• Delaware: Former President Joe Biden recently underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure that is used to remove skin cancer lesions. According to the Associated Press, a Biden spokesperson confirmed the story after a video was published showing Biden with a fresh scar on his forehead. Biden previously had a skin cancer lesion, which turned out to be basal cell carcinoma, removed from his chest in 2023 while he was still in office. In May, Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. According to CNN, he has started a pill regimen to treat the cancer. "The expectation is we're going to be able to beat this," Biden said. "It's not in any organ, it's in – my bones are strong, it hadn't penetrated. So, I'm feeling good." (Saenz, CNN, 9/4; Megerian, Associated Press, 9/4)
• District of Columbia: The Trump administration last week announced that it would help provide Gilead Sciences' new HIV prevention drug lenacapavir to countries most impacted by the disease. According to the State Department, it will work with Gilead and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to ensure that up to 2 million people in up to a dozen countries could receive lenacapavir by 2028. The program will target pregnant and breastfeeding individuals to prevent parent-to-child HIV transmission. Treatments will be administered through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Although some advocates said they were pleased with the plan, which seemed to show the Trump administration's commitment to PEPFAR, others said the decision seemed to cut out LGBTQ+ people, the most at-risk population for HIV. In addition, it's not clear which countries will receive lenacapavir with U.S. support since the State Department declined to identify the 12 countries included in the plan. President Donald Trump also issued an executive order in February halting all U.S. aid to South Africa, the country with the highest HIV-positive population. According to Mitchell Warren, executive director of the HIV/AIDS prevention nonprofit AVAC, refusing to work with South Africa would be "shortsighted, epidemiologically and politically" and would undermine efforts to build a market for lenacapavir. (Taylor, Washington Post, 9/4)
• Maryland: FDA has approved a new drug from Ionis Pharmaceuticals to treat hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare genetic condition that causes painful swelling attacks. HAE affects around one in every 50,000 people, including over 20,000 people in the United States and Europe. In two late-stage clinical trials, Ionis' treatment, Dawnzera, was found to significantly reduce the rate of HAE swelling attacks, including for patients who switched from treatments already on the market. Dawnzera was able to reduce the monthly rate of swelling attacks by 81% when taken monthly and 55% when taken bimonthly. Benefits from the treatment increased and later converged after up to an additional year of treatment, with swelling attack rates decreasing by over 90% regardless of how often patients received treatment. "We think [Dawnzera] donidalorsen has the profile to meet the needs of many patients with HAE based on efficacy, tolerability, and convenience," said Ionis CEO Brett Monia. "The efficacy is truly remarkable." (Wosen, STAT+ [subscription required], 8/21)

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