Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer's Previously Secret Deliberations Offer Rare Glimpse Into Frustrating World Of Alzheimer's Research
The Washington Post: Why Pfizer Didn’t Report That Its Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication Might Prevent Alzheimer’s
A team of researchers inside Pfizer made a startling find in 2015: The company’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis therapy Enbrel, a powerful anti-inflammatory drug, appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 64 percent. The results were from an analysis of hundreds of thousands of insurance claims. Verifying that the drug would actually have that effect in people would require a costly clinical trial — and after several years of internal discussion, Pfizer opted against further investigation and chose not to make the data public, the company confirmed. (Rowland, 6/4)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Bloomberg: Gene Therapy Appears To Be Beating Once-Incurable Diseases
This is the tantalizing promise of gene therapies, the potential cures for dozens of once-incurable illnesses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its first approval of a systemic gene therapy, a Novartis AG treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, on May 24 and says it expects to approve 10 to 20 therapies a year starting in 2025. There are more than 800 trials under way, targeting diseases including rare metabolic disorders, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and Parkinson’s. As the list grows, such treatments have the potential to fundamentally remake the health-care system at every level. (Cortez, 6/5)
Stat: What You Missed At ASCO? A Lot, As Cancer Research Hastens On
It was, by all accounts, a pretty slow year at the annual meeting of the American Society of Oncology. But the pace of cancer research is so fast that even during a slow year a lot happens. Here’s our review of some of the most important developments revealed at the largest annual meeting of cancer doctors. For a few years, most big cancer meetings have been all about immunotherapy, with the spotlight on big, practice-changing clinical trials showing how the immune system can be directed to kill cancer cells. (Feuerstein and Herper, 6/4)
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