Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fewer Antibiotics Better For Pneumonia In Kids, Study Suggests
CIDRAP: Study Boosts Case For Shorter Antibiotic Course For Kids' Pneumonia
A new analysis of data from a randomized trial provides more evidence in support of shorter antibiotic courses for young children with non-severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The study, published last week in mBio, analyzed throat swabs from children enrolled in the SCOUT-CAP (Short-Course Outpatient Therapy of Community Acquired Pneumonia) trial, a randomized clinical trial that found that a 5-day course of antibiotics for kids with non-severe CAP was superior to 10 days—the currently recommended duration for pediatric CAP. (Dall, 4/1)
In other news on antibiotics —
CIDRAP: GARDP Announces New North American Branch
The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), based in Geneva, Switzerland, this week announced the formation of a new sister organization in the United States. GARDP and GARDP North America will work together on a common portfolio of projects that aim to accelerate the development and delivery of treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections caused by the priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a GARDP news release. (3/30)
Stat: Pharma's Ambitious New Antibiotic Venture Fund Makes Its First Investments
One year after its splashy launch, the AMR Action Fund has made its first investments in a pair of fledgling biotech companies, a key step toward its goal of generating badly needed medicines to combat antibiotic resistance. The fund is providing an undisclosed portion of its $1 billion in initial backing — much of which comes from several of the world’s largest drug manufacturers — toward Venatorx Pharmaceuticals and Adaptive Phage Therapeutics. The two privately held companies are taking a different approach toward developing therapies that can fight drug-resistant infections. (Silverman, 4/4)
And more pharmaceutical industry news —
Mississippi Today: Texts Reveal Influence Bryant Used To Help With Venture
During his last year as governor, Phil Bryant indulged NFL legend Brett Favre’s pleas for help with a pharmaceutical venture, which ended up receiving more than $2 million in allegedly stolen welfare funds from the Mississippi Department of Human Services during Bryant’s administration. This money was supposed to use to help the state’s most vulnerable residents. Text messages reveal the backchannel of influence Bryant used to elevate the company, Prevacus, outside the view of the public — and the payout that awaited him when he left office. (Wolfe, 4/4)
Stat: Wyden Seeks Details On Merck Taxes As Part Of Probe Into Pharma Practices
The head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee is seeking details from Merck about the taxes paid during a recent three-year period as part of an ongoing investigation into tax practices by multinational pharmaceutical companies and efforts made to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Earlier this year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who chairs the committee, began probing Bristol Myers Squibb over a deal in which the company used offshore subsidiaries allegedly to avoid paying up to $1.4 billion in U.S. taxes on prescription drug sales. And he previously accused AbbVie of shifting profits offshore and registering patents in low-tax jurisdictions to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes. (Silverman, 4/4)
Stat: Mark Cuban's Drug Company Is Building A ‘Parallel Supply Chain’
Mark Cuban’s drug company started with an ambitious premise: to circumvent middlemen to offer cheaper costs to patients. To do so, the company has had to grapple with which parts of the supply chain to develop themselves, and which to outsource using unusually transparent contracts, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Founder and CEO Alex Oshmyansky said Thursday at STAT’s Breakthrough Science Summit. “We decided that the only way to really ensure that pricing for our products actually reaches the patient, the most important part at the end of the day, was to build essentially a parallel supply chain,” Oshmyansky said. (Cohrs, 4/1)
Modern Healthcare: 5 Things About The End Of The $15B Anthem-Cigna PBM Lawsuit
A six-year legal spat between Anthem and Cigna is over after a federal judge ruled that Cigna's Express Scripts does not owe Anthem $14.8 billion in alleged prescription drug overpayments. Anthem filed a lawsuit in March 2016 arguing that its contract with Express Scripts guaranteed the insurer competitive prices for prescription drugs. Express Scripts, which Cigna acquired in 2018, pointed back at Anthem, contending the insurer was supposed to produce a market analysis of drug prices that would be the basis for negotiations. In the end, that's how a federal court left it in a ruling issued Thursday. Judge Edgardo Ramos of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York partially dismissed Anthem's claims, declaring that the Express Scripts's only obligation is to negotiate based on data the insurer provides. (Tepper, 4/4)
Axios: Fintech And Fertility Care Startup Raises $25M
Future Family, a startup combining fertility financing and care support, raised $25 million in Series B funding steered by Munich Re Ventures at a valuation of $80 million, the company's founder and CEO Claire Tomkins tells Axios exclusively. Investors have been flocking to fertility startups in recent months as the pandemic has helped boost awareness of gender-based inequities in care, funding and family planning. (Brodwin, 4/4)
