POLITICS

GOP lawmakers push for more diversity in clinical trials 

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Congressional Republicans are working to improve clinical trial diversity after the Trump administration clamped down on policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Trial diversity faltered after the administration purged all references to DEI from the websites of its agencies and in much of its research. Two recent reports say drug companies are not enrolling enough people in rural or underserved parts of the country.

The Food and Drug Administration was supposed to finish implementing a 2022 law that would require drug and medical device makers to submit plans for diversifying clinical trials. The Biden administration drafted guidance, but the Trump administration later scrubbed that guidance from the FDA website. Read more from STAT’s John Wilkerson.

EBOLA

The race for an Ebola therapy begins

A clinical trial testing two therapeutics against the Bundibugyo species of Ebola began Thursday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the WHO said during a press conference. The trial will test the antiviral drug remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences and sold under the name Veklury, and a monoclonal antibody named MBP-134, made by MappBio. The two will be tested both individually and in combination in a bid to find a drug that can improve survival chances.

Vasee Moorthy, head of the WHO’s R&D blueprint program, acknowledged it may take some time to reach an answer as to whether the drugs are effective individually or whether they are more effective when given together. “We shouldn't expect that this is going to be over in weeks. It will take some months; it could go even into next year,” he said. Moorthy said there are substantial doses of remdesivir available, and probably enough MBP-134 to successfully complete the clinical trial, though efforts are underway to ramp up production of the latter in case it proves effective.

DRC has confirmed 1,406 cases of Ebola so far in this outbreak, with 438 deaths. — Helen Branswell

RESEARCH

Male marathon runners more likely to ‘hit the wall’

“Pace yourself” is usually hard advice to follow. Though it turns out, it’s especially challenging for male runners, according to a study of nearly 900,000 Berlin marathon runners.

The research, published in Nature, found that men were twice as likely to experience a catastrophic decrease in their pace (dropping by 20% or more), a phenomenon known as “hitting the wall.” And, though the likelihood of the fastest athletes hitting the wall was lower overall, it was six times higher among elite male runners than among their female counterparts.

There is some physiology behind this — women tend to burn more fat and spend their carbohydrates more slowly — but the authors suggest there is not enough data to explain the study’s findings. It’s also possible that men overestimate their competitive ability and start too fast.

This finding also offers a clue to understand one of running’s most curious facts: Though men are faster than women, the longer the run, the smaller the gap between their performance. And once the length of the race crosses the 195-mile mark (you read that right), women tend to outperform men. — Annalisa Merelli