Good morning. It's Thursday, Feb. 1, and we're covering a potential change at the top of Ukraine's military, an abrupt end to a once-promising drug, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
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Current sales of the controversial Alzheimer's treatment Aducanumab will be discontinued, and further development halted, biotechnology firm Biogen said yesterday. The drug's approval in 2021 drew scrutiny over claims there was little evidence it improved outcomes for patients.
Marketed as Aduhelm, the treatment focused on attacking misfolded amyloid proteins—tangled structures in the brain linked to neurodegeneration and which have been implicated in the progression of the disease (the theory itself has recently been called into question). Clinical trials showed mixed results, with one set finding cognitive decline was delayed by around 20% over 18 months at high doses, while a second set showed no significant improvements.
Approval came despite around 40% of high-dose patients experiencing some degree of brain swelling, with 6% leaving the study due to side effects. Separately, a federal panel of outside experts urged the FDA to reject the drug. A congressional probe ultimately concluded federal officials inappropriately fast-tracked the drug, and three officials resigned as a result of the process.
Learn more about the challenges in finding an Alzheimer's cure here. |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly sought to dismiss his popular top general Valerii Zaluzhnyi after the general refused the president's request Monday to step down voluntarily, according reports yesterday. By yesterday evening Zelenskyy had pulled back on the request after potential successors were said to have refused the job.
The 50-year-old Zaluzhnyi has led Ukraine's armed forces since 2021 and currently holds the highest approval rating of any public Ukrainian official at 88%. He has been credited with quickly mobilizing the military ahead of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The two clashed publicly in November over divergent descriptions of last year's stalled counteroffensive, and they reportedly disagreed Monday over the possibility of a new mass mobilization in Ukraine. The news comes as Zelenskyy mulls scheduling elections this year despite wartime martial laws barring them.
Separately, Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner swap yesterday for the first time since a Russian military plane reportedly carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed last week. See more war updates here. |
Universal Music Group—the world's largest music company representing artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, and BTS—has announced it will no longer license music to social video platform TikTok.
The news comes as TikTok and UMG, which commands a third of the global music market, failed to reach new terms of a music licensing agreement after their previous contract expired yesterday. Sticking points included fair compensation for UMG's artists and songwriters, protection from AI-generated content, and concerns over infringement and safety issues. UMG claimed TikTok, which accounts for roughly 1% of its revenue, presented a new deal worth less than the previous one and lower than fair market value. UMG also claimed TikTok's approach to AI-generated music would dilute royalties for human artists and songwriters. Read UMG's open letter here.
Roughly 60% of TikTok content features music, helping to drive discoverability and sometimes pushing songs to the top of the charts. Without a deal in place, TikTok will be forced to pull roughly 4 million songs associated with UMG from its platform, and users will no longer be able to use those songs. |
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