About health insurance
New bill seeks to boost participation in advanced payment models, ACOs via several reforms:”The Value in Health Care Act introduced on July 24 proposes several changes to Medicare’s alternative payment models. It would boost payments for not only ACOs but also extend bonus payments to clinicians working in advanced APMs.”
About healthcare quality
2020-21 Best Hospitals Honor Roll and Medical Specialties Rankings: Annual US News rankings.
Mayo is overall #1.
About pharma
Potent neutralizing antibodies directed to multiple epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 spike: Researchers “report the isolation of 61 SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from 5 infected patients hospitalized with severe disease.” The implication is that vaccines and treatments may need to have multiple components to successfully prevent or fight SARS-CoV-2.
Identification of an Anti-diabetic, Orally Available Small Molecule that Regulates TXNIP Expression and Glucagon Action: Researchers found the small molecule SRI-37330 inhibits expression of the gene TXNIP in mouse and human pancreatic islet cells that are responsible for glucose regulation. Oral SRI-37330 decreases glucagon secretion (which increases blood sugar), blocks hepatic glucose output and reverses obesity. This potential drug represent s a new mechanism for diabetes treatment.
Disrupting the platelet internal membrane via PI3KC2α inhibition impairs thrombosis independently of canonical platelet activation: Antiplatelet therapy to prevent strokes and heart attacks impairs platelets’ ability to form clots and can lead to bleeding disorders. Researchers found a more targeted mechanism that prevents clotting related only to impaired flow. If a workable drug can be found that achieves this effect it would be a safer alternative to current therapies.
Generic drug trade group loses bid to block California pay-to-delay law:”A federal appeals court denied a bid by generic drug trade group Association for Accessible Medicines to block a California law banning pay-to-delay deals between drugmakers….
Pay-to-delay deals happen when a brand-name drugmaker pays a generic drugmaker to delay launching a generic version of a drug so the brand-name drugmaker can continue selling it without competition for a longer period of time.
The Federal Trade Commission has said such deals cost U.S. consumers about $3.5 billion annually.
California became the first state to outlaw such deals in October 2019.”
Drugmakers refuse to attend White House meeting after Trump issues executive orders on costs: “A White House meeting with top pharmaceutical executives that President Donald Trump promised for Tuesday is off, five industry sources familiar with discussions told POLITICO. Three said the drug-pricing discussion was canceled because the major drug lobbies, reeling from Friday’s cluster of executive orders on the topic, refused to send any members.”
President Trump announces $265 million award to Fujifilm for coronavirus vaccine manufacturing: “The Department of Health and Human Services awarded the contract, which reserves manufacturing capacity through the end of 2021, to the Fujifilm Texas A&M Innovation Center in College Station, Texas.”
AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo in $6B oncology deal: “AstraZeneca PLC said Monday that it has entered into an oncology collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co. worth up to $6 billion that it said could redefine treatment standards in lung, breast and multiple other cancers.
The British pharmaceutical giant said it and Daiichi Sankyo will jointly develop and commercialize a new antibody drug conjugate, DS-1062, world-wide, except in Japan. The drug is currently in development, AstraZeneca said.”
Indivior to pay $600 million to settle U.S. opioid treatment marketing claims:”The indictment alleged Indivior deceived doctors and healthcare benefit programs into believing the film version of Suboxone, which has an opioid component, was safer and less susceptible to abuse than similar drugs…
The company is also settling related civil lawsuits the Justice Department joined in 2018… to resolve claims by the Federal Trade Commission that it impeded competition from generic equivalents of Suboxone.”
Pfizer, BioNTech start their COVID-19 vax phase 3, squaring off with Moderna:”Moderna announced early Monday that, alongside a near half-billion extra in Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority dollars, it has started a boosted 30,000-patient phase 3 for its vaccine; not to be left out, Pfizer and BioNTech announced after-hours that they too were starting a late-stage attempt.”
About the public’s health
Postmarketing Safety of Vaccines Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Not that this study will change the opinions of anti-vaxxers, but researchers found that: “Over a 20-year period, vaccines were found to be remarkably safe. A large proportion of safety issues were identified through existing postmarketing surveillance programs and were of limited clinical significance. These findings confirm the robustness of the vaccine approval system and postmarketing surveillance.”
Effectiveness of surgical masks against influenza bioaerosols: Masks have been recommended to prevent the wearer from spreading a contagion. In this study, researchers developed a model to gauge the effectiveness of protection for the wearer. They found: “Live influenza virus was measurable from the air behind all surgical masks tested. The data indicate that a surgical mask will reduce exposure to aerosolised infectious influenza virus; reductions ranged from 1.1- to 55-fold (average 6-fold), depending on the design of the mask.”
Florida judge upholds coronavirus ordinance requiring masks:”A Florida judge on Monday upheld a county’s coronavirus ordinance that requires masks be worn in public places like stores, saying government officials have the authority to protect their residents from the spread of infectious diseases.”
FDA expands list of potentially deadly hand sanitizers:”The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded its list of potentially deadly hand sanitizer products, warning a Mexican-based company about selling products that contain methanol, a dangerous form of alcohol that can poison people through their skin.”