Latest news with #Catanzaro
Medscape
06-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Benralizumab Maintains Remission in Asthma in Some, Not All
Clinical remission was achieved and sustained in nearly one third of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) receiving benralizumab for up to 2 years, with better outcomes in biologic-naive patients than in biologic-experienced patients. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a real-world study to evaluate if long-term remission was viable among adult patients with SEA (mean age at the index date, 55.2 years; 58.7% women) who received benralizumab for up to 96 weeks between 2018 and 2023. Of the 1070 patients included, 662 were biologic naive and 404 were biologic experienced; 55% received maintenance oral corticosteroids at baseline. The major outcome was clinical remission (defined as a composite of the absence of exacerbations, no use of maintenance oral corticosteroids, and well-controlled asthma) at weeks 0, 48, and 96. The association between baseline characteristics and the status of clinical remission at weeks 48 and 96 was also determined. TAKEAWAY: Clinical remission was achieved in 0.4% of patients at baseline, in 39.0% at week 48, and in 31.0% at week 96, with biologic-naive patients showing higher remission rates than biologic-experienced patients (36.0% vs 23.0%). Exacerbation-free status was achieved in 3.3% of patients at baseline, in 72.0% at week 48, and in 60.0% at week 96, with a greater number of biologic-naive patients being exacerbation-free than biologic-experienced ones (67.0% vs 55.0%). Overall, the proportion of patients not using maintenance oral corticosteroids increased from 65% at baseline to 76% at weeks 48 and 96. A lower dose of maintenance oral corticosteroids, lower body mass index, and higher blood eosinophil count at baseline were associated with achieving remission at week 96. IN PRACTICE: 'Outcomes were maintained irrespective of previous biologic use and key baseline characteristics that clinicians typically consider in their therapeutic decision-making. Patients with lower disease burden were more likely to achieve clinical remission, reinforcing the importance of early treatment intervention,' the authors wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Girolamo Pelaia, MD, Università Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy. It was published online on April 19, 2025, in CHEST . LIMITATIONS: This study lacked a control arm. The limited availability of data on lung function restricted its inclusion in the remission composite. The COVID-19 pandemic overlapped with the period of data collection, potentially affecting outcomes. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by AstraZeneca. Several authors reported being employees of and owning stock in AstraZeneca. Some others reported having other ties with AstraZeneca and various sources.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FDIC OKs Rhode Island bank's wind-down plan
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has approved East Greenwich, Rhode Island-based Independence Bank's plan to liquidate, according to FDIC enforcement actions released Friday, settling a years-long back-and-forth between the lender and the regulator. The bank was required to pay restitution of $3.5 million to affected consumers, according to a Jan. 14 order. The FDIC accused the bank of charging illegal fees for Small Business Administration 7(a) loans and causing the agency to lose an estimated $8.8 million. Since the bank seeks to terminate deposit insurance and surrender its banking charter, Independence was ordered to dispose of any SBA loans still in its portfolio and ensure continuance of servicing rights and obligations connected with any of its SBA loans, according to the consent order. The community lender, which neither admitted or denied the FDIC's allegations, also must ensure it's compliant with all laws and regulations related to ongoing maintenance of required information technology infrastructure, as well as document and data retention, the FDIC said. The development wraps up a saga that stems from a SBA lending scheme the FDIC said was perpetuated between 2017 and 2019 by the bank's former CEO, Robert S. Catanzaro; former chief operating officer Danielle M. Desrosiers; and John C. Ponte, a loan referral agent who referred small businesses to the bank for SBA loans. According to a February 2023 FDIC complaint, Catanzaro 'caused the Bank to enter into a high-risk non-diversified SBA lending strategy.' Ponte's company targeted struggling small businesses and referred the 'vast majority' of SBA loans the bank funded: On average, about 76% of the dollar amount of SBA loans approved and funded by Independence was from loans referred by Ponte, the FDIC said. Additionally, Ponte's company offered high-interest bridge loans to SBA loan applicants while they awaited approval and funding from the bank, the FDIC said; interest rates on these loans were 50% to 100%, the FDIC said. Ponte sought to shift the risk associated with these bridge loans, arranging to have the loans repaid from the proceeds of the SBA loans made by Independence, and concealing information about the bridge loans and their repayment from SBA loan proceeds, the FDIC charged. The SBA found the default rate of loans issued through Independence to be five times higher than those of peer banks, which cost the government agency millions of dollars, the FDIC said. Catanzaro and Desrosiers participated in the bridge loan scheme, the FDIC contended, and Catanzaro worked with Ponte to ensure the loans were not documented in the bank's records. The former CEO, who exhibited 'deficient risk management practices,' was 'repeatedly notified by the FDIC of deficiencies in the Bank's SBA Loan program,' the regulator said. While employed at the bank, Desrosiers also developed a romantic relationship with Ponte, which she didn't disclose to the board, and began working for his company. Once aware of the romantic relationship, in February 2017, the board took away Desrosiers' COO title, but made her executive vice president of independent sales organization lending. Desrosiers left the bank in 2018. All three faced FDIC fines, according to the 2023 complaint, and the regulator sought to ban each from the industry. The FDIC ordered Catanzaro's removal as CEO last year. The bank sued the FDIC and the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation in federal court in Rhode Island in October 2023, accusing the regulators of 'blatant federal and regulatory agency overreach.' The bank, which denied wrongdoing related to its SBA lending, said it was 'unable to overcome a Kafka-esque nightmare of the FDIC's design' because the regulator required Independence to operate for an indefinite amount of time, despite the bank's intention to wind down its operations, surrender its charter and terminate deposit insurance. Independence said it had incurred about $3.6 million in operating expenses since first raising voluntary liquidation with regulators. But the FDIC said the termination process couldn't begin until the bank's outstanding regulatory obligations were satisfied. The regulator sought to have $6.9 million in restitution paid to bank customers harmed by its SBA lending program. The case was dismissed Jan. 15. Cases Ponte filed against the FDIC, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were also dismissed. The FDIC also terminated a 2019 consent order against the bank. A lawyer representing the bank in its Rhode Island district court case declined to comment Wednesday. The bank's president, Heather L. Marshall, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Recommended Reading Fed, FDIC, OCC extend long-term debt comment period
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Eastern N.C. heart expert talks risk factors, symptoms during Heart Health Awareness Month
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — February is Heart Health Awareness Month and medical professionals in Eastern N.C. are advising people on symptoms to look out for. 'Symptoms can be very vague. They can differ in men and women,' Chief of the Division of Cardiology at ECU Health Dr. John Catanzaro said. 'So, chest pain, per se, can be felt differently in men or women. But, other additional symptoms really include chest pain or shortness of breath on exertion.' Physical stress and high blood pressure are some of the main factors that can lead to heart problems. 'That tends to make the wall of the heart thicker and can also make the wall of the heart stiffer,' Dr. Catanzaro said. 'If the wall of the heart is either stiffer, it's not able to fill as much. So, therefore, it's not going to pump enough blood out.' Dr. Catanzaro said people in Eastern N.C. have a higher risk for heart disease. 'Diet control and diet modifications are only affordable because as we only know these days, it's, it's very costly to live healthy and in patients with lower socioeconomic status and or lower access to hospital,' he said. 'In the 22 counties, what we're seeing is actually an age-adjusted elevation of younger patients getting heart disease. So, there's not only an increase in heart disease, but there's an increase in heart disease amongst younger patients and a lot of it is really not only genetic, but can be avoidable.' He said knowing your family history, more exercise and a lower alcohol intake can all be important. 'The way to empower patients is to inform them and having a knowledge of things that you can reverse and things that you can't reverse, meaning risk factors,' Dr. Catanzaro said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
