Lowest COVID Death Toll In 6 Months In US

On Sunday, the United States reported the lowest number of deaths from coronavirus in more than six months.

With just 277 deaths, the total death toll due to the pandemic in the country rose to 555001, according to latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. This is just one third of the weekly average of 816.

The last time a lower daily COVID death toll was recorded in the U.S. on September 27, 2020.

The holiday weekend also witnessed a significantly lower number of new cases. With 36670 new cases reporting nationwide, the national total reached 30706129. This is far below the 7-day average of 64,019.

New York led in both COVID metrics – 7607 new cases and 82 deaths.

As per the data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sunday, about 165 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the country.

In major COVID-related developments in other parts of the world, India recorded on Sunday its highest number of new infections in a single day since the pandemic began. With more than 100,000 confirmed cases, the national total increased to 12,589,067, which is the third-highest in the world.

In South Korea, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol warned that there is increasing trend of a fourth wave of coronavirus infections in the country.

The UK government announced free coronavirus tests to people in the country starting Friday.

Argentine President Alberto Fernández has tested positive for coronavirus two months after receiving the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine.

Deadly shooting at Birmingham park on Easter leaves 1 dead and 5 injured, including 4-year-old

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — One woman died and five other people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a Birmingham park Sunday evening as people gathered on Easter, police said.

The woman, 32, was pronounced dead inside a car at Patton Park, police Sgt. Rod Mauldin told reporters. The five other people who were shot — ages 21, 17, 16, 15 and 4 — went to hospitals and were stable. The names of the people shot were not immediately released.

The shooting stemmed from an altercation in the park where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate Easter. Mauldin said the 32-year-old woman who was killed was an innocent bystander.

No suspects were in custody as of Sunday night. Police urged anyone with information to come forward.

LG to shut mobile phone business worldwide

LG Electronics announced on Monday that it is closing its mobile business unit.

The decision was approved by its board of directors.

LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will help the company focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.

In a release LG said it will provide service support and software updates for existing customers for a period of time which will vary from country to country.

Moving forward, LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas.

The wind down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although inventory of some existing models may still be available after that, the release added.

Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Exelixis Says FDA Accepts IND For XB002 In Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors – Quick Facts

Biotechnology company Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL) announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary antitumor activity of XB002 in patients with advanced solid tumors.

As a next-generation tissue factor-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), XB002 has the potential for an improved therapeutic index and may provide a favorable safety profile compared with earlier-generation tissue factor-targeting ADCs.

XB002 (formerly ICON-2) is an ADC composed of a human monoclonal antibody against tissue factor that is conjugated to a cytotoxic agent. After binding to tissue factor on tumor cells, XB002 is internalized, and the cytotoxic agent is released, resulting in targeted tumor cell death.

Preclinical data demonstrated that XB002 binds to tissue factor without affecting the coagulation cascade, in contrast with prior therapies in this class. The data also demonstrated encouraging activity of XB002 in multiple solid tumor cancer models and improved tolerability compared with other tissue factor-targeting ADCs. XB002 has shown significant tumor growth inhibition and, in some cases, complete regression.

LG to shut mobile phone business worldwide

LG Electronics announced on Monday that it is closing its mobile business unit.

The decision was approved by its board of directors.

LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will help the company focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.

In a release LG said it will provide service support and software updates for existing customers for a period of time which will vary from country to country.

Moving forward, LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas.

The wind down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although inventory of some existing models may still be available after that, the release added.

Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters