Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on June 8, 2025
Roger Tan, 48, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in late 2024 and given less than 12 months to live. Despite this, he remains remarkably positive, focusing on meaningful work such as helping former inmates find purpose within society.
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
6 fell ill after eating food from Ayam Penyet President in Bukit Panjang mall, company fined $1,000
Tiberias International Food, which owns the Ayam Penyet President chain of restaurants, was fined 1,000 on June 4 for food safety lapses at the Bukit Panjang outlet. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) received reports of gastroenteritis involving six people who had consumed food prepared by Ayam Penyet President in June 2024. MOH and SFA conducted a joint inspection of the restaurant in Hillion Mall and found multiple food safety lapses. They included a dirty chiller, which increases the risk of cross contamination of food items, as well as dirty racks and wall tiles, which were indicative of poor food safety standards on the premises. PHOTO: SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY In October 2020, the Ayam Penyet President outlet in Kallang Wave Mall was suspended for two weeks and fined $800 for unclean food and failure to register an assistant. SFA said all food operators should ensure their premises are clean and well-maintained, as well as adhere to proper food hygiene and food safety requirements. Food operators found to be in violation of the Environmental Public Health Act are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction. Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on:
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Novo's Ozempic linked to rare cases of serious eye disorder, EU regulator says
Studies in type-2 diabetes patients have linked Ozempic to the condition called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. PHOTO: REUTERS Novo's Ozempic linked to rare cases of serious eye disorder, EU regulator says Novo Nordisk's popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic may in very rare cases cause a serious eye condition that can lead to vision loss, the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) safety committee said on June 6 . In the past, studies in type-2 diabetes patients have linked Ozempic to the condition called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (Naion). This is the first time a regulator has confirmed the side effect. The condition may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic as well as in Novo's other diabetes drug Rybelsus, for at least one year, the regulator said. Naion is the second-most common cause of blindness due to optic nerve damage, after glaucoma. 'This has been reported as a potential risk for some time, so I think the clinical community is relatively aware of it. I don't see this as making any major difference to prescribing patterns,' said Barclays analyst Emily Field. US-listed shares of the Danish drugmaker were up nearly 2.5 per cent in early trading. The EMA, which started its review in December, has asked Novo to add Naion as a side effect of very rare frequency in the product information accompanying drugs that contain semaglutide. Novo said it would work with the EMA to update the labels, adding clinical trials and after-market studies did not suggest a reasonable possibility that the drugs caused the condition. The 'benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains favourable', the company said in a statement. Novo has recently faced investor concerns that it is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity treatment market, leading the company to oust chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May. Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound currently dominate the weight-loss drug market, potentially worth about US$150 billion (S$193 billion) by the next decade. The EMA said several large studies in type-2 diabetes patients have suggested that use of Novo's drugs could raise the risk of developing Naion by twofold. A study of nearly 350,000 diabetes patients published in March showed that the risk of developing Naion more than doubled after two years of treatment with Ozempic, compared with patients taking medicines from other classes. The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on whether the Food and Drug Administration was conducting a probe into the side effect. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope
Mr Tim Friede, 57, who has exposed himself to snake venom hundreds of times with an aim to build up immunity, poses with a water cobra. PHOTO: AFP Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope PARIS - Mr Tim Friede was feeling particularly down on the day after the Sept 11 attacks, so he went to his basement and let two of the world's deadliest snakes bite him. Four days later, he woke up from a coma. 'I know what it feels like to die from snakebite,' Mr Friede told AFP via video call from his home in the small US town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. This experience might put most people off snakes entirely, but Mr Friede simply vowed to be more careful next time. From 2000 to 2018, he allowed himself to be bitten by snakes more than 200 times. He also injected himself with their venom over 650 times. Mr Friede endured this pain because he wanted to achieve total immunity to venom, a practice called mithridatism which should not be tried at home. After a couple of years, Mr Friede started to believe he could be the basis for a better kind of antivenom. The former truck mechanic, who does not have a university degree, long struggled to be taken seriously by scientists. But in May , a study published in the prestigious Cell journal showed that antibodies from his blood protect against a range of snake venom. The researchers now hope Mr Friede's hyper-immunity could even lead to the development of a universal antivenom. This would fill a major need, because currently most antivenoms only cover one or a few of the world's 600 venomous snakes. Up to 138,000 people are killed by snakebites a year, while 400,000 suffer amputations or other disabilities, according to the World Health Organisation. These figures are believed to be vastly underestimated because snakebite victims typically live in poorer, remote areas. 'Pain every time' Mr Friede's first bite was from a harmless garter snake when he was five years old. 'I was afraid, I cried, I ran away,' said Mr Friede, now 57. Then he started bringing snakes home and hiding them in pickle jars. His mother sought counselling, but his interest in snakes persisted. Things escalated after Mr Friede attended a class that taught him how to 'milk' snakes for their venom. How antivenom is made has changed little over the last 125 years. Small doses of snake venom are injected into animals such as horses, which produce antibodies that can be extracted and used as antivenom. Researchers hope Mr Friede's hyper-immunity could even lead to the development of a universal antivenom. PHOTO: AFP However, this antivenom usually only works for bites from that particular species of snake – and it includes other antibodies from horses that can cause serious side-effects including anaphylactic shock. 'I thought, well, if they make antivenom in horses, why can't I just use myself as a primate?' Mr Friede said. He started working through the venom from all the deadly species he could get his hands on, such as cobras, taipans, black mambas and rattlesnakes. 'There is pain every time,' he said. 'Proud' For years, the scientists he contacted to take advantage of his immunity refused to bite. Then in 2017, immunologist Jacob Glanville, who previously worked on universal vaccines, turned his attention towards antivenom. Dr Glanville told AFP he had been looking for 'a clumsy snake researcher who'd been bit accidentally a couple times', when he came across a video of Mr Friede taking brutal back-to-back snake bites. When they first spoke, Dr Glanville said he told Mr Friede: 'I know this is awkward, but I would love to get my hands on some of your blood.' 'I've been waiting for this call for a long time,' came the response, Dr Glanville said. The antivenom described in the Cell paper includes two antibodies from Mr Friede's blood, as well as a drug called varespladib. It offered mice full protection against 13 of the 19 snake species tested, and partial protection for the remaining six. The researchers hope a future cocktail will cover far more snakes – particularly vipers – with further trials planned on dogs in Australia. Dr Timothy Jackson of the Australian Venom Research Unit praised the immunological research, but questioned whether a human needed to be involved, pointing to synthetically developed antibodies. Dr Glanville said the ultimate goal of his US-based firm Centivax was to develop a universal antivenom administered by something like an EpiPen, potentially produced in India to keep the costs down. Mr Friede said he was 'proud' to have made a 'small difference' in medical history. Now working for Centivax, Mr Friede stopped self-inflicting himself with venom in 2018 to save the firm from liability issues. But he hopes to get bitten by snakes again in the future. 'I do miss it,' he said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
