during the war.

The IDF said it had also killed Abbas Al-Hassan Wahbi, a Hezbollah terrorist, in the area of Mahrouna in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

One Flu Out Of The Wuhan Nest

The chronology of a gain-of-function, lab leak cover story.

Elbows Up!

@kevinolearytv — This mess started with Trudeau, the idiot king, who rammed through Bill C-69, a policy so anti-development it basically banned pipelines and choked off energy revenue. Now, Carney inherits an economic wasteland and thinks taxing U.S. tech is the fix?

Angry About A Major Purchase You Approved The Loan For?

You just might be a Liberal.

Globe and Mail- Federal infrastructure bank provided $1-billion in financing for BC Ferries purchase of four new Chinese-made ships

The federal government’s Canada Infrastructure Bank provided $1-billion in financing for BC Ferries’ plan to buy four new ships from a Chinese state-owned shipyard, a fact that Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland did not mention last week when she sharply criticized the purchase.

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