About Covid-19
CDC removes pandemic-era travel warnings for cruises “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped cruise voyages from its list of coronavirus travel health notices Wednesday, the latest barrier to fall for an industry seeking a semblance of pre-pandemic norms. Cruise lines still require passengers to be vaccinated and test negative before boarding.”
Early Outpatient Treatment for Covid-19 with Convalescent Plasma “In participants with Covid-19, most of whom were unvaccinated, the administration of convalescent plasma within 9 days after the onset of symptoms reduced the risk of disease progression leading to hospitalization.”
Abbott Rapid Diagnostics Gets $1 Billion in Federal Funding for its COVID-19 Tests: “In a recent real-world study by the University of California San Francisco, Abbott’s BinaxNOW rapid antigen test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected 95 percent of individuals infected with high viral loads of the Omicron variant, the company said.”
BioNTech to return almost €2bn to shareholders after Covid vaccine success “BioNTech plans to return nearly €2bn to shareholders through share buybacks and a special dividend following the commercial success of its Covid-19 vaccine, the company said on Wednesday. The German biotech, which launched the first Covid-19 vaccine in partnership with Pfizer, said it would also boost research and development spending by 50 per cent to between €1.4bn and €1.5bn, as it seeks to develop a new range of drugs based on mRNA technology.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
RE: U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Request for Information on Merger Enforcement The American Hospital Association wrote to Jonathan Kanter (Assistant Attorney General,
Department of Justice, Antitrust Division) and Lina M. Khan (Chair Federal Trade Commission) asking that the hospital antitrust process be modified.
” The merger guidelines do not need major revisions. But they should be revised in two specific ways to improve how the agencies analyze hospital mergers. First, the guidelines should require the agencies to correct defects in the economic models that they use to evaluate hospital transactions. Second, the guidelines should enable the antitrust agencies to account for the improved coordination of care that mergers enable. These revisions are necessary to ensure that the antitrust agencies properly recognize the benefits of hospital mergers when reviewing proposed transactions.”
About pharma
U.S. FDA panel votes against Amylyx's ALS drug over trial data concerns “A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted against approving Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc's drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease.
The committee voted 6 to 4 against the oral drug, AMX0035, saying the company's clinical study data failed to establish it was effective against the disease.”
CVS reaches $484M settlement with Florida over opioid case “CVS Health will pay the state of Florida $484 million to settle claims related to opioid prescriptions at its pharmacies.
The settlement will resolve claims dating back more than a decade, according to the announcement from CVS. The settlement amount will be paid over the course of 18 years.”
In a related story: Fla. Inks More Than $878M In Opioid Deals Ahead Of Trial “The Florida attorney general on Wednesday announced that her office has reached a total of more than $878 million in settlements with three drugmakers and pharmacy chain CVS to end the state's claims over the opioid epidemic, exiting a trial set to start next week. CVS is to pay $484 million to the state, with Teva and Allergan paying about $195 million and $134 million, respectively, to end claims that their opioid activities inflamed the addiction crisis, according to Attorney General Ashley Moody's office. In addition to the cash settlements, Teva will provide $84 million worth of its generic overdose medication…“
About the public’s health
Avocado Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease [CVD] in US Adults “Replacing half a serving/day of margarine, butter, egg, yogurt, cheese, or processed meats with the equivalent amount of avocado was associated with a 16% to 22% lower risk of CVD.”
Appeals Of J&J Talc Unit's Ch. 11 Heading Directly To 3rd Circ. “ A New Jersey bankruptcy judge on Wednesday allowed appeals of his decision not to dismiss the Chapter 11 case of Johnson & Johnson's talc unit to go straight to the Third Circuit, saying that drawing the process out would be an unnecessary waste of time. Judge Michael Kaplan of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey said the legal issues and public interest surrounding the bankruptcy of LTL Management were sufficient to merit sending the appeals straight to the appellate court, skipping district court…”
About healthcare IT
Ransomware group claims to have stolen 850,000 patient records from California insurer “The Hive ransomware group posted on its darkweb site that it has stolen 850,000 patient records from the Partnership HealthPlan of California…
The ransomware group posted March 29 that it had breached the health plan's systems, taking information such as names, Social Security numbers and addresses.
The group also claimed it has taken 400GB of stolen files from the organization's server.”