About Covid-19
Scientists warn of challenges to find antiviral pill to treat Covid: A good review of this issue.
Johnson & Johnson trial shows vaccine effective, even against variants: “Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine protected against symptomatic and asymptomatic infection, and prevented hospitalization and death in all participants 28 days after vaccination, according to new clinical trial results published Wednesday.
The vaccine was 67 percent effective on average against moderate to severe–critical COVID-19 at least 14 days after administration, and 66 percent effective at 28 days after vaccination, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The vaccine was about 77 percent effective against severe/critical COVID-19 at 14 days after administration, and 85 percent after 28 days.”
European countries to resume J&J COVID vaccine deliveries: “European countries prepared on Wednesday to resume deliveries of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine and speed up the rollout after Europe’s drug regulator backed the shot.”
COVID vaccines and kids: five questions as trials begin: A good review of this topic from Nature.
Biden presses employers to provide paid time off for vaccine shots, recovery: “‘I’m calling on every employer large and small in every state to give employees the time off they need, with pay, to get vaccinated,’ Biden said. ‘No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated.’”
U.S. sees significant drop in vaccinations over past week: “About 3 million Americans are getting vaccinated daily, an 11 percent decrease in the seven-day average of daily shots administered over the past week. The unprecedented drop is rivaled only by a brief falloff that occurred in February, when winter storms forced the closure of vaccination sites and delayed shipments nationwide.”
Burned out by the pandemic, 3 in 10 health-care workers consider leaving the profession: The headline is the story.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
HCA reports $1.4B in profit in Q1 thanks to higher patient acuity, stable payer mix: “HCA Healthcare posted nearly $14 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in profit for the first quarter of the year as the hospital chain continues to face lingering volume declines from the pandemic.
HCA’s earnings report, released Thursday, shows revenues are up in the first quarter, generating $13.9 billion compared to the $12.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020. The system’s $1.4 billion in profit was up compared to the $581 million it generated in the same period in 2020.”
Hospital adjusted expenses per inpatient day across 50 states: FYI
Forbes' top 27 hospitals for diversity: FYI…Cincinnati's Children Hospital is at the top of the list.
About pharma
House votes to extend ban on fentanyl-like substances: “The House easily passed legislation on Wednesday to extend a ban on copycats of fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, that is set to expire on May 6 without congressional action.
Lawmakers passed the bill by voice vote to extend through Oct. 22 the federal government's ability to regulate fentanyl analogues as one of the most strictly controlled drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Roche confirms outlook despite drug sales falling 14% in Q1:
—Pharmaceuticals division sales: CHF 10.6 billion ($11.5 billion), down 14%
—Overall revenue: CHF 14.9 billion ($16.2 billion; forecasts of CHF 15 billion), down 1%
Combining AstraZeneca's 'good' cholesterol booster with PCSK9 inhibition shows promise in heart disease: “…the company has early data showing an experimental antibody drug increases HDL-C in monkeys and people. Combining the drug with a PCSK9 inhibitor appears to have a synergistic effect.”
Drug spending is climbing amid the pandemic, but not at hospitals: “The country's total drug spending rose by nearly 5 percent in 2020, but drug spending at hospitals declined by the same percentage, according to a report published April 21 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Total U.S. drug spending was $535.3 billion in 2020. The drug spending categories that experienced the biggest increases were home healthcare (13 percent), mail-order prescriptions (9 percent) and clinics (8 percent).
Drug spending at hospitals decreased by 5 percent, as patients delaying care amid the pandemic correlated with decreased drug utilization in hospitals.”
Eli Lilly retakes innovation crown, while Bristol Myers rates most inventive pharma in annual study: “If you gave a pharma a molecule, which one would make the most of it? Eli Lilly, according to IDEA Pharma’s most recent evaluation.
It ranks innovation as a measure of a pharma company’s ability to deliver a ‘return on invention’ over the past five years.”
Biotech Stocks Fall Out of Favor After Disappointing Trial Results, Big Rally: “Biotech shares have slumped in recent months, stung by setbacks in clinical trials and a rotation away from growth stocks after a steep rally in 2020.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has fallen 10% from its Feb. 8 record, lagging behind the S&P 500, which has gained 6.6%, and the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite, which has slipped 0.3%, over that period. The decline has left the biotech index up 2.2% for the year, compared with respective gains of 11% and 8.2% for the other two indexes.”
The article offers several reasons for this poor performance.
About healthcare IT
Cerner inks 2nd life insurance industry partnership: “Cerner is teaming up with the MIB Group, which provides data-driven underwriting services to life insurance companies, as the EHR vendor looks to build on its life insurance industry initiatives.
In March, Cerner partnered with New York Life Insurance Co., giving the New York City-based mutual life insurer access to – with patient consent – Cerner's hospital clients' EHRs in near real time.
MIB provides data-driven risk management and digital services; through the new agreement, MIB will manage access to 54 million patient medical records from Cerner, as well as 5,400 distinct patient portals.”
Google cracks down on insurance advertisements posted on search engine: “Starting next month, Google will require health insurers to apply for certification for their ads to run on the search engine.
The tech giant announced Tuesday that it will only allow insurance ads from certified government exchanges, first-party providers and licensed third-party brokers.”
About health insurance
New health plans that track internet activity face federal litigation: “The U.S. Department of Labor is fighting a federal judge's decision that allows two companies to sell health plans to people who agree to internet tracking…
The employee health plans are offered to people who agree to become ‘limited partners’ of a firm called Data Marketing Partnership. Under the agreement, individuals' internet activity is tracked and sold…
The new plans wouldn't be required to offer the ACA's 10 essential health benefits or insure people with preexisting conditions. However, proponents of the plans argue they don't violate federal or state laws.”