Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Chemo Drug Shortage Is Impacting Treatments Across The US
AP: Cancer Centers Say US Chemotherapy Shortage Is Leading To Treatment Complications
A growing shortage of common cancer treatments is forcing doctors to switch medications and delaying some care, prominent U.S. cancer centers say. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network said Wednesday that nearly all the centers it surveyed late last month were dealing with shortages of carboplatin and cisplatin, a pair of drugs used to treat a range of cancers. Some are no longer able to treat patients receiving carboplatin at the intended dose or schedule. (Murphy, 6/7)
CNN: More Than 90% Of Large US Cancer Centers Report Shortage Of Life-Saving Chemotherapy Drugs In New Survey
Among some of the nation’s largest cancer centers, more than 90% have reported being directly affected by the current shortage of chemotherapy drugs in the United States, according to a new survey. The survey results, released Wednesday by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, show that among 27 cancer centers across the country, the majority – 93% – have reported experiencing a shortage of the chemotherapy medication carboplatin, and 70% reported a similar shortage of the drug cisplatin. Carboplatin and cisplatin are used in combination to cure many types of cancer. (Howard, 6/7)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —
Axios: Retail Pharmacies Push To Save Role — And Payments — As Providers
Pharmacies that carved out new lines of business during the pandemic are pushing to expand their reach amid a broader effort to rethink the health care consumer experience. Pharmacies got paid to deliver vaccines, tests, and treatments for COVID during the pandemic. The experience primed consumers to expect the kind of on-demand health access retail pharmacies offer, executives say. (Reed, 6/8)
Stat: After Gene Therapy Deaths, Astellas Tries Potentially Safer Approach
Astellas Pharma said Thursday it will license and develop a new gene therapy for a devastating muscle disorder, after four boys died in a clinical trial testing an earlier treatment. The hope is that the new therapy will allow researchers to treat the disease, known as X-linked myotubular myopathy, or XLMTM, with much lower doses of the viruses used to shuttle genes into patients’ cells. (Mast, 6/8)
Stat: After Missing Vaccine Glory In Pandemic, GSK Aims For Other Diseases
GSK has been developing vaccines under one corporate guise or another for 140 years, ever since a rural Pennsylvania doctor started pumping smallpox shots out of a converted chicken house in 1882, but the company may be most known today for the vaccine it didn’t build. The British pharma elected not to develop its own Covid shot. (Mast, 6/7)
Stat: Akili Interactive Releases Video Game Treatment For Adult ADHD
Following positive top-line data released in May, Akili Interactive announced it will release its video game treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to adults who want to use it. (Aguilar, 6/7)
Indianapolis Star: IU Research Center Takes New Step In Breast Cancer Research - Accepting Samples From Men
Although Eric Hayes is a man, he is all too familiar with breast cancer, often considered a woman’s problem. His mother and one of his sisters died from the disease. Three other sisters were diagnosed and had double mastectomies within a space of three years. And, 15 years ago his wife Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently treated successfully. (6/8)
