Novel gene therapy for hemophilia - Shareables Hope & Optimism #13

This week: life-threatening paper cuts and renewable energy spotlight [View this email in your browser]( Hey everyone, Happy Friday! We're layered up indoors and blasting the heater to stay warm. During the cold winters, health and warmth are top of mind for a lot of us, so we wanted to discuss some of the big picture things happening on these fronts. Enjoy! If it's your first time reading or a friend sent this to you, you can [subscribe here](. Image courtesy of Pexels/cottonbro studio [(1) First of Its Kind Gene Therapy Treatment Approved for Hemophilia]( This one’s big. There’s a disease called hemophilia that, simply put, makes it difficult for you to stop bleeding once you start. Your blood doesn’t clot well. Imagine genuinely being at risk of death for something as inconsequential as a paper cut (extreme exaggeration, but you get the point). The good news is that the FDA just approved a novel gene therapy treatment that replaces the dysfunctional gene causing this disease. Currently, those afflicted need to have regular injections of the missing clotting factor. Those who have it the worst may need injections every 2-3 days…or 150 times a year, an absolutely ridiculous inconvenience. This new treatment, named Hemgenix, should only require a single dose and completely eliminate that need for regular infusions. This is all amazing news with only a single downside. The $3.5 million treatment price tag. As we understand it, the drug and treatment is notoriously difficult to mass produce, making it difficult to bring treatment costs down to an affordable level. While we’re certainly excited about the discoveries and innovations in biotech and pharmaceuticals, the solutions ultimately still need a pathway to be delivered into the hands of the broader community, not just those who can afford it. It’s particularly difficult for the patients who have been waiting for more than two decades for this new form of treatment to be released, only to find that they’re utterly and absolutely priced out. We’re hoping that researchers will find a way to work around production constraints and get these treatments into the hands of everyone who desperately needs it. [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of Ember [(2) Renewables met 100% of the rise in global electricity demand in the first half of 2022]( If you’re only skimming through the news, the last couple of months may have convinced you that global energy prospects look dim. On the contrary, humanity is making significant progress on the renewable energy frontier. According to London-based energy think tank Ember, during the first half of 2022, renewables satisfied the increase in global electricity demand (75% wind/solar, 25% hydro), making any increase in coal/gas unnecessary. In the end, this counteracted a potential 4% increase in fossil fuel use, dodged $40 billion in fuel costs, and eliminated a substantial amount of CO2 emissions. The report follows 75 countries that make up 90% of global electricity demand and shows that coal/gas displacement by renewables is significant. For instance, China satisfied 92% of its growth in electricity demand with wind and solar while the US achieved 81%. As a result, global CO2 power sector emissions did not worsen and stayed flat for the first half of 2022, despite a noticeable increase in electricity demand. This is a great opportunity to pause and commend renewable efforts, but we can’t forget that global power sector emissions are still at all-time highs; the trends need to reverse. Thankfully, homegrown wind and solar energy continue to prove effective and cost efficient. We’ll likely see countries around the world double and triple down on this going into the near future! [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of Pexels/Narcisa Aciko [(3) U.S. Renewable Energy Will Surge Past Coal and Nuclear by Year’s End]( Speaking of fossil-fuel dependencies and reversing those trends, renewables will likely outpace coal and nuclear by the year’s end. Wind, solar, and hydro are predicted to meet 22% of US electricity by year end, compared with coal at 20% and nuclear at 19%. Construction and production of renewables infrastructure has been progressing as fast as realistically possible, though there are concerns on whether the country’s climate goals will be met due to supply chain blocks and trade disputes. The US government is aligned with pushing progress in this area with its $369 billion clean energy investments, but the Inflation Reduction Act requires renewable installation rates to at least reach double of the record levels we saw in 2020 and 2021. It’s estimated that 930 GW of wind, solar, and battery projects are backlogged, built but still waiting to be connected to the grid. For reference, the total US power grid is 1,150 GW. The pace at which we reduce this backlog will determine how quickly we can retire coal and operate coal plants as sparingly as possible. As it stands now, for 2023, gas is projected to fall from 38% to 36% and coal from 20% to 19%. We’re certainly making progress in the right direction, but hopefully we’ll find a way to clear these systematic supply chain roadblocks. [(Full article)]( “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” - Peace Pilgrim As always, we'd love to hear your feedback regarding the newsletter. Let us know if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas and email us directly at newsletter@sbly.com. If you come across great news that you feel compelled to share, send it over to us [using this form here]( and we'll try to include some submissions in the upcoming emails! Thanks for reading! [:heart:][:wave:] See you in a few days for another happy start to the week! [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [About Shareably Media]( [Email](mailto:newsletter@shareably.net) If you enjoyed today's newsletter, share it with someone by clicking one of the buttons below! [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Have feedback? Email us at newsletter@shareably.net! Did a friend forward this to you? [Subscribe here]( Want to advertise with us? Reach out using [this form here](. Copyright © 2022 Shareably Media, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at one of our websites. 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