Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Big Pharmacies Move To Reduce Employee Hours Amid Staff Shortages
CBS News: Pharmacies CVS, Walmart And Walgreens To Reduce Hours As Staffing Challenges Persist
CVS and Walmart are reducing their pharmacy operating hours across the U.S. to improve employees' work-life balance as the chains continue to struggle with staffing shortages in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. CVS said it will be "adjusting hours in select stores" come spring, as part of a periodic review of "operating hours to make sure we're open during peak customer demand." The move will affect roughly two-thirds of the company's approximately 9,000 retail pharmacies beginning in March, a company spokesperson said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. ... Walmart also said it's cutting hours at its pharmacy locations nationwide to improve "work-life balance" for its associates. Walmart pharmacies will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Previously they were open until 9 p.m. on weekdays. (Cerullo, 1/27)
In other pharmaceutical industry developments —
Axios: Drug Companies Brace For Chairman Bernie
Sen. Bernie Sanders has long made no secret that he thinks drug companies and health insurers are ripping off Americans. But now he's chairman of the Senate health committee. (Sullivan, 1/30)
Roll Call: FDA Falls Behind In Review Of Heavy Metals In Baby Food
The Food and Drug Administration is behind schedule in its own plans to address the level of lead and mercury in baby foods, and Capitol Hill Democrats are taking note. (Cohen, 1/27)
The New York Times: How A Drug Company Made $114 Billion By Gaming The U.S. Patent System
In 2016, a blockbuster drug called Humira was poised to become a lot less valuable. The key patent on the best-selling anti-inflammatory medication, used to treat conditions like arthritis, was expiring at the end of the year. Regulators had blessed a rival version of the drug, and more copycats were close behind. The onset of competition seemed likely to push down the medication’s $50,000-a-year list price. Instead, the opposite happened. (Robbins, 1/28)
Also —
USA Today: CRISPR Gene Editing Turns 10. How's It Transforming Medicine And More?
"It's a revolution in progress," said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist who founded the Scripps Research Translational Institute, where he serves as director. The rise of CRISPR is "unmatched and unparalleled" in science, added Brad Ringeisen, the executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. "It's changed the way we do biology." (Weintraub, 1/30)
The Boston Globe: Gene Therapy Can Transform Life For People With Hemophilia. But Some Patients Don’t Want It
Given everything he’s been through, Bobby Wiseman says he should have been dead instead of celebrating the birth of his first grandchild several days ago. Wiseman, 51, who lives near Sacramento, was diagnosed as an infant with hemophilia, the rare genetic disease that prevents blood from clotting. (Saltzman, 1/29)
Stat: Legend: CAR-T Beat Conventional Therapy For Multiple Myeloma
Legend Biotech said Friday that its CAR-T therapy Carvykti kept multiple myeloma patients’ cancer in check for longer than conventional therapy in a Phase 3 trial. Carvykti was approved last year, on the basis of an early trial that showed the cell therapy substantially diminished the number of cancer cells in 97% of patients, all of whom had already tried most of the other options available. But the new trial is the first to compare the therapy directly to longstanding treatments and the first to show that it can prevent progression for longer. (Mast, 1/27)
Modern Healthcare: ARCH, General Catalyst Launch Clinical Trial Tech Company Paradigm
Paradigm, a clinical trial technology company, has launched out of stealth with $203 million in Series A funding. Paradigm will use the money to build a clinical research platform for provider and biopharmaceutical customers. The company has also acquired Deep Lens, a clinical trial patient recruitment company focused on oncology, for an undisclosed price. (Perna, 1/27)
