Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Focus On Generics, As Thousands Of Diseases Lack Treatments
Stat: 12,000 Diseases Lack Treatments. Could Generics Be Hiding Cures?
About a decade ago, David Fajgenbaum thought his life was over. He was a young, bright physician hoping to work in oncology in remembrance of his mother, who died of brain cancer a few years earlier. Fajgenbaum was having his last rites read to him, and his family braced for his death from Castleman disease, a rare inflammatory illness that impacts the lymph nodes and can severely damage other organs. But, in a rare stroke of skill and luck, Fajgenbaum was able to repurpose a generic drug, sirolimus, and go into remission. (Cueto, 5/4)
Stat: ‘Patients Are Not Hot Potatoes’: How The Fight Over Dialysis Coverage Is Putting Kidney Failure Patients At Risk
As soon as she heard the Supreme Court decision, LaVarne Burton began to worry. As CEO of the nonprofit American Kidney Fund, she knew that the court’s ruling on Marietta v. DaVita last June — which allows employer-sponsored health insurance plans to limit outpatient dialysis coverage — was going to put the health of kidney failure patients at risk. (Arnold, 5/5)
Stat: Experts Spar Over The Benefits Of Liquid Biopsy To Catch Cancer
New technologies are making it possible to detect cancer earlier than ever — but the field is still fiercely divided on whether these liquid biopsy tests are yet ready for prime time. Those tensions are tangible among experts who continue to spar over the question of whether the cancer screening technology is actually beneficial. Among the most contentious points of debate: Do studies of liquid biopsies need to prove they can reduce mortality rates? (Trang, 5/4)
Modern Healthcare: Nursing School Enrollment Dipped In 2022—AACN
Enrollment in college nursing programs experienced its first year-over-year decline in two decades in 2022, a potentially worrisome sign amid industry struggles to recruit and retain staff, declines in residency applications and an aging healthcare workforce. (Devereaux, 5/4)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: What Insurance Executive Compensation Looked Like In 2022
Compensation for the CEOs of large health insurance companies rose modestly and less than overall inflation last year, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of data the companies submitted to regulators. (Tepper, 5/4)
Stat: A New List Ranks Large Pharmaceutical Companies By R&D
If you want a large pharmaceutical company to invent a new drug, your best bet is probably AstraZeneca. But if you have a medicine you’d like to get to market — and you want to see it generate revenue — you might be better off with Pfizer. (Herper, 5/4)
Modern Healthcare: 7 Digital Health ‘Unicorns’ That Have Struggled
The digital health landscape has taken a dramatic roller coaster ride over the past three years. In 2021, funding broke records amid $30 billion in deals. Digital health companies were enjoying $100 million-plus funding rounds and getting “unicorn” ($1 billion-plus) valuations almost every week. Last year began nearly as hot but sputtered out: In the fourth quarter, only $2.5 billion in deals took place. (Perna, 5/4)
In company news —
Reuters: Novo Nordisk Rivals See Room To Compete In $100 Billion Weight-Loss Drug Market
The enormous demand for weight-loss treatments like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy could support as many as 10 competing products with annual sales reaching up to $100 billion within a decade, mostly in the United States, industry executives and analysts said. (Erman, 5/4)
CIDRAP: Prostate Cancer Drug Shortage Should Ease Soon, Novartis Says
Supplies of Pluvicto, a radioactive drug used to treat metastatic prostate cancer, should rise "meaningfully" in the second half of this year, according to its lone manufacturer. In April, Novartis AG announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved manufacture of the drug (generic name, lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan injection) at a new facility in Millburn, New Jersey, in addition to its Ivrea, Italy, plant. (Van Beusekom, 5/4)
Reuters: Moderna Reports Surprise Profit As It Books Deferred COVID Vaccine Sales
Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) on Thursday reported a small profit of 19 cents per share instead of an expected loss as it booked more revenue in the first quarter from last year's deferred orders for its COVID-19 vaccine than had been anticipated. Analysts expected a loss of $1.77 per share, according to Refinitiv data, and Moderna shares had jumped more than 5% to $136.71 by midday. They had fallen nearly 28% this year. (Wingrove and Leo, 5/4)
Stat: Gilead Foresees More Growth In Its HIV Drugs
Gilead Sciences is famous — or perhaps, notorious — for its cure for hepatitis C. But the pharma giant believes the foundation of its company will continue to be its HIV franchise, particularly the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs that help prevent the infection. (Herman, 5/4)
Stat: Option Care Buys Amedisys In $3.6 Billion Home Care Deal
Option Care Health is buying Amedisys in an all-stock merger valued at $3.6 billion, creating a national company that specializes in almost all types of home care that can be provided from cradle to grave. (Herman, 5/4)
