Reframe Daily: ER-targeting pill tops standard care; SCLC antibody beats chemo; oral Cipro works; kidney-drug duo cuts damage

Reframe Daily is where Christin Chong (neuroscience PhD, chaplain, healthtech strategy consultant) curates optimistic and credible healthtech updates you won’t find in most popular news outlets, from sources scientists and healthcare providers read and trust.

Today in one sentence: A new kind of breast-cancer pill beat the usual treatment, an antibody drug helped people with small-cell lung cancer live longer than chemo, an oral antibiotic worked as well as shots for plague, another breast-cancer pill helped on its own or with abemaciclib, and starting two kidney drugs together cut signs of kidney damage in diabetes.

Christin’s note: hello friends, I’m back from a weeklong meditation retreat! 🙂 A side effect of continual awareness training in a mostly-silent environment is…excessive creative output 😅 which I hope to contribute to making Reframe more fun and useful for you. Lots of health-related chatter happened in the reframe discord community while I was away, so please come check it out and join in the conversation!

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Good news: A first-in-class PROTAC pill (vepdegestrant) for ER-positive breast cancer beat standard hormonal therapy in a randomized trial, suggesting a new way to shut down resistant tumors.

Vepdegestrant, a PROTAC Estrogen Receptor Degrader for Advanced ER-Positive Breast Cancer.

Market readiness: 🙂🙂🙂 (phase 3 results; not yet FDA-approved, but late-stage data). 

Good news: An immune-engaging antibody (tarlatamab) helped people with small-cell lung cancer live longer than chemotherapy in a confirmatory phase 3 trial.

Tarlatamab in Small-Cell Lung Cancer after Platinum-Based Chemotherapy.

Market readiness: 🙂🙂🙂🙂 (drug already FDA-available for later-line use; this shows benefit for an earlier line, so a label expansion could follow). 

Good news: For bubonic plague, 10 days of oral ciprofloxacin worked as well as injectable antibiotics—easier treatment that patients can take at home.

Ciprofloxacin versus Aminoglycoside–Ciprofloxacin for Bubonic Plague.

Market readiness: 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 (uses a widely available antibiotic; regimen could be adopted immediately where clinically appropriate). 

Good news: An all-oral selective estrogen-receptor degrader (imlunestrant) alone or with abemaciclib improved outcomes in advanced ER-positive breast cancer.

Imlunestrant with or without Abemaciclib in Advanced Breast Cancer.

Market readiness: 🙂🙂🙂 (phase 3 data; imlunestrant itself is investigational in the US). 

Good news: Starting two proven kidney-protective drugs together (finerenone + empagliflozin) cut urine albumin more than either alone, a key step linked to slowing diabetic kidney disease.

Finerenone with Empagliflozin in Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes (CONFIDENCE).

Market readiness: 🙂🙂🙂🙂 (both medicines are already FDA-approved; this randomized trial supports combined use though labels may not yet specify simultaneous initiation).

Thank you for taking the time to take care of yourself and your loved ones.