Pharma & Tech: July 14, 2022

Self-Managed Abortions Gain Attention, but Helpers Risk Legal Trouble
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio A network of organizations help women use medication to end early pregnancies safely. But it’s a legal gray area in Tennessee and other states that restrict abortion.

Montana Clinics That Provide Abortions Preemptively Restrict Pill Access for Out-of-State Patients
By Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts Montana is an island of legal abortion, but three of the state’s five clinics are limiting access to abortion pills for out-of-state patients in an effort to protect themselves and patients from legal attacks.

Genetic Screening Results Just Got Harder to Handle Under New Abortion Rules
By Sara Reardon Most prenatal genetic tests aren’t performed until after 11 weeks’ gestation, and the time between drawing a sample and getting results may be additional weeks. But new abortion restrictions prevent parents from choosing an abortion when they find out their child has a genetic disease, and make the already difficult decision for them.

Patients With Epilepsy Navigate Murky Unregulated CBD Industry
By Eric Berger The FDA has approved a cannabis-derived drug, Epidiolex, to treat some forms of epilepsy. Now people who have other forms of the condition are using over-the-counter CBD products in hopes of taming their seizures. But doctors and patients worry about the unregulated world of CBD, in which product ingredients can be a mystery.

‘Free’ Screening? Know Your Rights to Get No-Cost Care
By Julie Appleby Even a decade in, the Affordable Care Act’s recommendations to simply cover preventive screening and care without cost sharing remain confusing and complex.

Seeking to Kick-Start Biden’s Agenda, Schumer Unveils a Bill for Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
By Michael McAuliff In addition to allowing federal officials to negotiate the price that Medicare pays for some drugs, the bill would cap annual out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000. But before Democrats can pass the bill under special rules that prevent Republicans from staging a filibuster, they must get approval from the Senate parliamentarian.

New Weight Loss Treatment Is Marked by Heavy Marketing and Modest Results
By Julie Appleby Approved as a device, not a drug, Plenity contains a plant-based gel that swells to fill 25% of a person’s stomach, to help people eat less. Results vary widely but are modest on average.

How Pfizer Won the Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit and Influence
By Arthur Allen The drugmaker has the best-selling vaccine to prevent covid and the most effective drug to treat it. Its success has overshadowed the government’s covid-fighting strategy.

Vaccine and Testing Delays for Monkeypox Echo Failures in Early Covid Response
By Michelle Andrews Public health officials say monkeypox is not as dangerous as covid and can be handled well with current treatments and if those at risk use caution. But the rollout of vaccines has been slow and led to angst among some at-risk people.

At a Bay Area ‘Test-to-Treat’ Site, Few Takers for Free Antivirals
By Rachel Scheier In carrying out the federal covid-19 “test-to-treat” initiative, California is targeting the uninsured by outfitting 138 testing sites with screenings for free antiviral drugs. But as of mid-June, fewer than 800 people had been prescribed the medicines. And two-thirds of those undergoing screenings are insured.

A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate
By Victoria Knight As a Senate committee considered legislation to reauthorize the FDA’s user fee program, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul agreed on a proposed amendment related to importing drugs from Canada, the U.K., and other nations.

Crowdsourced Data on Overdoses Pinpoints Where to Help
By Renuka Rayasam University of Texas researchers are testing a program that would allow harm reduction groups to crowdsource data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide. While the data relies on word of mouth, they say, it is more comprehensive than anything that exists now and can be used immediately to prevent overdoses.

Overdose Deaths Behind Bars Rise as Drug Crisis Swells
By LJ Dawson Drug-related mortality rates have increased in prisons and jails even as the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses has dropped. The pandemic lockdowns on visitors didn't eliminate the problem, showcasing that guards have been a source of the contraband.

The Search for Scarce Formula Is Worse for Rural Families on WIC
By Christina Saint Louis Constraints imposed by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, that prevent recipients from using benefits to buy formula across state lines weigh on families as the nationwide formula shortage drags on.

As California Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees, Counties Fall Short on Interpreters
By Mark Kreidler As Ukrainians settle in California, many are tapping Medi-Cal. But in some counties, particularly Sacramento, the health department doesn’t have enough interpreters.

Widely Used Hospital Gowns Show Signs of Exposing Workers to Infection
By Brett Kelman Isolation gowns are supposed to protect health care workers from splattered bodily fluids. But new studies suggest that too much liquid seeps through some disposable gowns, creating a risk of infection.

Digital Mental Health Companies Draw Scrutiny and Growing Concerns
By Harris Meyer Consumers who have trouble getting in to see a therapist are turning to online behavioral health providers that offer quick access. But there’s limited research on their effectiveness.

Montana’s Blackfeet Tribe to Use Dogs to Sniff Out Disease and Contaminants
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR The Blackfeet Nation is experimenting with a new way to detect chronic wasting disease in animals used by tribal members for food and cultural practices.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine
The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.

Readers and Tweeters Weigh In on Medical Debt, the Obesity Epidemic, and Opioid Battles
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Nuevo tratamiento para adelgazar: mucho marketing y resultados discretos
By Julie Appleby Plenity está aprobado por la FDA como un dispositivo que contiene granos de un hidrogel absorbente de origen vegetal. Cada grano se “infla” hasta 100 veces su tamaño, llenando una cuarta parte del estómago de una persona.

Cómo Pfizer le ganó a la pandemia, alcanzando influencia y ganancias descomunales
By Arthur Allen Su éxito en el desarrollo de medicamentos contra covid le ha dado a la farmacéutica un peso inusual en la determinación de la política de salud de Estados Unidos. Algo que preocupa a expertos.