About health insurance/insurers
Humana's stock tumbles pre-market as it posts $541M loss in Q4 “The insurer issued a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, saying that it saw a significant spike in utilization during the fourth quarter that dragged its finances. That reveal sent its stock price, as well as that of major competitors, into a downward slide.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Administration’s Share of Personnel in Veterans Health Administration and Private Sector Care “These findings suggest that if health care employment patterns in the private sector mirrored those in the VHA, nearly 900 000 fewer administrative staff might be needed.”
Comment: The lead author, Steffie Woolhandler, is a long-standing single payer advocate. with an obvious agenda for doing this study. Because the VA system is a single payer/provider entity, the only way the results could be helpful is if the U.S. converted to a single payer system.
About pharma
Sanofi to Buy Assets From Inhibrx in Deal Valued at Up to $2.2 Billion -- Update “Sanofi plans to buy assets from biopharmaceutical company Inhibrx in a deal worth up to $2.2 billion as it looks to diversify its product base and boost its pipeline of rare disease treatments.
The French pharmaceutical giant said Tuesday that it will acquire Inhibrx's INBRX-101 therapy, a potential treatment for a genetic disorder that raises a patient's risk of developing lung diseases and other illnesses.”
Walgreens exploring sale of specialty pharmacy company Shields Health: media report “Walgreens is exploring a potential sale of its specialty pharmacy business Shields Health Solutions, just two-and-half years after it bought a majority stake in the business.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the pharmacy chain is working with advisers to assess the level of interest in a potential sale, citing people familiar with the matter.
The sale could be valued at more than $4 billion, according to the report. The specialty pharmacy company is expected to draw interest from private equity firms and healthcare companies.”
The FTC escalates Biden’s fight against drug prices A good review of how the FTC is combatting high drug prices by investigating the validity of patents.
Apotex, Heritage and Breckenridge settle with purchasers in generics price-fixing case “Apotex plans to settle with the group of direct purchaser plaintiffs for $30 million, while Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Breckenridge Pharmaceutical will hand over $10 million and $5 million, respectively, according to a trio of motions filed Tuesday in the multidistrict litigation in Pennsylvania federal court.
Each of the settlement amounts has the potential to increase or decrease, depending on the outcome of the legal proceedings. Apotex, for instance, could have its settlement fund reduced by up to $3.6 million if certain parties opt out of the deal.”
Lilly’s gene therapy hits high note, restores child’s hearing “The first person to receive Eli Lilly’s hearing loss gene therapy can now hear within a normal range, the pharma reported Tuesday.
The patient, an 11-year-old boy born with hearing loss due to a mutation in the otoferlin gene, received a single, unilateral intracochlear dose of AK-OTOF, comprising 410 billion total vector genomes. Within 30 days, his hearing was restored across all tested frequencies, achieving thresholds of 65 to 20 dB HL, Eli Lilly said.”
About the public’s health
Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: a population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation “Our findings confirm that the bivalent vaccine prevents the development of invasive cervical cancer and that even 1 or 2 doses 1 month apart confer benefit if given at 12-13 years of age. At older ages, 3 doses are required for statistically significant vaccine effectiveness. Women from more deprived areas benefit more from vaccination than those from less deprived areas.”
About healthcare IT
Data Compromises Hit a New High As Cyber Criminals Leverage GenAI And New Attack Vectors “Data compromises reported in the United States reached a record high in 2023, totaling 3,205, a 78% rise over 2022 and up 72% from the then record high of 1,860 in 2021, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s annual Data Breach Report. It is the first time the number of U.S. data compromises reported in a single year exceeded 2,000, the ITRC says, as new technology like generative artificial intelligence began to play a role…
Three industries—health care, financial services, and transportation—reported more than double the number of compromises reported in 2022. Some 809 data compromises were reported in the health-care industry, up from 343 in 2022.”
HPH Cybersecurity Performance Goals FYI: “As outlined in the HHS Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity concept paper, HHS is publishing these voluntary healthcare specific Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) to help healthcare organizations prioritize implementation of high-impact cybersecurity practices.”