About the public’s health
The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December: The headline speaks for itself.
A side-by-side comparison of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines: The “bottom line” is: similar efficacy in trials.
Compared to the Pfizer/BioNTech product, the Moderna vaccine doesn’t have as extreme cold storage needs, requires more than 3 times the dose, and the second dose is given 28 days after the first one (compared to 21 days).
About pharma
Federal judge blocks Trump administration drug pricing rule: “A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a last-minute Trump administration rule aimed at lowering drug prices as of next week.
The rule, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, would have tied reimbursements for 50 drugs by Medicare, a U.S. government insurance program, to the lowest prices paid by certain other countries. U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake in Maryland ruled that the administration had rushed the rule without giving the public a chance to comment, in violation of federal law.”
Merck Announces Supply Agreement with U.S. Government for Initial Doses of Investigational Biological Therapy for the Treatment of Patients with Severe and Critical COVID-19: “ Merck… announced it has entered into an agreement with the United States Government to support [$356 million] the development, manufacture and initial distribution of an investigational biological therapeutic (CD24Fc, to be named MK-7110) upon approval or Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Merck acquired MK-7110 through the acquisition of OncoImmune, a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company…
In September 2020, OncoImmune reported topline findings from an interim efficacy analysis of a Phase 3 study evaluating MK-7110 for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. An interim analysis of data from 203 participants (75% of the planned enrollment) indicated that hospitalized patients with COVID-19 treated with a single dose of MK-7110 showed a 60% higher probability of improvement in clinical status compared to placebo, as defined by the protocol. The risk of death or respiratory failure was reduced by more than 50%. The study is ongoing.”
About healthcare quality
New Measures Under Consideration Mark a Milestone for CMS’s Reimagined Quality Strategy to Increase Digital Innovation and Reduce Burden: “ The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services… unveiled its 2020 list of quality and efficiency measures under consideration… Every year, CMS evaluates all measures in its programs, proposing to remove those that have become less relevant and proposing new measures that may be more meaningful based on review by external health care experts. This year, almost all of the measures proposed would be collected digitally, meaning information comes from claims and other electronic sources, and would not require doctors to retrieve data manually.”
Read the posting for an explanation of the 20 measures CMS chose.
About healthcare systems
Tenet, Methodist Le Bonheur abandon $350M deal after FTC challenge: “The organizations called off the deal less than two months after the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaintseeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the transaction pending an administrative trial, which was slated to begin May 18. The Tennessee attorney general's office joined the FTC's complaint.”