Opinion: To learn lessons from pandemics, don’t listen to big pharma
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the leaders of wealthy countries pledged to respond with “global…
Category: Biotech
FDA authorizes booster shot for Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it has authorized a booster shot for…
STAT+: FDA panel votes that a controversial premature birth medication should be withdrawn
After an extraordinary three-day hearing, an expert panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and…
Black Death may have influenced evolution of genes involved in immune responses, study finds
The phrase “Black Death mass burial site” tends to evoke images of haphazard piles of…
STAT+: Pharmalittle: Merck KGaA probed by French court for misleading info; former Genentech scientists given prison terms over trade-secret theft
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week. Congratulations on making it…
Listen: What makes food ‘healthy’ and why we don’t prioritize nutrition
After years of deliberation, the FDA recently announced a new set of rules it proposes…
Opinion: STAT+: How digital health innovators can successfully navigate evolving FDA regulations
In the rapidly changing landscape of digital health, innovation has often outpaced regulations, especially for…
Could monkeypox infections have long-term consequences?
Since the world began confronting a global outbreak of monkeypox in the spring, the scientific…
Racial disparities in neonatal mortality even wider with tools like IVF, study finds
When Sarka Lisonkova and her colleagues set out to study disparities in the birth outcomes…
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BU lab wasn’t required to clear potentially controversial study with NIH, director says
The director of a Boston University laboratory that conducted potentially controversial research on the viruses…
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FDA, DOJ sue 6 vape shops for ignoring warnings about selling illegal products
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is suing six vape shops after the companies ignored Food…
STAT+: How many? A new analysis finds 1.3 million American adults rationed insulin due to cost
Amid ongoing controversy over the cost of insulin, a new analysis finds that approximately 1.3…
STAT+: Pharmalittle: J&J will cut its workforce; pharma gave Dems money despite threats over Medicare drug-price negotiation
Top of the morning to you. Another busy day is unfolding on the Pharmalot satellite…
In new White House plan, Biden administration outlines ambitious strategy to prevent and prepare for pandemics
The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a new national biodefense strategy, aiming to adapt lessons…
Biden officials scramble for a backup as Covid variants threaten a key therapy for immunocompromised people
WASHINGTON — Biden health officials are bracing for the prospect that the country’s sole preventive…
Opinion: Ensuring food security and health beyond the Covid-19 public health emergency
Expansions to social safety net programs during Covid-19 have been essential for low-income Americans hit…
After Dobbs, U.S. medical students head abroad for abortion training no longer provided by their schools
A fourth-year medical student, Tema, faced an abrupt interruption to her education earlier this year….
Boston University researchers’ testing of lab-made version of Covid virus draws government scrutiny
Research at Boston University that involved testing a lab-made hybrid version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus…
Justice Department sues Cigna for allegedly exaggerating conditions of Medicare Advantage members
The Department of Justice filed a new lawsuit against Cigna Monday, alleging the health insurance…
STAT+: Despite its threats, PhRMA is still supporting Democrats who voted for Medicare negotiation
Drugmakers’ powerhouse lobby did not exactly make good on its early August threat to hold…
STAT+: Pharmalittle: BioNTech eyes cancer vaccine before decade’s end; Pfizer asks Supreme Court to review copay programs
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was…
STAT+: Josh Bilenker’s last biotech sold for $8 billion. His next one is cloaked in mystery but loaded with money
Josh Bilenker’s last company, Loxo Oncology, was purchased by Eli Lilly for $8 billion. No…
STAT+: Milestone Pharma’s nasal spray rapidly restores normal heart rhythm, achieving goal of key study
Milestone Pharmaceuticals said Monday that an experimental nasal-spray medicine acted quickly to treat people experiencing…
STAT+: What to know about Roche’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment
The next big Alzheimer’s disease study readout is almost here. Roche is nearing the completion…
Opinion: UpToDate has a racism problem. Its name is Dr. Stanley Goldfarb
The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension recently made a quiet update to…
CDC: Signs point to an early start for flu season, with cases already ticking up in parts of the U.S.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, influenza trackers would begin reading tea leaves around this time…
STAT+: European Prosecutor’s Office confirms it’s investigating European Union Covid vaccine contracts
In an unusual step, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) confirmed it has opened an…
Opinion: Polio eradication is in sight. Don’t stop funding it now
When it comes to eradicating infectious diseases, there can be no half measures: it’s an…
STAT+: UnitedHealth plots further growth in its profitable provider division
Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group’s strong financial showing in the third quarter was driven in part…
STAT+: Lawmakers push NIH to disclose steps being taken to ensure clinical trial results are reported
A group of Republican senators is demanding to know what steps the U.S. National Institutes…
STAT+: Pharmalittle: Biden to sign executive order to push drug costs down; big grocers get bad grades for antibiotic policies
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too…
STAT+: Several big U.S. grocery chains are failing to stop antibiotic overuse in their meat supply chains
Amid rising concern over antibiotic resistance, a new report finds that a dozen of the…
Opinion: Monkeypox vaccine: a case study for real-world data
With health emergencies becoming more common, the world needs more efficient ways to test the…
Opinion: The future for practicing physicians in a corporate world
Forty years ago, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning history “The Social Transformation of American Medicine,” sociologist…
‘It still prevented cancers’: Experts discuss furor over colonoscopy study and dissect the nuances
On Sunday, the New England Journal of Medicine published the interim results of a landmark…
In Fiona-ravaged Puerto Rico, hospitals were prioritized over health clinics for diesel, exacerbating rural health disparities
When Hurricane Fiona knocked out power across the entire island of Puerto Rico, hospitals turned…
STAT+: Documents detail how pharmacy giants Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart failed patients in the opioid epidemic
In 2011, Walgreens executives were under pressure. Amid a growing addiction crisis, and with the…
BIO’s messy transition, mRNA’s future, & Biogen’s next CEO
What’s going on at biotech’s lobbying organization? Where does mRNA go from here? And what…
Faster brain imaging technique seems to overcome limitations of current MRI scans
Research often proceeds in a logical progression, new studies building upon a detailed understanding of…
STAT+: AstraZeneca is fined by South Korea for an anticompetitive deal over a cancer drug
South Korea’s anti-trust regulator has fined AstraZeneca and a local generic drugmaker a total of…
STAT+: Pharmalittle: GSK vaccine for RSV was effective in study of older adults; Eisai is confident of U.S. approval of its Alzheimer’s drug
Hello, everyone, and how are you today? Cloudy skies are hovering this morning over the…
STAT+: Relmada antidepressant drug fails first of several late-stage clinical trials
Relmada Therapeutics said Thursday that its experimental treatment for depression failed to achieve the primary…
Opinion: The global diabetes crisis few are talking about
In the numbers game of disease statistics, type 1 diabetes takes a back seat to…
STAT+: Flush with cash from Covid-19 vaccine, BioNTech founders have outsized ambitions
BOSTON — BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin had been in marathon meetings since he arrived in…
Opinion: Why the U.S. needs a public benefit biopharma industry
The biopharma industry is failing Americans, economically and medically. U.S. biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, like…
STAT+: Alphabet’s AI predicted the structure of 200 million proteins. Can it really speed up drug discovery?
Every two years since 1994, scientists have come together for an experiment — better described…
STAT+: Differences in countries’ regulations keep some cell and gene therapies from reaching patients
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Biotech companies developing cutting-edge cell and gene therapies often are tripped up…
STAT+: Merck pays $250 million to license a Moderna skin-cancer vaccine candidate
Merck on Wednesday agreed to extend an ongoing collaboration with Moderna to develop a personalized…
STAT+: FDA and large compound pharmacies settle a long-running dispute over a key list for ingredients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a trade group that represents large compound pharmacies…
Human neurons implanted in a rodent’s brain lead a rat to water — and make it drink
The scientist flicked on a laser, filling the rat’s brain with blue light. The rodent,…