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What We’re Reading: EQRx “Reset”; Unequal Alzheimer Drug Access; DEA Extends Telemedicine Prescribing
Biotech company EQRx discards low-cost drug plan, cuts its therapy programs to 1, and slashes staff in “reset”; health care systems’ preparation for new Alzheimer disease drug takes location and resources into consideration; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will extend telemedicine prescribing for certain controlled medications through at least November 11.
EQRx Discards Low-Cost Drug Plan, Slashes Staff in “Reset”
Biotech company EQRx is discarding its plan to provide drugs that are usually expensive at lower prices, reported Fierce Biotech. The manufacturer is also cutting ties with 2 of its partners, letting go of 170 staff members, and striking all but 1 of its assets from its pipeline. The restructuring has been titled a “reset” of EQRx’s business and clinical focuses, according to a May 8 earnings call and a corresponding release.
Alzheimer Drug Access Might Depend on Zip Code
The launch of long-awaited Alzheimer treatments could be a case of the haves and have nots, as clinics and academic hospitals are preparing for the rollout, and some rural health systems said they’d rather wait to see if Medicare covers the drugs and more evidence emerges to support their efficacy before adding them to their sparsely staffed health care systems, according to The Wall Street Journal. The FDA conditionally approved lecanemab-irmb (Leqembi) in January and has a deadline of July 6 to decide on full approval.
DEA Extends Telemedicine Prescribing for Controlled Meds
The federal government will permit doctors to continue using telemedicine to prescribe certain medications for anxiety, pain, and opioid addiction, lengthening for 6 months the emergency flexibilities that were originally established during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported The Washington Post. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the extension Tuesday, 2 days prior to the expiration of the original telemedicine flexibilities with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The extended permission will run through November 11, 2023, but if the provider has an established telemedicine relationship with a patient, it is extended through November 11, 2024.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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