Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NIH Reveals Extra $600 Million Funding To Unravel Brain's Mysteries
Stat: NIH Launches Next Stage Of Its ‘Human Genome Project’ For The Brain
The National Institutes of Health on Thursday announced more than $600 million in fresh funding for an expansive and ongoing push to unravel the mysteries of the human brain, bankrolling efforts to create a detailed map of the whole brain, and devise new ways to target therapeutics and other molecules to specific brain cell populations. (Wosen, 9/22)
On cancer research —
Axios: Cancer Deaths Fall With New Treatments And Better Screening
The decline in cancer deaths has accelerated in recent years, reaching a 2.3% annual drop every year between 2016 and 2019, according to the latest American Association for Cancer Research Cancer Progress report. (Reed, 9/22)
Axios: COVID, Roe V Wade Decision Threaten Cancer Progress, Scientists Say
The great strides in cancer survivability seen in recent decades could be undercut by fallout from the pandemic, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and continued disparities in health care access, scientists warn. (O'Reilly, 9/22)
CBS News: Genetic Tests For Breast Cancer Patients Create Treatment Opportunities — And Confusion
The past decade has witnessed a rapid expansion of genetic tests, including new instruments to inform patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer about the risk of recurrence and to guide their treatment. But the clinical significance of many of the inherited mutations that can now be identified remains unclear, and experts are torn on when and how to deploy all the new tests available. Patients are sometimes left paying out-of-pocket for exams that are not yet the standard of care, and even the most up-to-date oncologists may be uncertain how to incorporate the flood of new information into what used to be standard treatment protocols. (Andrews, 9/20)
The Washington Post: Biden Wants Blood Tests To Detect Cancer Early, But It’s Not That Easy
Biotechnology is full of tantalizing promises, but few as appealing as this: a test that can screen for any kind of cancer early, allowing patients to start treatment early and have a better chance at surviving. These tests, often called multi-cancer early-detection tests, search for bits of DNA that are shed by tumor cells into the bloodstream. ... But scientists have faced challenges with the technology. Identifying where a cancer comes from is scientifically complicated, though at least one company is using machine learning to solve that. And although early research shows that some private companies are finding success, many tests still struggle with accuracy. (Verma, 9/22)
Stat: White House Casts Drug Pricing Law As Way To Extend Cancer Patients' Lives
The White House is pitching an added benefit to Democrats’ recent drug pricing reform package: lower cancer death rates. (Cohrs, 9/23)
In other science and health news —
The Boston Globe: Zuckerberg, Chan Want New Harvard Institute To Answer Questions About The Brain, AI
For the first time since gifting Harvard University $500 million to launch a new research institute, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan visited the school Thursday to talk about their ambitious goal to study the basis of intelligence. The couple, who originally met at Harvard, were in Boston to celebrate the launch of the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, which will focus on the brain and AI systems — and what scientists don’t know about both. (Gardizy, 9/22)
Bay Area News Group: Stanford Scientist Who Discovered Cause Of Narcolepsy Wins Breakthrough Prize
Dr. Emmanuel Mignot of the Stanford University School of Medicine will share the $3 million prize with Masashi Yanagisawa of Japan’s University of Tsukuba for discovering the cause of a chronic sleep disorder called narcolepsy, paving the way for the development of new treatments for the overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of exhaustion. (Kreiger, 9/22)
Stat: Shakeup With Optum's Health Data Licensing Sparks Outcry Among Scientists
A move by Optum to change longstanding practices for licensing data to academic institutions has sparked an outcry among researchers, who argue the move will make accessing data so costly and difficult that universities will scale back their research programs. (Ross, 9/23)
