Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rhesus Monkey Alzheimer's Model Could Speed Research In Humans
Stat: Monkey Model Of Alzheimer's May Accelerate Search For Treatments
Researchers reported Thursday that they have created a new model for studying treatments of Alzheimer’s disease — in rhesus macaque monkeys — that may speed the search for therapies that make an appreciable difference in the course of an illness that affects nearly 6 million Americans. Despite three decades of intensive research on Alzheimer’s, and billions of dollars in funding, researchers have yet to find a way to prevent or cure, or even to slow, the disease as it rampages through aging brains. Some blame the mice. (McFarling, 3/18)
Stat: Does A Drug's Name Affect Its Perception? The FDA Wants To Know
Drug makers may spend untold sums of money giving medicines zippy names. Now, regulators want to know the effect these nomenclatures have on perceptions held by consumers and doctors. So the Food and Drug Administration is launching what it says is the first such study to learn how names may affect perceptions of how effective a drug is or the given conditions it is approved to treat. The plan is to query 500 consumers and 500 health care providers about fictional “extreme and neutral” names for high cholesterol and acid reflux drugs: CuresFlux and Zerpexin. (Silverman, 3/18)
Stat: AmerisourceBergen Say-To-Pay Proposal Passes Narrowly Amid Criticism
In a rebuke to AmerisourceBergen (ABC), nearly half of its shareholders voted against a “say-on-pay” proposal after criticism erupted over the hefty compensation package given its chief executive officer and the role the company played in the opioid crisis. Specifically, 48% of the stockholders rejected the compensation given to CEO Steve Collis and his management team, an outcome that suggests the company misjudged investor sentiment about the pay packages. However, when excluding shares held by Walgreen Boots Alliance, which owns 27.7% of AmerisourceBergen stock, 72% of independent shareholders rejected executive pay. (Silverman, 3/18)
