The Senate passed the omnibus budget bill, which now goes to the House. The Washington Post has a really good summary of what’s in the legislation.
About pharma
Gilead scores FDA okay for twice-yearly HIV drug Sunlenca “Gilead Sciences said Thursday that the FDA has approved its long-acting HIV-1 capsid inhibitor Sunlenca (lenacapavir) for patients with multi-drug resistant HIV infection. The drug, which was cleared by EU regulators in August, ‘offers a new twice-yearly treatment option for adults with HIV that is not adequately controlled by their current treatment regimen,’ the company said.”
About the public’s health
MITRE-Harris Poll: Many Patients Feel Ignored or Doubted When Seeking Medical Treatment “A new MITRE-Harris Poll Survey on Patient Experience finds 52 percent of individuals in the United States feel their symptoms are ‘ignored, dismissed, or not believed’ when seeking medical treatment. That number rises to 6-in-10 within the Hispanic community.
The polling also revealed that more than half of Blacks and Hispanics feel the ‘healthcare provider is biased against me based on their attitude, words, or actions,’ contributing to a 4-in-10 average across all demographics. Fifty percent (50%) of respondents also reported “a healthcare provider assuming something about me without asking me.”