Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Judge Finds Walgreens Likely Worsened San Francisco Opioid Crisis
Los Angeles Times: Judge: Walgreens Helped Fuel San Francisco's Opioid Crisis
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that pharmacy giant Walgreens could be held liable for fueling the opioid epidemic in San Francisco by shipping and dispensing hundreds of thousands of “suspicious orders” of prescription drugs, the latest legal reckoning over America’s prescription drug crisis. (Lin, 8/10)
More on the opioid crisis —
KHN: They Call It ‘Tranq’ — And It’s Making Street Drugs Even More Dangerous
Approaching a van that distributes supplies for safer drug use in Greenfield, Massachusetts, a man named Kyle noticed an alert about xylazine. “Xylazine?” he asked, sounding out the unfamiliar word. “Tell me more.” A street-outreach team from Tapestry Health Systems delivered what’s becoming a routine warning. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer. It’s not approved for humans but is showing up in about half the drug samples that Tapestry Health tests in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. It’s appearing mostly in the illegal fentanyl supply but also in cocaine. (Bebinger, 8/11)
In other pharmaceutical and technology news —
CNBC: Health Experts: America Could Have A Vitamin D Supplement Problem
As a supplement, vitamin D has been a common staple on drugstore shelves for years — and its popularity is only growing. (Albert-Deitch, 8/10)
CBS News: Experimental Immunotherapy Treatment Changes Lives For Cancer Patients In Small Trial
In the trial, all 18 patients had complete resolution of their early rectal cancer, were cancer-free for up to two years and did not need to have standard treatments of radiation chemotherapy or surgery. "We truly weren't expecting this type of response where every single patient, the tumor's gone and how quickly they responded," Dr. Andrea Cercek, who led the trial treatment, told LaPook. (Powell, 8/10)
Fox News: Study Finds Exposure To 'Forever' Chemicals In Household Products Leads To Liver Cancer
A new study suggests that individuals with regular exposure to synthetic chemicals found in everyday household products have a greater likelihood of developing liver cancer. Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California determined that individuals have 350% greater odds of developing the disease if they are exposed to man-made "forever" chemicals. The study, which was published in JHEP Reports earlier this week, is the first to confirm the correlation using human samples. (Nieto, 8/10)
Stat: The FDA's 'Breakthrough' Medical Devices Are Finally Hitting The Market In Numbers
The Food and Drug Administration, looking to accelerate access to innovative devices, has now labeled nearly 700 products as breakthroughs while they’re under development. But until recently, relatively few have reached the market. (Palmer, 8/11)
