About Covid-19
PFIZER AND BIONTECH SUBMIT INITIAL DATA TO U.S. FDA FROM PIVOTAL TRIAL OF COVID-19 VACCINE IN CHILDREN 5 TO <12 YEARS OF AGE: “Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech announced they have submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from the Phase 2/3 trial of their COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 to <12 years of age.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210928005307/en/”
Pfizer begins study of oral drug for prevention of COVID-19:”Pfizer Inc said on Monday it has started a large study testing its investigational oral antiviral drug for the prevention of COVID-19 infection among those who have been exposed to the virus.”
About pharma
Merck & Co. rumoured to be Acceleron suitor: “Merck & Co. is in advanced talks to buy Acceleron Pharma, according to unnamed sources cited in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. The report follows rumours that surfaced late last week, and were first reported by Bloomberg, indicating that Acceleron was in advanced talks to be acquired by an unnamed buyer for about $180 per share in cash, or a total value of more than $11 billion.”
Gilead, Merck and others slapped with 'pay-for-delay' lawsuits over lucrative HIV and cholesterol meds: “In a new case, two of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains—CVS and Ride Aid—are going head-to-head with Gilead, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Teva for engaging in a ‘multifaceted scheme to suppress and delay’ generic rivals of Gilead’s HIV meds, according to a filing in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday.
The pharmacy chains allege the band of drugmakers engaged in unlawful reverse-payment deals for a number of Gilead bellwether HIV meds, including Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Descovy and Vemlidy. Those deals resulted in drug purchasers overpaying for those drugs by ‘hundreds of millions of dollars,’ CVS and Rite Aid claim.”
Report Says DoD Reliance on Foreign Drugmakers Poses Security Risk: “The Department of Defense (DoD) is overly reliant on foreign drug supply chains, a problem that could spell big trouble not only for the military, but the entire country, says a new report from the DOD’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).”
About the public’s heath
Individual- and Community-Level Factors Associated With Detectable and Elevated Blood Lead Levels in US Children: “This study suggests that, despite progress in reducing pediatric lead exposure, substantial individual- and community-level disparities persist.”
About healthcare IT
Walmart to deploy Epic EHR across health centers: “Epic's EHR will first be rolled out in four Walmart Health Centers opening in Florida in early 2022, according to a news release.