Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
McKinsey's Role In Opioid Crisis Targeted In NYC Lawsuit
New York Post: NYC Sues McKinsey And Co. For Role In Opioid Crisis
New York City filed a lawsuit against a consulting firm accused of being a mastermind of the opioid epidemic. The lawsuit against McKinsey & Company was filed by the city and more than 20 state counties in Suffolk County’s state Supreme Court Tuesday, with plaintiffs claiming “the worst man-made epidemic in history” was due in part to the company’s “major role in crafting and implementing” deceptive marketing strategies to sell addictive prescription pills. (O'Neill, 6/1)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —
The Boston Globe: As FDA Decides On Biogen Drug For Alzheimer’s, Patients And Families Hold Out Hope
Within days, federal regulators will decide whether to approve the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly two decades, a controversial medicine from Cambridge-based Biogen that seems to have as many detractors as proponents. It’s called aducanumab, and Kirsten Hano is among those hoping it wins approval. (Saltzman, 6/2)
Axios: Abbott's Stock Falls After Company Forecasts Fewer COVID Tests
Abbott on Tuesday cut its profit guidance for the rest of this year after the medical device and diagnostics company projected lower demand for its coronavirus tests. Abbott's stock plunged 9%. COVID-19 cases have dropped heavily in the U.S. and other high-income countries due to mass vaccination campaigns. That's good for society, but now means less money for Abbott and other test makers that have profited from the pandemic's testing. (Herman, 6/1)
Stat: A Bootcamp For Digital Health Execs Seeks To Demystify The Drug Industry
Naomi Fried has watched the same plot unfold over and over again: A digital health startup pitches software to accelerate drug discovery, track medication use, or identify patients for clinical trials. But initial interest from pharma executives quickly fades. They stop returning emails, often with no explanation. But if the reasons are mysterious to startups, they are not to Fried, who has spent her career driving technology innovation at Biogen, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente. She said the startups are simply misunderstanding their audience and the business concerns that drive decision-making. (Ross, 6/1)
AP: Newer Methods May Boost Gene Therapy's Use For More Diseases
Jordan Janz knew his gamble on an experimental gene therapy for his rare disease might be paying off when he returned to work and a friend sniffed him. “He said, ‘you have a normal smell, you smell good,’” Janz recalled. “And I’m like, ‘that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said.’” The 22-year-old Canadian man’s previous treatment required 40 to 60 pills a day and left him smelling like rotten eggs or stinky cheese. He was born with a flawed gene that left him unable to make a protein needed by virtually every organ in the body. Kids with this disease can throw up a dozen times a day, need eye drops every hour to prevent blindness and often kidney transplants before they’re adults. (Marchione, 6/2)
Fox News: Study Unpacks How LSD Lowers Brain’s Barriers
Many summers of love later and the experiences had with the drug, along with the word that describes them, But it’s only recently that scientists have begun to grapple with what exactly LSD does to the brain, and they've found evidence that it really does blow open your mind. According to new research, psychedelic drugs put the brain into a state where it can flow more freely, unconstrained by prior beliefs of how the world is supposed to work. The findings also have implications for treating anxiety and depression, the researchers said. (Turner, 6/1)
Stat: Machine Learning Is Booming In Medicine. It's Also Facing A Credibility Crisis
The mad dash accelerated as quickly as the pandemic. Researchers sprinted to see whether artificial intelligence could unravel Covid-19’s many secrets — and for good reason. There was a shortage of tests and treatments for a skyrocketing number of patients. Maybe AI could detect the illness earlier on lung images, and predict which patients were most likely to become severely ill. (Ross, 6/2)
