Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Walmart Asks Some Pharmacists To Take Pay Cuts To Lower Costs
Reuters: Exclusive: Walmart Cuts Pharmacist Pay, Hours While Workload Piles Up
Walmart is asking some of its 16,000 pharmacists across the U.S. to voluntarily take pay cuts by reducing their working hours in a bid to lower costs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The cuts, which haven't been previously reported and are aimed at pharmacists in higher wage brackets, highlight the new pressures at Walmart pharmacies, where shoppers are lining up to buy weight-loss drugs that drag on profits, despite their high price. (Cavale, 8/29)
In other pharmaceutical news —
The Boston Globe: Alzheimer's Therapy Approval Hampered By Ramp-Up Struggles
The first Alzheimer’s therapy to clearly slow cognitive decline, approved in the United States last month, lifted the hope of patients and their families. But creating access to the program is a painfully slow process, even in Massachusetts, where large hospital systems have been preparing for months to administer the much-anticipated medicine. Thousands of patients are stuck on waiting lists across the state and nationally as hospitals struggle to ramp up infusion centers and monitoring processes for the drug, called Leqembi, while neurologists grapple with workforce and capacity constraints. (Weisman, 8/30)
The Boston Globe: Ginkgo Bioworks Partnering With Google For AI-Based Drug Discovery
Diving headfirst into the generative artificial intelligence market, Ginkgo Bioworks said on Tuesday it plans to develop its own AI models for drug development and other synthetic biology applications. Creating an AI model like the one underlying ChatGPT, but specialized for drug discovery, will require a vast amount of computing power. So, Boston-based Ginkgo also announced a five-year deal with Google for access to the search giant’s cloud computing and AI modeling resources. (Pressman, 8/29)
CNBC: 3M Faces More Legal Headaches After Earplug Settlement
3M is on the verge of ending the largest mass tort litigation in U.S. history, but it’s still facing other expensive legal headaches. The company said Tuesday that it settled with roughly 250,000 plaintiffs in a $6.01 billion deal. Military veterans and service members alleged 3M manufactured defective earplugs that resulted in hearing loss. (Mody, 8/29)
Stat: The Return Of KRAS, The Cancer Target That Became ‘Undruggable'
KRAS, one of the most common genetic mutations in cancer, has been one of the most tantalizing oncogenic targets for drug developers since its discovery four decades ago. An altered KRAS gene can drive cells to divide uncontrollably, propelling them down the path towards malignancy. But for most of the last four decades, any attempt to target KRAS failed, leading many researchers to doom the protein as “undruggable.” (Chen and Iskandar, 8/30)
In obituaries —
Philadelphia Inquirer: Roberto Weinmann, Pioneering Molecular Biologist And Cancer Researcher, Has Died At 81
Roberto Weinmann, 81, formerly of Wynnewood, pioneering molecular biologist, cancer researcher, and associate professor at the Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, retired chief operating officer at PharmaMar USA, and former director of Oncology Discovery at Bristol Myers Squibb, died Wednesday, Aug. 23, of metastatic esophageal cancer at Community Medical Center in Toms River, N.J. (Miles, 8/29)
