Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Why The US Didn't Seek Patents On Gilead Drug Remdesivir
The Washington Post: United States Spent $162 Million On Remdesivir Development But Holds No Patents, Review Finds
A new government report says the United States spent $162 million getting Gilead’s covid-19 drug remdesivir to market but opted against seeking government patents because Gilead invented the experimental medicine years earlier. The drug sells for $3,120 for a five-day course of treatment for covid 19. It brought in $2.8 billion in revenue for Gilead last year and the company expects to make a similar amount in 2020. (Rowland, 4/1)
Bloomberg: Hydroxychloroquine Lives On As Covid Drug Despite Trial Flops
Hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug that former President Donald Trump touted as a “game changer” in the fight against Covid-19, is still being prescribed by physicians in the U.S. though it has proven to be ineffective against the virus in clinical trials. Concern is growing that patients are at risk of harm because physicians continue to prescribe hydroxychloroquine over other potentially life-saving Covid treatments. In June, the Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine “in light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other serious side effects.” The potential benefits of the drug no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the authorized use, the agency said in a statement. (Rutherford, 4/1)
CIDRAP: Organ Issues Linked With 'Long COVID-19'
Long-term COVID-19 symptoms include fatigue, "brain fog," and, according to a study published yesterday in BMJ, organ problems like respiratory or heart disease. Compared with the general population, patients who were discharged from COVID-related hospitalization were six times more likely to develop respiratory disease and three times more likely to develop a major cardiovascular disease. They also had a 29.4% rate of readmission and a 12.2% death rate). These results are in line with other recent studies, according to the researchers. (Matt McLemon, 4/1)
NPR: Mice That Hear Imaginary Sounds May Help Explain Hallucinations In People
A technique that induces imaginary sounds in both mice and people could help scientists understand the brain circuits involved in schizophrenia and other disorders that cause hallucinations. The technique appears to offer "a way to study psychotic disorders in animals," says Adam Kepecs, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. It also shows how levels of the brain chemical dopamine determine the likelihood that a mouse or a person will perceive something that isn't really there, Kepecs and a team report in this week's issue of the journal Science. (Hamilton, 4/1)
