Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctors Growing Frustrated By Trump Administration's Lack Of Transparency In Distributing Remdesivir
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Leaders Question How Remdesivir Is Being Distributed
Health-care leaders are expressing concern over how the Trump administration plans to distribute the promising coronavirus drug remdesivir, saying they are in the dark about the allocation criteria being used and are worried it isn’t based on need. Some hospital officials say they have been informed they can’t get the drug since the federal government took over its allocation following the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization on May 1. (Armour and Walker, 5/8)
The Washington Post: Remdesivir’s Rollout By The Trump Administration Is Angering Doctors On The Front Lines
Doctors in several hospitals, including some that have seen surges in people with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, say they cannot get access to remdesivir for their patients — and that they don’t understand the process for obtaining the drug. In Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital said it is in line to receive the drug, but two other large teaching hospitals have been denied supplies without explanation, doctors said. (Rowland and McGinley, 5/7)
Politico: Frustrated Doctors Push Administration To Reveal Which Hospitals Are Getting Remdesivir — And Why
So far the rollout has been chaotic. About 25 hospitals have been approved to receive the drug, but doctors say it’s not clear how the government — through its contractor, AmerisourceBergen — is making those decisions. A spokesperson for the company said the administration is choosing which facilities receive the drug and how much they get. Adding to the confusion, a senior HHS official told POLITICO that the government has not finalized its plan for distributing remdesivir. That has frustrated doctors on the front lines of the pandemic. Brennan, 5/7)
The Hill: Trump Officials' Communication Breakdown Slows COVID-19 Drug Distribution: Report
The mishap reportedly stirred tensions within the coronavirus task force, with Vice President Pence calling on Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Alex Azar to take ownership of the distribution process. (Moreno, 5/7)
Boston Globe: Who’s Getting Federal Distributions Of Coronavirus Drug Remdesivir? After Much Confusion, Massachusetts Government, Hospitals Team Up To Share
Massachusetts government and hospital officials are taking matters into their own hands and working out a plan to share donations of the coronavirus treatment remdesivir, after questions were raised about the federal government’s puzzling distribution process for the drug. Remdesivir, an experimental drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences, received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on May 1, after the antiviral treatment showed promise in a government-run trial for treating COVID-19. (Ostriker, 5/7)
In other news —
ABC News: Oregon's 1st Coronavirus Patient Released From Hospital After Months
After more than two months in the hospital, the first Oregon resident to test positive for coronavirus was released to cheers and a mariachi parade. Calderon, a janitor at Forest Hills Elementary School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, was treated at Kaiser Permanente West Side Medical Center in Hillsboro, Oregon, after he tested positive at the end of February. He was one of the first patients in the nation to be treated with remdesivir, according to Kaiser Permanente. (Parrish, 5/7)
Stat: CytoDyn: HIV Drug Was Not Filed For FDA Approval, As Previously Claimed
CytoDyn CEO Nader Pourhassan is already under fire for the timing of lucrative sales of company stock. On Thursday night, Pourhassan found himself with a new problem: An admission that CytoDyn misled investors about a completed drug marketing application to the Food and Drug Administration.The biotech’s lead drug, leronlimab, an investigational treatment for patients with HIV, has not been submitted for approval to the FDA, as the company previously claimed. (Feuerstein, 5/7)
