What We’re Reading: PBM Probe Stalls; CA’s Endemic Policy; Recalled Infant Formulas
February 18th 2022A proposed probe of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) by the Federal Trade Commission did not win enough votes to go forward; California exits the crisis phase of the pandemic; Abbott infant formula has been recalled after 1 death.
What We're Reading: FDA Confirmation Vote; Expanding Medicaid for New Moms; Fentanyl Test Strips
February 15th 2022President Joe Biden's FDA nominee reaches final confirmation vote; Georgia bill that extends Medicaid coverage for low-income moms advances to House of Representatives; New Mexico bill aims to legalize test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl.
What We're Reading: COVID-19 Vaccine Expansion Halted; PBM Probe; High-Volume Antibiotic Prescribers
February 14th 2022The FDA delays its decision on Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in young children; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will vote on whether to investigate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs); nearly half of high-volume antibiotic prescribers are located in Southern states.
Iyengar Touts Importance of Lifestyle in Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer
February 11th 2022Neil M. Iyengar, MD, is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University, who work investigates the links between metabolic health and breast cancer. A key component of his research is the development of clinical trials that examine the role of medication alongside diet and exercise, to prevent obesity-related cancers and improve outcomes.
What We’re Reading: COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids; Biden’s Domestic Agenda; Teva Opioid Settlement
February 10th 2022The CDC laid out a plan for mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 years old, pending FDA authorization; President Biden pivots focus onto drug pricing to revive his social spending agenda; Teva opioid settlements could total $3.6 billion when all’s said and done.
What We’re Reading: Global COVID-19 Cases Drop; J&J Vaccine Slowdown; Amazon Care Launches
February 9th 2022Worldwide COVID-19 cases drop by 17%, with deaths decreasing by 7%; Johnson & Johnson temporarily stopped COVID-19 vaccine production in the Netherlands; Amazon begins nationwide rollout of its telehealth service, Amazon Care.
What We're Reading: COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring; Vaccine Dose Intervals; Urban Air Pollution
February 7th 2022The CDC's wastewater monitoring program will soon begin evaluating more water samples for COVID-19; vaccine guidance changes for individuals who are immunocompromised may be forthcoming; exposure to air pollution levels vastly greater than that advised by World Health Organization guidelines.
Examining Consequences of Levodopa’s Iron-Binding Ability in PD
February 5th 2022Researchers think they know more about why levodopa, the first-line therapy for treating the motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), loses efficacy and causes dyskinesia, or off periods, the longer a patient stays on it.
What We’re Reading: Cancer Moonshot Returns; New Omicron Subvariant; Drug Overdose Suicide Rates
February 2nd 2022President Biden announced he would bring back the Cancer Moonshot initiative that launched in the Obama administration; the World Health Organization said the Omicron subvariant, BA.2, appears to have the same severity as the original Omicron variant; cases of suicide by drug overdose increased in young people, older adults, and non-Hispanic Black women.
Dr Joshua Richter Explains Importance of Cytogenetics in Multiple Myeloma
February 1st 2022Joshua Richter, MD, assistant professor of medicine in The Tisch Cancer Institute, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, explains how the concept of cancer stage does not mean the same thing in multiple myeloma as it does in other cancers, why cytogenetics matter, and new data from trials involving quadruplet therapy.
What We're Reading: Infectious Omicron Subtype; Rise in Drug Prices; Alcohol Consumption and Cancer
January 31st 2022A novel Omicron subvariant, BA.2, was found to be 1.5 times more transmissible than the original Omicron strain; analysis finds drugmakers increased list prices by 6.6% at the beginning of the year; alcohol consumption linked with the development of several cancer types.