About Covid-19
Vulnerable people may need vaccine boosters this year, scientists say: “People most vulnerable to Covid-19 could require a booster of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine later this year, according to scientists who said the shot elicited a lower antibody response against the Delta variant first identified in India.”
EU trade chief pushes for more Covid jab production not patent waivers: “Europe’s trade chief has called for a rapid increase in global vaccine production as the best way to fight the pandemic, arguing ahead of crunch talks next week against a narrow focus on patent waivers that has been backed by the US.”
Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection according to baseline antibody status in staff and residents of 100 long-term care facilities[LTCFs] (VIVALDI): a prospective cohort study: “In this cohort study done in 100 LTCFs, the risk of PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection was substantially lower in residents and staff who were positive for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies at baseline. Our findings suggest that previous infection reduced the risk of reinfection by approximately 85% in residents and 60% in staff members. We identified only 14 cases of possible reinfection, mainly affecting staff, and although almost all of these individuals reported symptoms, none required hospital treatment. These findings suggests that previous SARS-CoV-2 infection provides a high degree of protection against a second infection and is broadly consistent with findings from longitudinal studies.”
During The Pandemic Lockdown, Traffic Deaths Soared To The Highest Level In 13 Years: “U.S. traffic deaths rose 7% last year, the biggest increase in 13 years even though people drove fewer miles due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government's road safety agency reported Thursday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blamed the increase on drivers taking more risks on less-congested roads by speeding, failing to wear seat belts, or driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol.”
AI for radiographic COVID-19 detection selects shortcuts over signal: “Artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and radiologists have recently reported AI systems that accurately detect COVID-19 in chest radiographs. However, the robustness of these systems remains unclear. Using state-of-the-art techniques in explainable AI, we demonstrate that recent deep learning systems to detect COVID-19 from chest radiographs rely on confounding factors rather than medical pathology, creating an alarming situation in which the systems appear accurate, but fail when tested in new hospitals. We observe that the approach to obtain training data for these AI systems introduces a nearly ideal scenario for AI to learn these spurious ‘shortcuts’.”
Regeneron leaps ahead in COVID-19 antibody race, scoring FDA nod for lower dose and subcutaneous injection: “Friday brought news that the FDA has made Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail more user friendly, allowing it to be administered by subcutaneous injection in addition to its original administration form of intravenous infusion. The agency also approved a lower dose of the Regeneron drug, 1200 mg, allowing the company and officials to stretch available supply.”
About scientific innovation
Genetic code breakthrough opens door to advanced materials: A great article about the next step in genetic reengineering.
About pharma
Lynparza yields significant invasive DFS benefit in early breast cancer study: “Study results released ahead of presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting showed that adjuvant use of AstraZeneca's Lynparza (olaparib) reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence, other new cancers or death by a significant 42% versus placebo in patients with germline BRCA-mutated, high-risk HER2-negative early breast cancer, who have completed surgery and chemotherapy.”
Surprise! Amgen's hot KRAS drug seals early FDA approval, winning a shot against 'undruggable' cancer: “The agency approved Lumakras…as the first treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a particular genetic mutation called KRAS G12C.
Once considered an undruggable target, KRAS mutations and drugs to treat them are among the most talked-about subjects in cancer research these days. Amgen is first to get a new therapy to the FDA finish line, but other companies, most notably Mirati Therapeutics, are on the company’s heels.”
‘Next big wave’: Radiation drugs track and kill cancer cells: “After about two years, those who received the drug did better, on average. The cancer was kept at bay for nearly nine months compared to about three months for the others. Survival was better too — about 15 months versus 11 months.”
Walgreens closes $6.3B sale of Alliance Healthcare to AmerisourceBergen: “AmerisourceBergen has completed its nearly $6.3 billion acquisition of Walgreens' Alliance Healthcare, one of Europe's largest drug wholesalers.
Amerisource will pay $6.27 billion in cash and turn over 2 million shares of its common stock in the deal, the wholesale giant announced this week. The companies said they also plan to expand and extend other commercial agreements to drive further growth and synergy.”
About healthcare IT
Digital health player Babylon Health to go public via $4.2B merger with blank check company: “The London-based health tech startup plans to become a public company through a $4.2 billion merger with Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp., led by Groupon’s ex-chief executive officer Rich Williams and former chief operating officer Steve Krenzer…
Founded in 2013, Babylon offers a digital healthcare app for AI-powered diagnosis and video appointments that covers 24 million people across four continents, according to company executives. The company raised $550 million in August 2019 in an effort to launch an expansion into the U.S. It has raised $631 million to date.”
47,000 BCBS Kansas City members exposed through vendor breach: “BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas City began notifying 47,034 members that their data was exposed in a cyberattack on its cloud vendor, LogicGate, according to a May 26 data breach notification letter.”
About health insurance
CMMI director: Expect more mandatory value-based care payment models: “The Biden administration is exploring making more payment models mandatory in the future as it implements a more patient-centric vision for value-based care.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Director Liz Fowler detailed parts of this vision on Thursday …” Read the article for details.
In a related article: Lawmakers call for CMMI to be more transparent and accountable as model review continues: “A group of bipartisan lawmakers wants the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to be more transparent in its handling of value-based care models as the center continues a major overhaul of its demonstrations.
The 24 lawmakers sent a letter to CMMI Director Liz Fowler on Wednesday seeking for more insight into the center’s decision-making process on value-based care models it oversees. The letter comes less than a month after Democrats were concerned over several parts of the Direct Contracting Model.”
About healthcare devices
Medtronic Recalls HVAD Pump Implant Kits Due to Delayed or Failed Restart After the Pump is Stopped: From the FDA website, a Class I recall. Abbott has said it will be able to pick up the slack.
About hospitals and health systems
Hospitals gain jobs after 4 straight months of losses: “Hospitals added 2,900 jobs in May, after four months of job losses this year, according to the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The May count compares to 5,800 hospital jobs lost in April, 600 jobs lost in March, 2,200 jobs lost in February and 2,100 jobs lost in January. Before January, the last job loss was in September, when hospitals lost 6,400 jobs.”
About pharma
After breakout year, Moderna on track to generate $15B+ in 2022 thanks to more demand, higher prices: analysts: “Moderna is hard at work ramping up production of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which is projected to reap over $19 billion for the company by year’s end. But given that the pandemic is easing in parts of the world, what’s less certain is how 2022 will play out.
After a breakout year, Moderna sees strong reason to believe 2021 won't be a one-off boom year. That's thanks to the predicted need for booster shots and additional supply deals coupled with stronger pricing power…”