Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been a skeptic of the COVID-19 vaccines and highly critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who in his previous capacity as the director of the National Institute of Allergy And Infectious Diseases, spearheaded the vaccine drive against the pandemic.
It came as a surprise that the billionaire would throw his weight behind the new-age vaccines as a potential cure for cancer.
What Happened: Synthetic mRNA has “great potential” to cure cancer, Musk said on Twitter late on Monday. His comments came in response to a video of a CNBC interview with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) CEO Albert Bourla, shared by one of his followers.
See Also: Best Biotech Stocks
Bourla appeared on CNBC in connection with Pfizer’s deal to buy Seagen Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN), a precision oncology biotech, for $43 billion. While outlining the merits of the proposed deal, the pharma executive said Seagen’s cancer therapeutics are based on the antibody-conjugate, or ADC, technology. ADCs are “turbo-charged guided missiles” that can attack cancer cells and make a big difference, he added.
“I would say this is something like the mRNAs for vaccines, it is ADCs for cancer,” Bourla said.
Why It’s Important: It isn’t clear whether in earnest Musk meant Pfizer could have used the mRNA technology that powered the COVID-19 vaccine it co-developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) for its fight against cancer.
Incidentally, Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), Pfizer’s rival in the COVID-19 vaccine race, is developing a cancer vaccine along with Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK), combining the former’s nRNA vaccine, codenamed mRNA-4157, and the latter’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda.
In December, the two companies announced positive Phase 2b results for the investigational personalized combo therapy.
ADCs, meanwhile, are targeted medicines that deliver chemotherapy agents through a linker attached to a monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific target expressed on cancer cells. Once these bind to the target cells, they would release the cytotoxic cells into the cancer cells, which kills them without impacting the surrounding healthy cells.
Musk’s comment could also be construed as taking a potshot at Pfizer for not falling back on the mRNA technology for treating cancers and preferring another technology instead.
Read Next: Elon Musk Comes In Support Of COVID-19 Vaccines After Earlier Comments Courted Controversy
Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.
ENTER TO WIN $500 IN STOCK OR CRYPTO
Enter your email and you'll also get Benzinga's ultimate morning update AND a free $30 gift card and more!