Pfizer’s gene therapy trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy resulted in a young patient’s death. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A young patient died due to cardiac arrest after receiving Pfizer’s experimental gene therapy being tested in a mid-stage trial for a muscle-wasting disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy(DMD), the drugmaker told Reuters on May 7.

“A fatal serious adverse event was reported as cardiac arrest for a participant in the Phase 2 DAYLIGHT study,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed response.

The trial is testing boys two to three years of age with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic muscle wasting disorder in which most patients lack the protein dystrophin which keeps muscles intact. The disorder affects an estimated one-in-3,500 male births worldwide.

“The patient received the investigational gene therapy, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, in early 2023,” as per a statement from a community letter attributed to the drugmaker’s DMD gene therapy team and posted by a nonprofit advocacy group.

Pfizer did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking confirmation on the community letter attributed to the company.

All participants will be followed in the study, for five years after treatment with gene therapy, initiated in August 2022 and estimated to complete in early 2029, as per information updated by the company on a registry of clinical trials.

The company said, together with the independent external data monitoring committee, it is in the process of reviewing the data to understand the potential cause.

The gene therapy candidate is also being tested in the another late-stage DMD study, called CIFFREO, in patients in boys 4 to less than 8 years of age, as per pipeline updates on the drugmaker’s website.

There is not an impact to our expectation of having late-stage results, the company told Reuters in its email.

“We anticipate potentially beginning the primary analysis of the Phase 3 CIFFREO trial of fordadistrogene movaparvovec at the end of this month and sharing top-line results relatively soon,” it added.

Homes are surrounded by floodwaters in Sohbat Pur city, a district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province
| Photo Credit: Zahid Hussain

Disaster events are not only becoming more frequent and severe but their impact is also expected to worsen. The year 2023 brought an end to the warmest decade on record, marked by unprecedented extreme weather events and large-scale disasters. These catastrophes were worsened by ongoing conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization titled ‘The Impact of Disaster on Agriculture and Food Security’ found that the frequency of extreme disaster events has risen significantly over the past 50 years. The 1970s saw approximately 100 disaster events per year. In the last 20 years, that number went up to about 400, globally (Chart 1). 

Chart 1 | The chart shows the number of disasters by EM-DAT (the international disaster database) grouping and total economic losses in $ billion.

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According to the EM-DAT database of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2022 witnessed nearly 31,000 deaths and an estimated $223.8 billion in economic losses from disasters, affecting over 185 million people. 

Agricultural activities and livelihoods rely heavily on environmental conditions, natural resources, and ecosystems. Globally, the agriculture sector faces growing threats from hazards such as flooding, water scarcity, drought, diminishing agricultural yields, fisheries depletion, loss of biodiversity, and environmental degradation. For instance, in Pakistan, exceptional monsoon rainfalls in 2022 led to nearly $4 billion in damages to the agricultural sector. In the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated over $21.4 billion in crop and rangeland losses in 2022, with drought and wildfires responsible for most of the crop losses.

Data from 88 Post-Disaster Needs Assessment surveys conducted from 2007 to 2022 in 60 countries indicated that agricultural losses constituted an average of 23% of the overall impact of disasters across all sectors. However, the available data are limited, primarily focusing on low-income countries and major extreme events. A comprehensive global estimate of economic losses across all sectors is unavailable.

PDNAs revealed that more than 65% of losses attributed to drought affected the agricultural sector, while floods, storms, cyclones, and volcanic activities each accounted for roughly 20% (Chart 2). 

Chart 2 | The chart shows the share of loss in agriculture by hazard type. 

However, data on loss and damage are not systematically collected or reported. To address this gap, the report used secondary data sources such as EM-DAT and FAOSTAT production data to quantify the impact of disasters on agriculture, with a specific focus on crop and livestock production. Findings indicated that estimated losses in these sub-sectors have been gradually increasing over the past three decades. 

The total loss from extreme events over the past 31 years amounted to approximately $3.8 trillion, averaging about $123 billion per year. 

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Losses across major crop and livestock product groups exhibited increasing trends (Chart 3). Over the past three decades, estimated losses in cereals averaged 69 million tonnes annually. Losses in fruits and vegetables, along with sugar crops, averaged 40 million tonnes each annually. Meats, dairy products, and eggs experienced an estimated loss of 16 million tonnes per year. 

Chart 3 | The chart shows the estimated loss in various product groups (in million tonnes) between 1991 and 2021.

The distribution of total losses across regions from 1991 to 2021 also reflected the geographic size of each region. Asia bore the largest share of economic losses (45%), while Africa, Europe, and the Americas displayed similar orders of magnitude. Oceania experienced the lowest total losses (Chart 4).

Chart 4 | The chart shows the distribution of the total estimated $3.8 trillion losses by region (1991-2021).

In absolute terms, high-income countries, lower-middle-income countries, and upper-middle-income countries reported higher losses, while low-income countries and Small Island Developing States experienced lower levels. However, when considering losses relative to agricultural value added, low-income countries suffered losses more than double those of upper-middle-income countries on average (Chart 5).

Chart 5 | The chart shows total agricultural losses as a share of agricultural GDP by country groups (1991-2021).

Source: FAO report titled “The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2023”

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Sweden supporters wait in the stands after the Euro 2024 group F qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden was halted at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, on October 16, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Belgian police early Tuesday hunted for a gunman with suspected extremist motives who killed two Swedes with stunning viciousness before disappearing into the night. He created such fear that authorities shut down a Belgium-Sweden football match and held 35,000 fans inside for several hours as a precaution.

Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said the investigation was centering on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting” after “a claim of responsibility was posted on social media.”

“This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” Mr. Van Duyse said. “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the probable motive.” Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran-burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.

“At this time, no element indicates a possible link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation,” Van Duyse said, offering scant relief on a continent where many nations have increased their vigilance for fear of attacks linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

In Belgium, the anti-terror center said the terror alert in the capital was raised to its top rating of 4, meaning a “threat is extremely serious.” It previously stood at 2, which means the threat was average. The alert level or the rest of the country was raised to 2.

“I have just offered my sincere condolences to @SwedishPM following tonight’s harrowing attack on Swedish citizens in Brussels,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo De Croo said. He added on X, formerly known as Twitter, “As close partners the fight against terrorism is a joint one.”

As for the football match, Mr. Van Duyse said, “security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters” at the game in the national stadium not far from the schooting.

Over two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen saying, “Fans, you can leave the stadium calmy.” Stand after stand emptied onto the streets filled with police as the search for the gunman continued.

“Frustrated, confused, scared. I think everyone was quite scared,” said Caroline Lochs, a fan from Antwerp.

Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said, “A horrible shooting in Brussels, and the perpetrator is actively being tracked down.”

Media reports aired amateur videos showing a man arriving on a scooter in an orange fluorescent vest, dropping the vehicle and immediately taking out a large weapon and opening fire on passersby. Apart from the two Swedes who were killed, a local taxi driver was hurt but his life was not in danger.

The attacker then picked up his scooter and sped off into the gathering darkness.

Even though only two people died in the attack, compared to dozens and dozens in extremist attacks in past years in Europe, the return of a sense of dread was immediate.

“Horrified at the indiscriminate killing in the heart of #Brussels tonight,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. “Terror and extremism cannot infiltrate in our societies. People must feel safe. Hate will not win.”

File picture of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari poses with his medal and diploma during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo December 10, 2008.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Nobel peace laureate Martti Ahtisaari, who served as Finland’s 10th president between 1994 and 2000, died on Monday at the age of 86, the Finnish president’s office said in a statement.

Ahtisaari was celebrated around the world for brokering peace in conflict zones in Kosovo, Indonesia and Northern Ireland.

Known by diplomats for his willingness to engage with all parties and ability to wait patiently for the right moment for a compromise, Ahtisaari refused to accept that wars and conflicts were inevitable.

“Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal,” Ahtisaari said when he accepted the Nobel award in 2008.