STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Conservative group pushes for malaria drug approval for Covid-19; OTC drug industry to get an overhaul
And so, another working week will soon come to a close. Not a moment too…
Category: Biotech
What if hydroxychloroquine doesn’t work? What if it does? Right now, we don’t know
An old malaria medicine, hydroxychloroquine, has gone viral on the internet. But is it really…
Opinion: Government rules led electronic health records astray. It’s time to reimagine them
With the passage of the HITECH Act in 2009, the Department of Health and Human…
Opinion: Abandoned by U.S. leaders, the only Covid-19 protection I can count on in my emergency department is trust
I step through the sliding glass doors of my hospital’s emergency department and immediately look…
STAT Plus: Could real-world evidence help shape the future of drug development?
Real-world evidence has been generating a stir in the world of drug development — and…
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Covid-19 hasn’t yet hit India in a widespread way. But I saw more warnings there than I did in the U.S.
CHENNAI, India — I grab my grandfather’s cellphone to call the corner shop and make…
With masks dwindling, a hospital’s Covid-19 crisis team searches for a way out
This is one in a series of reports from hospitals responding to the Covid-19 pandemic….
The next frontier in coronavirus testing: Identifying the full scope of the pandemic, not just individual infections
Scientists are starting to roll out new blood tests for the coronavirus, a key development…
New reports raise possibility pregnant women can pass coronavirus to fetus, but risk is unclear
A trio of scientific reports about Covid-19 infections in pregnant women raises concerns that the…
‘Drug development is a long, long process’: pharma CEO in Italy sounds a note of caution on Covid-19
The CEO of a global pharmaceutical company’s operations in Italy has advice for anyone expecting…
‘We’re racing against the clock:’ Researchers test wearables as an early warning system for Covid-19
Researchers at two prominent California universities launched ambitious new studies this week to test whether…
STAT Plus: DEA proposes new rule to approve new suppliers of marijuana for research
After years of inactivity, the Drug Enforcement Administration has finally taken steps toward approving more…
The Covid-19 Tracker
As the virus that causes Covid-19 spreads worldwide, this dashboard offers a snapshot of the…
Listen: Fauci’s star turn, the latest on coronavirus, and an under-the-radar Alzheimer’s drug
When can we stop distancing? Does the “deep state” meet over Zoom? And could the…
Genetic counselors push for permission to hold virtual visits with seniors covered by Medicare
Encouraged by new rules from the Trump administration, doctors and nurses across the country have…
STAT Plus: Congress set to overhaul the way the U.S. regulates over-the-counter drugs
WASHINGTON — The over-the-counter drug industry is about to get overhauled. Congressional lawmakers tucked a…
Opinion: A CDC veteran asks: Why is the agency ‘sitting on the sidelines’ in the fight against Covid-19?
The public health challenge of our generation is right in front of us. SARS-CoV-2 appears…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Gilead asks FDA to rescind orphan status for Covid-19 drug; Bristol delays MS drug launch due to coronavirus
Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We hope you are finding ways to…
STAT Plus: STAT Plus video chat: Biotech in uncharted territory
Every corner of the biotech industry is being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. There will…
STAT Plus: Digital therapy for chronic insomnia gains FDA signoff
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of a digital product that…
STAT Plus: Bristol’s MS drug approval is good news for shareholders but patients will have to wait
A new multiple sclerosis medicine from Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) was approved Thursday by the…
Opinion: If Covid-19 will peak in June, teaching hospitals should consider delaying the start of new medical residents
Some projections place the peak of Covid-19 infections in the U.S. between May and June….
Opinion: Covid-19 is scary. A CRISPR-made pandemic could be scarier
Uncertainty breeds panic. As Covid-19 spreads across the planet, stock markets have crashed in response…
What it’s like to go into the lab at a biopharma company during the coronavirus pandemic
Like grocery store clerks and Amazon delivery drivers, they’re among the essential workers of the…
Covid-19’s resurgence in Hong Kong holds a lesson: Defeating it demands persistence
As a mysterious virus raced through Wuhan, China, 570 miles to the north, residents in…
What we’ve learned about the coronavirus — and what we still need to know
As we approach the three-month mark since we all learned about a new virus triggering…
A Canadian bill would make it easier to issue compulsory licenses for Covid-19 products
In response to the pandemic, Canadian lawmakers have passed a bill that would speed the…
Under intense criticism, Gilead forsakes monopoly status for its experimental Covid-19 drug
In an unexpected move, Gilead Sciences (GILD) has asked the Food and Drug Administration to…
When can we let up? Health experts craft strategies to safely relax coronavirus lockdowns
With countries from Italy to the U.S. having waited too long to combat the coronavirus,…
STAT Plus: The tables are turned: Chinese regulator scolds a U.S. company for drug-manufacturing problems
The shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. For the past few years,…
Opinion: Assisted living and Covid-19: the next Kirkland might not be a nursing home
With the national spotlight turned on nursing homes following the Covid-19 outbreak at the Life…
Vir Biotechnology reports early progress in antibody treatment for Covid-19
Vir Biotechnology, a San Francisco-based biotechnology firm, said Wednesday that laboratory testing showed two of…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Scientists say coronavirus is not mutating significantly; WHO is asked to pool Covid-19 patent rights
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week. Under the circumstances, this is…
India bans exports of drug touted by Trump as potential Covid-19 treatment
The Indian government has banned exports of hydroxychloroquine, the decades-old malaria drug that was touted…
STAT Plus: Biotech in the time of the coronavirus: Stocks are down, but optimistic investors see opportunities ahead
Yesterday, I found out that I’m an “essential person” under Massachusetts’ new stay-at-home order. Should…
Tech companies are crucial players in the coronavirus response. Are they contributing what’s most needed?
A version of this story appeared in STAT’s Health Tech newsletter. Click here to subscribe….
Opinion: Protect older and vulnerable health care workers from Covid-19
Since the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged late in 2019, health care…
Opinion: In a pandemic, hospital staffers need to get better at hand-washing
After visiting Ellis Island in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt noted the lack of hand-washing by…
Hospitals turn to remote monitoring tools to free up beds for the sickest coronavirus patients
Desperate to free up beds for only the sickest Covid-19 patients, hospitals nationwide are weighing…
A sports medicine office morphs into a coronavirus clinic, braced for the onslaught
First in a series of reports from hospitals responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. The doctor…
Social distancing, politicized: Trump allies are urging an end to isolation, worrying public health experts
WASHINGTON — How and whether to prevent disease is suddenly a political question. And in…
Hospital orders for old malaria drugs have spiked amid coronavirus pandemic
As speculation mounted in recent weeks that a pair of old malaria drugs could combat…
A call to scientists idled by shuttered labs: Share your bench skills and resources to fight Covid-19
His lab shut down last week by coronavirus precautions like many others across the U.S.,…
WHO is asked to create a voluntary intellectual property pool to develop Covid-19 products
Seeking to widen access to medical products for combating Covid-19, the Costa Rican government has…
STAT Plus: Bellus Health hopes to be one of biotech’s more improbable turnarounds
About a dozen years ago, Bellus Health was teetering on the brink of insolvency after a would-be…
Startups touting at-home coronavirus tests suspend plans after FDA warning
In a rapid about-face, a handful of startups that had already rolled out at-home coronavirus…
‘We didn’t follow through’: The official who tallied ‘lessons learned’ from Ebola weighs in on the coronavirus response
Christopher Kirchhoff knows how to assess the U.S. government’s response to a public health crisis….
Opinion: We need smart coronavirus testing, not just more testing
Despite three weeks of assurances, most Americans who have symptoms of Covid-19 still can’t get…
Can location data from smartphones help slow the coronavirus? Facebook is giving academics a chance to try
It’s emerging as one of the more promising — and potentially controversial — ideas to…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Pharmacy boards limit prescriptions for drugs touted by Trump; Nearly half of trial sites expect disruptions
Hello, everyone, and how are you this morning? Despite the chaos, we are hanging in…