Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Purchase Of Biohaven Opens Future Possibilities For Migraine Treatments
Bloomberg: Pfizer’s Biohaven Deal May Open An Era Of Smarter Pharma Acquisitions
With biotech stocks in the dumps, investors have been hoping for deals to revive the sector, but lately merger-and-acquisition activity has been anemic. Finally on Tuesday, Pfizer announced it will buy Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd., a nine-year-old company that makes treatments for migraines, for $11.6 billion. The deal, which gives Pfizer an oral drug already on the market and a nasal spray for migraines that is nearing commercialization, puts some of its gargantuan store of Covid-19 cash to good use. Perhaps it also will be a harbinger of more biotech dealmaking ahead. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/10)
New England Journal of Medicine: Do We Need New Covid-19 Vaccines?
The continuing spread of SARS-CoV-2 remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. What physicians need to know about transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of Covid-19 is the subject of ongoing updates from infectious disease experts at the Journal. (Eric J. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., Lindsey R. Baden M.D. and Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., 5/5)
The Lancet: The Problem Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Chronic Liver Disease
In 2019, an estimated 1·27 million individuals died due to bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Beyond the obvious threat to global public health, AMR also threatens global development—even the most optimistic scenario modelled by the World Bank in 2017 estimates that AMR will reduce annual global GDP by 1·1% by 2050, with the GDP shortfall exceeding $1 trillion every year after 2030. Against this backdrop, investment in the development of new antibiotics falls far short of that required. (6/1)
