Sensing an advantage, Democrats dare Trump to talk drug prices during State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers aren’t likely to cheer for many lines in President Trump’s State…
Category: Biotech
Experts envision two scenarios if the new coronavirus isn’t contained
With the new coronavirus spreading from person to person (possibly including from people without symptoms),…
If biotech had a Mount Rushmore, whose heads would you chisel in the granite?
If someone sculpted a Mount Rushmore of biotech CEOs, who’d be on it? The question…
STAT Plus: If Medicare negotiated insulin prices like the VA, it could have saved billions
As insulin becomes a poster child for the growing outcry over the cost of medicines,…
Study is halted as HIV vaccine fails test in South Africa
The latest attempt at an HIV vaccine has failed, as researchers announced Monday they have…
Quick retraction of a faulty coronavirus paper was a good moment for science
As fears of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV continued to spread last Friday, an inflammatory new…
Brain-imaging study shows ‘hot spot’ that may explain why African Americans feel greater pain
To be black in America is to literally feel greater pain than non-Hispanic white people…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: FDA approves peanut allergy drug; employer coalition likes House drug pricing bill
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was…
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to fund 30 patient groups, aiming to build a model for tackling rare diseases
SAN FRANCISCO — When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse Dr. Priscilla Chan in…
STAT Plus: FDA approves the first treatment for peanut allergy, but commercial success is hardly assured
Children and teenagers with severe, sometimes life-threatening peanut allergies can reduce their risk from accidental…
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Opinion: The ACA gave more Americans insurance, but not the health care they need
The signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 ushered in the largest expansion in…
Opinion: Cash from cannabis companies creates conflicted researchers
Imagine that scientists charged with doing research on tobacco’s health implications were funded by tobacco…
STAT Plus: Employers shoulder plenty of drug costs, but haven’t lobbied much to lower them — until now
WASHINGTON — Companies like Pepsi, Walmart, and Jack in the Box foot the bill for…
To fight coronavirus spread, the U.S. may expand ‘social distancing’ measures. But it comes at a cost
Canceling large public gatherings. Asking students to stay home from school. Closing down borders. Many…
Top WHO official says it’s not too late to stop the new coronavirus outbreak
There is still reason to believe the growing coronavirus outbreak in China can be contained,…
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U.S. declares public health emergency over coronavirus, bans travel from China by foreign nationals
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday declared a U.S. public health emergency over the…
As far right calls for China travel ban, health experts warn coronavirus response would suffer
A handful of conservative lawmakers and far-right supporters of President Trump are calling on the…
Opinion: Preprints can fill a void in times of rapidly changing science
The rapid emergence in China of 2019-nCoV, a novel coronavirus, and its spread beyond its…
U.S. to quarantine all U.S. citizens evacuated from Wuhan, as CDC raises pandemic possibility
U.S. health officials said Friday they would forcibly quarantine 195 U.S. citizens who were evacuated…
STAT Plus: Watch: CEO Daniel O’Day says Gilead is in a ‘sweet spot.’ What’s next?
What’s Gilead going to buy? That’s the single, persistent question Daniel O’Day has faced in…
STAT Plus: European regulators could take a harder line on the review of an Agios blood cancer drug
A European regulatory setback for a Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) blood-cancer drug could have a negative…
STAT Plus: PBMs favor their own pharmacies in the Florida Medicaid program
As angst rises over the prices paid for medicines, a new analysis finds some pharmacy…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Trump gives states a tool to lower drug costs, with a catch; ICER updates how it assesses drugs
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too…
STAT Plus: Trump’s Medicaid changes offers states new powers to lower drug costs — with a catch
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a powerful new tool for states to…
Opinion: A doctor-entrepreneur’s guide to socially responsible capitalism
As a doctor specializing in diseases and disorders of blood cells, I devoted my life…
Opinion: Abortion advice should be as safe as abortion itself
It’s completely reasonable for people to disagree about the morality of abortion. It’s completely unreasonable…
STAT Plus: ‘It’s very easy to get starry-eyed about AI’: Experts offer warnings on digital disruption in health care
Jenni West’s job is to spot innovative technology that improves people’s lives. As associate director…
A coronavirus ‘czar?’ Trump took the opposite course: a 12-member committee
WASHINGTON — President Obama had an Ebola “czar.’’ George W. Bush and Clinton had AIDS…
Study documents first case of coronavirus spread by a person showing no symptoms
People showing no symptoms appear to be able to spread the novel coronavirus that has…
Listen: A chemist breaks bad, the latest on the coronavirus, and pharma’s slow Bern
Is it wise to lie to the feds? Is pharma taking Sen. Bernie Sanders seriously?…
STAT Plus: U.S. officials will let Novartis pay expenses for some Kymriah patients who must travel for treatment
In an unexpected move, the Department of Health and Human Services will allow Novartis (NVS)…
WHO declares coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus a global…
CDC confirms first known case of person-to-person spread of new coronavirus in U.S.
U.S. health officials say a person from Illinois who was infected with the new coronavirus…
STAT Plus: As Biogen gets squishy on timing for an aducanumab filing, the clock is ticking
There are few things in this world more squishy than Wonder Bread. Exception: Biogen’s answers…
STAT Plus: Most innovative cancer drugs take too long to reach patients in the U.K.
Despite giddy advances in treating cancer, a new analysis finds needed medicines have been reaching…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Drug prices forecast to rise 3.6%; House committee considers bill to update generic labels
Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. Our short person has…
Live chat today at 12 p.m. ET on the new coronavirus and the global response
Join STAT infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell for a free live chat today at noon…
U.S. life expectancy slightly rises for first time in four years, due to lower cancer and overdose death rates
NEW YORK — Life expectancy in the United States is up for the first time…
Opinion: Companies must responsibly manufacture the antimicrobials society needs
In a world challenged by microbes resistant to antibiotics, many medical interventions that rely on…
STAT Plus: Medical data startup Syapse cuts 10% of workforce as it prioritizes data analytics and insights
SAN FRANCISCO — Syapse, among the highest profile companies in a wave of startups seeking…
STAT Plus: Spring Bank scraps hepatitis R&D after patient dies in trial
Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals (SBPH) said Wednesday it was abandoning efforts to develop a drug to…
WHO to reconvene emergency committee to assess global coronavirus threat
The leader of the World Health Organization said Wednesday he will convene another meeting of…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Novartis says coronavirus not disrupting supply chain, for now; FDA releases new gene therapy policies
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week. You made it this…
In coronavirus response, AI is becoming a useful tool in a global outbreak, data experts say
A version of this story appeared in STAT’s Health Tech newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Artificial intelligence…
Novartis gene therapy for fatal childhood disease delivers strong sales during fourth quarter
Zolgensma, the Novartis gene therapy for infants and the world’s most expensive medicine, continues to…
STAT Plus: In a pivot, Decibel Therapeutics loses its founding CEO — and some of its discovery programs
Decibel Therapeutics CEO Steven Holtzman is really, officially retiring. The departure of the longtime vet…
Three star scientists announce plan to solve biotech’s ‘missing women’ problem
They are the biotech equivalent of the “missing girls” in countries with a skewed gender…
Opinion: Biotech can — and must — reshape the pricing debate and protect future innovation
The week before the craziness known as J.P. Morgan 2020 began, more than 300 biotech…
STAT Plus: The FDA wants to know how Instagram influencers sway patient views on medicines
In 2015, Kim Kardashian promoted a morning-sickness pill to her millions of followers on social…
STAT Plus: With new rules, FDA aims to spark competition, lower prices for expensive gene therapies
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration released a slew of gene therapy policies Tuesday…