Ave atque vale: Sidney M. Wolfe, Scourge of the Pharmaceutical Industry, Dies at 86 “Sidney M. Wolfe, a physician and consumer advocate who for more than 40 years hounded the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration over high prices, dangerous side effects and overlooked health hazards, bringing a new level of transparency and accountability to the world of medical care, died on Monday at his home in Washington.”
About Covid-19
Another covid wave hits U.S. as JN.1 becomes dominant variant “While photos of positive coronavirus tests are once again proliferating across social media, fewer people are going to the hospital than a year ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 29,000 covid hospitalizations in the week before Christmas, the most recent data, compared with 39,000 the previous year. The agency has reported an average of 1,400 weekly deaths since Thanksgiving, less than half of the fatalities at the same point last year.”
About health insurance/insurers
Cigna near deal to sell Medicare Advantage business to HCSC “Cigna is nearing a deal to sell its Medicare Advantage business to Health Care Service Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 3.
The outlet previously reported both Elevance Health and HCSC were eyeing the business. People familiar with the deal told the Journal Cigna is in exclusive talks with HCSC to sell the Medicare Advantage business for between $3 and $4 billion.
Cigna had 599,000 Medicare Advantage members as of Sept. 30, a small portion of the company's 19 million insurance members.”
About pharma
New antibiotic uses novel method to target deadly drug-resistant bacteria, study says “The researchers began developing zosurabalpin by examining about 45,000 small antibiotic molecules called tethered macrocyclic peptides and identifying those that could inhibit the growth of different types of bacteria. After years of improving the potency and safety of a smaller number of compounds, the researchers landed on one modified molecule.
Zosurabalpin inhibits the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii by preventing the movement of large molecules called lipopolysaccharides to the outer membrane, where they’re needed to maintain the membrane’s integrity. This causes the molecules to accumulate inside the bacterial cell. Levels inside the cell become so toxic that the cell itself dies.”
How Prices for the First 10 Drugs Up for U.S. Medicare Price Negotiations Compare Internationally “Highlights
List retail prices for the 10 selected drugs are, on average, three times higher in the United States than in the other high-income countries.
Prices after discounts and rebates in the U.S. are higher than almost all prices before discounts and rebates in peer countries, except for Xarelto, leaving significant room for further reductions in negotiation when compared with other countries.
Switzerland has the second-highest prices for most of the 10 drugs, but U.S. prices remain substantially higher.”
FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss “The US Food and Drug Administration is evaluating reports of side effects such as hair loss and suicidal thoughts in people taking medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.
These drugs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, are approved to treat diabetes or weight loss. They include semaglutide, branded as Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy; liraglutide, branded as Saxenda and Victoza; and tirzepatide, branded as Mounjaro and Zepbound. They mimic GLP-1, a hormone made naturally in the body whose roles include slowing the passage of food through the stomach.”
About healthcare personnel
Healthcare job cuts up 91% from 2022 “Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, announced the third-most job cuts in 2023 among 30 industries and sectors measured, according to one new analysis…
Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, announced 58,560 job cuts in 2023, a 91% increase from the 30,626 cuts announced the year prior.”
About health technology
Ultrasound Blood–Brain Barrier Opening and Aducanumab in Alzheimer’s Disease “We applied focused ultrasound with each of six monthly aducanumab infusions to temporarily open the blood–brain barrier with the goal of enhancing amyloid removal in selected brain regions in three participants over a period of 6 months. The reduction in the level of Aβ was numerically greater in regions treated with focused ultrasound than in the homologous regions in the contralateral hemisphere that were not treated with focused ultrasound, as measured by fluorine-18 florbetaben positron-emission tomography. Cognitive tests and safety evaluations were conducted over a period of 30 to 180 days after treatment.”
About healthcare finance
KKR-backed BrightSpring revives US IPO plan “KKR-backed BrightSpring Health Services on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering in the United States, reviving its plan to go public more than a year after aborting it.”