Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.

Q: Six patients were still responding at 7.5 months of follow-up, according to research presented in San Diego at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). The highest trial dose was discontinued due to toxicity. Nearly a third of trial patients developed serious infections and other side effects included nerve damage and liver failure. Amgen said AMG420, which targets a protein linked to multiple myeloma known as BCMA, has been given fast track status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Based on these data, we plan to open an expanded trial,” David Reese, Amgen’s head of research and development, said in an interview. “We want to begin exploring quickly enrollment in earlier lines of therapy.”  Amgen’s pipeline of bispecific antibodies, which are designed to attach to a cancer cell and an immune cell, bringing them together so the body’s immune system can kill the cancer, are a cornerstone of the biotech company’s oncology research. Other companies are exploring different ways to attack the same BCMA target, including bluebird bio Inc, Celgene Corp and Johnson & Johnson. Earlier at the ASH meeting, bluebird and Celgene presented early trial data showing that experimental cell therapy bb21217 induced responses in 10 out of 12 heavily pre-treated myeloma patients. Bb21217 is a next-generation version of bb2121, the companies’ more advanced, but still experimental therapy in a class called CAR-T that requires harvesting a patient’s own disease-fighting T-cells, modifying them in a laboratory so they target specific proteins on cancer cells and infusing them back into the patient. The manufacturing process for bb21217 is designed to improve the persistence of the altered cells. J&J, which licensed BCMA-directed CAR-T LCAR-B38M from a unit of China-based GenScript Biotech Corp, on Monday presented updated results from a Chinese study of the cell therapy in 57 previously treated myeloma patients. It showed that 88 percent of patients responded to the treatment, and 74 percent achieved remission. J&J is currently enrolling patients in an international study aimed at validating those findings. Amgen has suggested the “off the shelf” nature of its antibody platform could be an advantage from both a clinical and commercial standpoint, but oncologists say more data is needed. Trial patients are hospitalized for their first cycle of AMG420, after which they receive the drug by continuous 24-hour infusion for four weeks, followed by two weeks off therapy, for up to 10 cycles. Amgen has another BCMA-targeting antibody that lasts longer in the body, requiring less frequent infusions, but that research is at an earlier stage. In the current study, 42 patients with multiple myeloma that  worsened after at least two prior treatments were given AMG420 at varying doses. A total of 13 patients responded to the treatment, including seven who achieved remission. Of the 20 patients with serious adverse events, 17 required hospitalization and four had prolonged hospitalization.

A: Amgen antibody shows promise in myeloma trial, gets FDA fast track.
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Q: Mustapha Redouane happily accepted the arrangement. He knew his mother’s idea would silence the school’s worries about his condition, a rare genetic disorder called xeroderma pigmentosum, or XP, which can make sun rays and other sources of ultraviolet light extremely damaging to the skin and eyes. The disorder is more common in North Africa than much of the world. “I hate the sun anyways. It gives me blisters,” he said, sitting on his mother’s lap, his face covered with the dark brown freckles that the school director considered a distraction to other students. Now 8, Mustapha has already had 11 operations to remove cancerous growths on his skin. His family is among thousands around the world struggling with XP, and increasingly sharing advice and seeking new treatments. In Morocco, families are also fighting for recognition, government help — and the simple right to go to school. The disorder affects about 1 in 10,000 people in North Africa — more than 10 times the rate in Europe and about 100 times the rate in the United States, according to Dr. Kenneth Kraemer, who researches XP at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Because the disorder is inherited, XP is more common in populations where marriage between relatives is high, Kraemer said. Affected children inherit two copies of a mutated gene, one from each parent. A 2016 Moroccan government study estimates about 15% of marriages are between family members. Living in a country where the sun shines year-round makes them more susceptible to skin cancers that can be caused by the disorder, said Fatima El Fatouikai, pediatric dermatology specialist at the Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca. Without protection, few XP patients in Morocco live beyond their teenage years, El Fatouikai said. It is particularly challenging in developing countries, where an awareness of the disorder and access to treatments are scarce, and in poor, rural communities where people spend more time outside. Outside of El Fatoikai’s office, families coming from all around Morocco sit in a waiting room eager for their names to be called. There is a rumor about a new XP treatment. The truth is, she says, “We only have prevention as a possible treatment. These children ... have to avoid even minimum sun exposure.” The main prevention measures: avoiding the sun and wearing protective clothing, face shields and sunscreen. Fatimazehra Belloucy, 25, has dealt with skin cancer and other problems because of XP. “If only people made it easier. Their words hurt. I feel entirely alienated,” she said, describing how she faces scared looks and hateful comments as she passes by. Her family limits interactions with her, fearful that the disease is contagious. “No one would take care of me, so I had to do it myself,” said Belloucy, who received her high school diploma and is now enrolled in university. She hopes to land work helping with the disease. Most Moroccan children with XP don’t continue their education. While U.S. schools install window filters for XP pupils and otherwise adapt to their needs, such accommodations are rare in Morocco. “It hurts me that I have to see little kids suffer because of lack of awareness,” says Habib El Ghazaoui, who quit his veterinary job and made it his life’s mission to raise awareness and help children with XP after learning that his daughter Fatimazehra had the disorder. His daughter, now a young adult raising awareness on social media, has had 50 operations for cancerous growths on her tongue, eyelids and elsewhere. She stays indoors and mostly sleeps during the day but, as the sun sets, she goes to parks and cafes, determined to lead a normal life. Ghazaoui leads the Association for Solidarity with Children of the Moon from his house in the town of Mohammedia. He juggles his time between visiting families, distributing donations of creams and masks, providing the Casablanca hospital with data and pressuring the government to take action. XP support groups are increasingly sharing advice online. They held an exceptional meeting in London last year to share “hundreds of practical hints” about hoods, window protections or meters to measure light — and even a French-designed face shield with a fan in it, said NIH researcher Deborah Tamura. The donations from Ghazaoui’s group reach families like those of Said El Mohamadi, a tailor in the city of Salé, whose 6-year-old daughter has the condition. His family is still debating the topic of school. “She’s sad, but I can’t risk taking her to school where there isn’t any kind of protection,” he said. “But she needs an education,” her mother Maria El Maroufi pleads. ___ Nadine Achoui-Lesage and Mosa’ab Elshamy in Casablanca and Mohammedia contributed.

A: When light is lethal: Moroccans struggle with skin disorder.
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Q: As the rest of the country celebrates the Festival of Lights, which falls on Wednesday this year, asthma sufferers like Prakash, 22, will be cooped up at home, dreading the blanket of smoke that worsens the already dire air quality. “I don’t step out of the house on Diwali nights,” says Prakash, a marketing professional in Pune. In New Delhi, the morning after Diwali always brings a blanket of thick white smog — and the situation is getting worse. A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board showed that noise and air pollution levels were higher during Diwali in 2010 than the previous year despite nationwide campaigns against firecrackers. “It’s a concern that pollution levels go up, noise levels go up, and the doctors in cities have also confirmed that hospital admissions during this time increase, due to symptoms related to pollution-related diseases,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, at the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “Every year during Diwali, pollution levels are quite high largely because of the firecrackers, but the traffic intensity also goes up during this time.”   Improvements in air quality after Delhi imposed rules making auto-rickshaws and buses run off liquefied natural gas have been partly offset by new cars on the road — and their numbers have nearly doubled over the last decade, thanks to rising incomes. Indians are at high risk of respiratory ailments, heart disease and lung cancer, according to recent World Health Organization (WHO) data that showed Delhi’s air had almost 10 times the recommended level of PM10 particulate matter, or particles small enough to penetrate to the deepest part of the lungs and cause health problems. The air in the Indian cities measured ranges between 80 and 251 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10. The WHO recommends not exceeding 20 micrograms per cubic meter. But firecracker-free Diwali campaigns have not been entirely successful, with most revelers looking forward to the noise and lights as part of the festival fun. Climate and energy campaigner K. Srinivas has a solution. “If you really want to light up the world with crackers, why not light up with solar lanterns and give them to people, or try to light up a few people’s houses, or a few villages,” Srinivas said. “The amount of money that is spent on crackers can easily power a number of houses in rural areas.”

A:
Smog dims shine of India's festival of lights.
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