From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— The latest DHS report on the health of Wisconsinites shows low-income residents are more likely to report having poor health.
The State Health Assessment report, which is issued by the state Department of Health Services every five years, shows about 82% of adults in the state said they had excellent, very good or good health in 2024. But the other 18% said they were in fair or poor health.
When broken down by income category, about 30% of adults with household incomes below $50,000 per year report having fair or poor health. For those with income between $50,000 and $100,000, that percentage drops to 13.4%. It then falls further to 7.7% for those making $100,000 or more.
“This further demonstrates how when people have adequate income, they can more easily access the things that keep them healthy — like medications and healthy foods,” authors wrote.
The wide-ranging 107-page report includes a section on healthcare access, which notes residents say they care they need “isn’t readily available” within their communiites, prompting long wait times and the need to travel for care.
Residents say they need help coordinating care across many providers and systems, and need providers who “understand their lives, cultures, languages” and other key factors.
“They are burned out from caring for the health needs of others in their households, and getting enough professional in-home care is not affordable,” authors wrote.
The report spotlights other health challenges for state residents, such as the declining childhood vaccination rate. Last year, 66.9% of children in the state completed the recommended seven-vaccine series by age 2, marking a decline from 72.1% in 2019.
Authors note vaccination rates tend to be lower in rural areas, for children in families getting BadgerCare Plus, and for Black children in Wisconsin.
“Barriers to vaccination still exist, including vaccine misinformation and distrust, as well as access to vaccination services and coverage,” authors wrote.
— Archeus Technologies has begun a clinical trial for a cancer therapy and companion diagnostic, the Madison-based drug development firm announced.
The company yesterday said it has begun dosing patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial for its ARC-706 therapy and the companion diagnostic ARC-166. The study involves patients with metastatic cancer getting immunotherapies known as immune checkpoint inhibition or ICI treatment.
Participants in the imaging and therapy study will first get intravenous ACR-166 followed by the ARC-706 therapy to assess its safety, distribution in the body, potential to “augment anti-tumor immune response” and other factors, according to the announcement.
Other goals include determining an ideal dose of the therapy for later phases of treatment and analyzing changes in other cancer-related indicators.
Earlier studies found administering the therapy at specific doses based on results from the companion diagnostic imaging can “significantly increase the response rate to ICI therapies” and the duration of patients’ response.
Dr. Grace Blitzer, who’s leading the study, is an assistant professor of human oncology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and a radiation oncologist with the UW Carbone Cacner Center.
“By combining functional imaging with targeted radiotherapy, we hope to demonstrate meaningful clinical benefit to patients without disrupting ongoing immune-based treatment—a goal that could have wide-reaching impact across multiple tumor types,” she said in a statement on the trial.
See more in the release below.
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