Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Drug Cocktail For Cystic Fibrosis Being Tested; Action Needed To Tackle Antibiotic Shortages
CIDRAP: Trial Begins For Bacteriophage Cocktail In Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) recently announced that the first patient in an early-stage clinical trial for its investigative bacteriophage therapy has been dosed. (Dall, 1/24)
CIDRAP: European Consumers Ask Officials To Do More To Address Antibiotics Shortages
Eleven European patient and consumer groups have sent a letter to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to urge the organization to take more action to mitigate months-long antibiotics shortages, Reuters reports. (Van Beusekom, 1/24)
CIDRAP: Prescribing Guidelines Based On Low Procalcitonin Require High Adherence To Reduce Antibiotics
High adherence to a procalcitonin antibiotic prescribing guideline in hospital settings is necessary to reduce antibiotic use in patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), according to a study published today in BMC Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 1/19)
Bloomberg: Pharma CEOs Among Likely Targets For Democrats’ Subpoenas
Senate Democrats plan their own political counter-programming to House Republicans’ threats of wide-ranging probes into Joe Biden’s administration and his family, taking on issues like corporate tax avoidance and union-busting, issues sure to rankle the GOP. (Litvan, 1/23)
CIDRAP: The COVID Vaccine Success Story As A Springboard For Future Research
In spring 2020, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases established OWS to coordinate and conduct phase 3 efficacy and safety trials for COVID-19 vaccine candidates and monoclonal antibodies for worldwide deployment. The effort was based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. (Van Beusekom, 1/24)
Stat: Pliant Claims Early Success In Progressive Lung Disease IPF
Pliant Therapeutics said Sunday that an experimental pill significantly improved lung function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, a deadly lung disease with few approved treatments. (Mast, 1/23)
New England Journal of Medicine: Aspirin Or Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin For Thromboprophylaxis After A Fracture
Clinical guidelines recommend low-molecular-weight heparin for thromboprophylaxis in patients with fractures, but trials of its effectiveness as compared with aspirin are lacking. (Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium, 1/19)
