The Daily

A new 2026 ranking from Resonance (with Ipsos perception data) puts London, Paris and Berlin on top — not as tourist magnets, but as places to live, scored across 47 metrics that roll up into livability, lovability and prosperity. Paris gets specific credit for its 15‑minute city approach and the mobility shift driven by the Grand Paris Express. Berlin’s case is anchored in its “climate‑positive” push and the transformation of Tegel into Berlin TXL. The fun local footnote: Vienna also lands in the top 10, which is exactly the kind of “quality-of-life halo” that changes how people plan longer stays.

Rail Europe is integrating European Sleeper services into its booking platform and API, giving sellers easier access to overnight cross‑border routes linking Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels and Prague — plus the recently launched Paris–Berlin service. The data point that matters: France saw night‑train passenger numbers rise 26% from 2023 to 2024, exceeding 1 million passengers for the first time in decades (ART data). This is more than nostalgia: it’s capacity‑constrained demand meeting a distribution layer that can actually sell the product. If you like travel that turns transit into “the hotel”, 2026 is your year.

Politico reports that Common Sense Media is courting major AI companies (including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google) to bankroll a planned institute that would assess AI risks to children. The headline number: firms were reportedly asked to pay $10 million annually over a decade — with an endowment target around $500 million. The sensitive bit is governance: documents and sources suggest donors could be offered input on how models get evaluated (Common Sense disputes key details, but confirms early funding talks). The obvious implication is a legitimacy arms race: the “default auditor” for kid‑safety AI in California could become a powerful choke point — so the firewall design will matter as much as the test design.

Anthropic has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government to share its economic index data — a way to track AI adoption across sectors and its effects on jobs and productivity. The agreement also covers participation in joint safety evaluations and research with Australian universities, plus stated ambitions around data‑center and energy investment. Australia still has no specific AI legislation and is leaning on existing laws plus voluntary guidelines. This is the “soft power” phase of AI governance: partnerships first, statutes later.

In a Dark Reading interview, Zscaler’s Steve Grossenbacher argues that AI makes “bolt‑on” data protection stacks (endpoint DLP + CASB + one‑off tooling) unworkable at scale. The proposed fix is combining inline DLP with data security posture management (DSPM) — and, crucially, moving to a centralized DLP policy so decisions don’t fragment across multiple engines. This is sponsored content, but the architectural point is real: AI adoption turns data governance from compliance hygiene into operational survival.

Cipla says it received final USFDA approval for its ANDA for nintedanib capsules (100mg and 150mg), the generic equivalent of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Ofev, for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The launch is positioned as immediate, with Cipla highlighting a “robust supply plan” and specialty distribution readiness. The market size signal is blunt: Cipla cites IQVIA data showing Ofev generated about $3.76B in U.S. sales (MAT Jan 2026). For payers and pulmonology clinics, it’s another step toward IPF becoming a more price‑competitive category.

Merck’s investigational cholesterol pill enlicitide (an oral PCSK9 inhibitor) looks increasingly like the “injectable‑like efficacy, but as a pill” bet the industry has been waiting for. In the Phase 3 CORALreef AddOn study (300+ patients on background statins), Merck reported LDL‑C reductions at 8 weeks of 56.7% vs Nexletol and 36% vs Zetia (and 28.1% greater reduction vs Nexlizet). The strategic lever is regulatory speed: the program has a Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher that could cut FDA review from 10–12 months to 1–2 months. If the filing lands by summer, analysts are already modeling a possible fall 2026 approval window.

Biogen has agreed to acquire Apellis for about $5.6B, offering $41/share plus up to $4 more tied to Syfovre sales milestones. The deal gives Biogen control of Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) for geographic atrophy (FDA 2023) and Empaveli (also pegcetacoplan) used in PNH and C3 glomerulopathy, and it accelerates Biogen’s push into nephrology alongside its in‑house felzartamab program. The numbers: Apellis reported $587M Syfovre sales last year and $102M Empaveli sales. Biogen’s thesis is obvious: diversify hard as Tysabri faces biosimilar pressure.

Kurzliste: Kinderliteraturfestival (15.–21.4.), „Dornröschen“ Figurentheater (11./17./18./25./26.4.), „Peter und der Wolf“ (16.11., 12€), „Karneval der Tiere“ (14.6., 12€). WIENXTRA kündigt das Kinderliteraturfestival Wien im Theater Odeon (Taborstraße 10, 1020) an: eine Woche mit über 50 Programmpunkten und einer Ausstellung mit mehr als 1.000 ausgewählten Kinder- und Jugendbüchern. Der Eintritt ist frei, allerdings richtet sich das Angebot laut WIENXTRA vor allem an Schulklassen (Anmeldung erforderlich). Wenn ihr Lehrer:innen im Freundeskreis habt: jetzt schon vormerken — das ist genau die Art Format, die Kinder wirklich zu Büchern hinzieht, weil es nicht „pädagogisch klingt“.

Wer eine „sichere Bank“ für einen kinderfreundlichen Nachmittag sucht: Die Märchenbühne spielt im April 2026 „Dornröschen“ (4+) mehrfach (u.a. 11.4., 17.4., 18.4., 25.4., 26.4.) im DAS OFF THEATER / OPEN.BOX (Kirchengasse 41, 1070). Laut Programmfolder ist die Standard‑Beginnzeit 16:00 (außer anders angegeben), Eintritt 9€ (mit Ausnahmen). Das ist klassisches Wien-Figurentheater: nicht hip, aber zuverlässig gut, und Eltern können dabei tatsächlich kurz durchatmen.

A Nature (Leukemia) piece takes the unglamorous but decisive angle on CAR‑T in myeloma: pharmacokinetics — what expands, when it peaks, and how long it persists. The core argument is simple: with living drugs, the infusion number is only the opening move; expansion kinetics and persistence correlate with response and toxicity, but are not consistently measured or standardized across trials. That matters as myeloma shifts toward earlier‑line CAR‑T and “sequence wars” vs bispecifics, because clinicians will need better comparability than “ORR vs ORR”. The next hard problem is operational: turning PK thinking into monitoring that busy clinics can actually run.

A retrospective analysis of 195 patients treated with axi‑cel for R/R large B‑cell lymphoma (Jan 2018–Apr 2023) compares a newer toxicity protocol (earlier steroids + anakinra) to prior practice. In the post‑change cohort (N=103), anakinra use rose to 22% (vs 5%) and steroid use to 88% (vs 71%), with no increase in cumulative steroid dose. The headline outcomes: a significant reduction in duration of CRS (−0.93 days adjusted) and ICANS (−2.49 days adjusted), while ICU admissions and length of stay were similar. The implication is pragmatic: getting ahead of toxicity may buy days of neurologic recovery without necessarily “turning off” the CAR‑T.

GEN reports on a dual‑vector approach designed to generate CAR‑T cells in vivo rather than manufacturing them ex vivo — the long‑term dream for speed, cost, and access. The scientific bet is that delivery + control can be made reliable enough to produce therapeutic CAR expression without unacceptable off‑target effects. Even if the first applications end up being narrower (e.g., hematologic targets with clearer biomarkers), the platform implication is huge: if you can remove the factory step, you can change the geography of who gets CAR‑T. The near‑term question is safety and dose control, not hype.

Charlotte handled Phoenix 127–107 behind Miles Bridges (25) and a clean, modern “win the math” profile: the Hornets hit 18 of 39 from three and outrebounded the Suns 47–31. The real milestone was rookie Kon Knueppel, who made four more threes to reach 261 on the season — a new Hornets franchise record, edging Kemba Walker’s 260 (2018–19). For Phoenix, Devin Booker had 22 and Jalen Green 25, but the Suns’ road form keeps wobbling.

USA Today’s updated bracket snapshot (as of April 1) is a reminder that the calendar is doing what it always does: compressing chaos into two weeks. The Play‑In Tournament begins April 14 and the first round tips April 18, with 20 teams already locked in and seeding still shifting. The point isn’t the exact matchups today — it’s that every “rest vs chase” decision now has immediate bracket consequences. This is the window where a single two‑game skid turns into a week of travel, matchup hell, and a shorter offseason.

Kurzliste: Soft Opening Karlsplatz (9.4. nachmittags), offizielles Opening KunstHausWien (9.4. ab 19:00), Ausstellungen „Seeds“ + „I Wish We Had More Time“, Familienprogramm am Karlsplatz. Die Klima Biennale läuft von 9. April bis 10. Mai und bringt Kunst gezielt in den öffentlichen Raum — mit Hauptstandorten KunstHausWien und Karlsplatz. Laut 1000things beteiligen sich 50+ Partnerinstitutionen, und jede Woche setzt einen eigenen thematischen Schwerpunkt. Das Spannende ist nicht das Label „Klimakunst“, sondern die Frage, wie sehr das Festival die Stadt als Bühne nutzt (und nicht nur als Location-Liste).

Kurzliste: Eröffnung 15.4. (19:00), Franz Liszt‑Saal (1030), zweifaches Jubiläum (20 Jahre Verein / 10 Jahre Zentrum). Das Exilarte Zentrum der mdw eröffnet am 15. April 2026 seine Jubiläumsausstellung (geschlossene Veranstaltung), die erstmals ein breites Panorama der betreuten Nachlässe zeigt — inklusive Kontext zu verfemten Komponist:innen und ihrer Wirkungsgeschichte. Der Eintritt ist laut mdw‑Kalender frei, die Veranstaltung markiert ein doppeltes Jubiläum (20 Jahre exil.arte Verein, 10 Jahre Exilarte Zentrum). Wer Erinnerungskultur lieber konkret als abstrakt mag, sollte das im April im Blick behalten.