Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
63% Of US Drug Plants Are In Counties With Prior Climate-Related Disasters
MedPage Today: U.S. Drug Plants Squarely In The Path Of Hurricanes, Floods, And Fires
Most of the nation's drug manufacturing plants reside in the path of hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters, posing risks to the supply chain, a national assessment indicated. Among nearly 11,000 active U.S. facilities from 2019 to 2024, 62.8% were located in counties where at least one climate-related disaster was declared, reported researchers led by Mahnum Shahzad, PhD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston. (Henderson, 8/20)
In other pharma and tech news —
Modern Healthcare: CVS Caremark To Pay $289M In Medicare Part D Overbilling Lawsuit
CVS Caremark, the pharmacy benefit management arm of CVS Health, has been ordered to pay more than $289 million in damages stemming from a 2014 false claims lawsuit. Judge Mitchell Goldberg issued the final judgment Tuesday in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania, according to a court filing. He initially set damages at $95 million in June when the court ruled in favor of whistleblower Sarah Behnke in her suit accusing CVS Caremark of overbilling the Medicare Part D program. (DeSilva, 8/20)
Stat: Former FDA Head Stephen Hahn Joins Radiopharmaceuticals Startup As CEO
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn is taking the top spot at a radiopharmaceuticals startup, bringing him back into the field where he started his career. (DeAngelis, 8/20)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Company That Makes Airborne Germ Sensors Moves To St. Louis
Varro Life Sciences, a biotech company developing sensors that can detect airborne germs that cause the flu and COVID-19, is opening its headquarters and research labs in the Cortex Innovation District with plans to hire 30 scientists and lab workers over the coming months. (Barker, 8/21)
CIDRAP: Iterum Therapeutics Launches New Oral Antibiotic For Urinary Tract Infections
Drugmaker Iterum Therapeutics today announced the US commercial launch of its new oral antibiotic for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs). The antibiotic, Orlynvah (sulopenem etzadroxil and probenecid), is a broad-spectrum oral penem antibiotic that's indicated for treating uUTIs caused by certain bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, or Proteus mirabilis) in adult women who have limited or no alternative treatment options. Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in October 2024, it's the first oral penem antibiotic commercially available in the United States. (Dall, 8/20)
CIDRAP: More Than 40% Of Primary Care Prescriptions Contain Antibiotics, Global Study Estimates
The first known global systematic review and meta-analysis of antibiotic prescribing in primary care estimates 42 of every 100 primary care prescriptions contain antibiotics, and more than half are inappropriate, Chinese researchers reported late last week in the American Journal of Infection Control. (Dall, 8/20)
Bloomberg: How The Moms And Dads Of Patients Won Sarepta’s Drug A Reprieve
The parents leaped into action as soon as health officials asked Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. to stop selling an expensive gene therapy used to treat a rare muscle disease that affects boys and young men. Some traveled to Washington to meet with members of Congress. Others reached out to White House contacts. Still others wrote letters to the Food and Drug Administration directly. They demanded the FDA restore access to the drug Elevidys for Duchenne muscular dystrophy — even though a big trial failed to prove it slowed the disease’s progression. In fact, for some, the treatment appeared to be deadly. (Smith and Langreth, 8/18)
