Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Fate Of Coronavirus Vaccine Hanging In Balance, Trump Adopts Friendly Tone Toward Pharma
Reuters: Trump Administration Says Drug Makers Will Work Together To Combat Coronavirus
The Trump administration said on Monday it had secured commitments from top pharmaceutical companies to work together to develop a vaccine and treatments to fight the coronavirus. At a meeting with industry executives at the White House, President Donald Trump exhorted the companies to collaborate to speed the process of getting a vaccine and therapeutics to victims of the virus. (Mason, 3/2)
Stat: Seeking Help With Coronavirus, Trump Shifts His Tone Toward Pharma
President Trump had billed the meeting with pharmaceutical executives as a scolding waiting to happen. The gathering was intended to pressure the industry to bring drug prices “way down,” he said on Friday, suggesting it had only later morphed into a “convenient” opportunity to discuss the development of a coronavirus vaccine. But seated across from 10 pharmaceutical executives in the Cabinet Room on Monday, Trump’s long-simmering contempt for the drug industry melted away. (Facher, 3/2)
ABC News: Trump To Meet With Pharmaceutical Companies On Vaccine As Coronavirus Spreads
“We've asked them to accelerate whatever they're doing in terms of the vaccine, absolutely,” Trump said of drug-making company executives during an Oval Office photo op. He was previously scheduled to meet with them Monday on the topic of drug pricing, though the top agenda item in the meeting has since developed to focus on the virus. (Phelps, 3/2)
CNN: Trump Contradicted By Task Force Health Expert About Coronavirus Vaccine Timing
Trump was asked about a timeline for a vaccine during the Cabinet Room meeting with pharmaceutical executives and members of his task force. "I don't know what the time will be. I've heard very quick numbers, that of months. And I've heard pretty much a year would be an outside number. So I think that's not a bad range. But if you're talking about three to four months in a couple of cases, a year in other cases," Trump said. But Dr. Antony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, immediately corrected the President: "Let me make sure you get the ... information. A vaccine that you make and start testing in a year is not a vaccine that's deployable." (Vazquez, 3/3)
Stat: A Detailed Guide To The Coronavirus Drugs And Vaccines In Development
In the months since the novel coronavirus rose from a regional crisis to a global threat, drug makers large and small have scrambled to advance their best ideas for thwarting a pandemic. Some are repurposing old antivirals. Some are mobilizing tried-and-true technologies, and others are pressing forward with futuristic approaches to human medicine. (Garde, 3/2)
Reuters: Pfizer Identified Some Antiviral Compounds With Potential As Coronavirus Treatments
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Monday that it identified certain antiviral compounds it had in development that have the potential to inhibit coronaviruses and is engaging with a third party to screen the compounds. The company said it hopes to have the results from that screening by the end of March and if any of the compounds are successful, it would hope start testing them by the end of the year. (3/2)
Stat: The Coronavirus Could Help Pharma Reset Its Reputation In Washington
The coronavirus outbreak could be the pharmaceutical industry’s ticket to saving its reputation in Washington. Already, the fervid crusade to contain the epidemic refocused a White House meeting centered on high drug prices onto the industry’s ostensibly more commendable work to develop vaccines and therapies that target the virus. And there are early indications the industry is leveraging the shift in the conversation: new ads from the industry trade group PhRMA, featured recently in several D.C. health policy newsletters, implore readers to “See how the industry is helping.” (Florko, 3/3)
And in other news on President Donald Trump and the coronavirus outbreak —
The Washington Post: Trump Calls For Fed Rate Cut As U.S. Deaths Rise; Finance Chiefs Plot Economic Rescue
With the coronavirus spreading unpredictably and Americans bracing for an increasing impact at home, pressure mounted for global policymakers to respond with financial crisis-style stimulus measures to ward off the threat to the world economy. As the U.S. death toll rose to six, President Trump in a tweet early Tuesday called for a “big” interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve “to make up for China’s coronavirus situation and slowdown,” while Group of Seven finance chiefs prepared to discuss how to counter the gathering storm. (Taylor, 3/3)
The Hill: Trump Defends Coronavirus Response, Warns Democrats Against 'Political Attacks'
President Trump defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus during a campaign rally on Monday and accused Democrats of trying to politicize the issue. “Washington Democrats are trying to politicize the coronavirus, denigrating the noble work of our public health professionals, but honestly not so much anymore,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Everyone appreciates these are the greatest professionals in the world at what they do. We’re actually helping a lot of other countries.” (Chalfant, 3/2)
CBS News: Trump Considers New Travel Restrictions To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus
President Trump said amid the coronavirus outbreak that there may be more travel restrictions coming, "from certain countries where they're having more of a breakout." He did not specify which countries, however. On Saturday, Mr. Trump announced restrictions on visitors from Iran and further screening of people traveling from South Korea and Italy. Monday's disclosure came during a meeting he and Vice President Mike Pence were having with top pharmaceutical company representatives at the White House, as the federal government and private industry scramble to come up with a vaccine and treatment for coronavirus as quickly as possible. (3/2)
