STAT+: Pharmalittle: Rite Aid files for bankruptcy; Alzheimer’s brain scans get broader Medicare coverage
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was sufficiently relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so-familiar routine of online calls and deadlines has returned. After all, the world — such as it is — continues to spin. And to nudge it in a much-needed better direction, we are quaffing cups of stimulation. Our choice today is, once again, pistachio creme. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here is a menu of tidbits for you to peruse. We hope your day is meaningful and productive. And do stay in touch. …
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy, unable to find the money to settle hundreds of federal, state, and private lawsuits alleging it oversupplied prescription opioid painkillers, The Wall Street Journal writes. The filing puts all those suits on hold. As part of the restructuring, the company will close more of its 2,100 stores and name a new chief executive. Its collapse imperils some of the roughly 47,000 jobs at the company, which just celebrated its 61st anniversary. Lenders will provide the company with about $200 million in new financing as part of a plan to restructure more than $3 billion of existing debt in chapter 11.
Two new immunizations promise to protect babies from respiratory syncytial virus – if people can find them, CNBC says. Providers are scrambling to offer a Pfizer vaccine, Abrysvo, to pregnant patients and a Sanofi monoclonal antibody, Beyfortus, to babies. The immunizations, both of which protect infants from complications of RSV, were recently approved and are starting to roll out just as the respiratory virus season gets underway. The tight timeline leaves little room to resolve logistical hurdles like insurance coverage, and the steep price is making some providers wary of stocking up without a guarantee they will get paid for administering them.
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