Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: All Eyes Are On Vaccine Development, But Treatments Hold Quite A Bit Of Promise
Bloomberg: Covid-19 Treatments Shouldn’t Take Back Seat To Vaccines
As companies and countries pour money into the effort to develop Covid-19 vaccines, timelines keep getting more ambitious and dates for delivering a workable immunization against the virus keep moving up. Yet even with companies such as Moderna Therapeutics Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc signaling rapid progress and already enrolling patients in mid-stage trials, it would be quite a feat if we had a stockpile of proven doses by year's end. That’s a best-case scenario. A longer wait is more likely, and that may seem discouraging. The good news is, there is a batch of treatments in development with a chance of accelerated approval, and they can provide needed relief in the interim. Dozens of approaches could serve as a valuable bridge, from repurposed drugs to bespoke antibody cocktails. (Max Nisen, 6/2)
Newsweek: Coronavirus Treatments And Vaccines Will Only Work If They Are Affordable
Over the past decade, almost every new medication brought to market was paid for by a hefty investment from taxpayer dollars. Each of these drugs was developed in the interest of a greater public good: to alleviate pain, improve health and save lives. However, accountability for public funding has not prevented pharmaceutical corporations from hiking up prices on new and existing drugs for patients, increasing the cost of prescription drugs up to 10 percent every year. As the global search for a COVID-19 vaccine continues, the American public has good reason to be skeptical that pharmaceutical corporations will be our saviors. (Jan Schakowsky and Frances Rooney, 6/2)
Stat: It's Time To Bring Generic Drug Manufacturing Back To The U.S.
In a hearing Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, policymakers will consider repatriating America’s drug supply chain to avoid future shortages like the ones caused by Covid-19. They should think bigger. Repatriating the American drug supply is key not just to averting shortages but to restoring and preserving the integrity of generic drugs in America. It will also create tens of thousands of high-quality jobs in part of the U.S. that have been hurt by globalization. (Peter Kolchinsky, 6/2)
Stat: Covid-19 Has Exposed Cracks In The Global Medicines Supply Chain
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended the normal ways of doing everything from going to school to making sure countries have the medications their citizens need. It has also exposed vulnerabilities in the global medicine supply chain, leading to uncertainty, drug shortages, quality issues, and price volatility. Strengthening the supply chain to ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines that are safe, meet standards for quality, and are beneficial to health — something the U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee will be discussing at a hearing Tuesday afternoon — should be seen as a public health priority. (Anthony Lakavage, 6/2)
The Hill: Many Patients, Little Drugs: Who Should Get Scarce COVID-19 Treatments?
How should we decide who gets promising drugs in short supply? In April, the National Institutes of Health announced that an experimental drug, remdesivir, accelerated recovery from COVID-19. Its manufacturer offered to donate 940,00 vials of the antiviral to the U.S. With no end of the epidemic in sight, this donation will likely be insufficient to treat all patients. But who should get the drug, if it cannot be made available to all patients? (Alison Bateman-House, 5/29)
