Trump has launched an all-out attack on the FDA. Will its scientific integrity survive?
WASHINGTON — President Trump has instigated an all-out crusade against the Food and Drug Administration…
Category: Medicine
New Covid-19 testing guidelines, crafted at the White House, alarm public health experts
Public health experts reacted with alarm Wednesday to new Covid-19 testing guidelines issued by the…
STAT Plus: Foundation Medicine wins FDA approval for first liquid biopsy able to detect multiple cancers
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first comprehensive “liquid biopsy” platform that…
Despite Opioid Crisis, Too Many Prescriptions Still Given Out
Despite the outcry over so many people becoming addicted to prescription opioids, too many are…
If You Do Anything This Weekend, Teach a Child to Swim
The American Academy of Pediatrics pleaded with caregivers early this summer to watch children near…
Vaping Widely Popular, But It Increases Teen Risk for COVID-19
E-cigarette manufacturers deny it, but teens are drawn to vaping. But this attraction may lead…
Scientists create a synthetic lining for the intestine to make delivering drugs easier
Scientists have created a synthetic small intestinal lining designed to treat certain digestive diseases or…
STAT Plus: Catalyst takes it fight over a rare disease drug to Canada, suing the country’s regulator
An unusual battle between two small companies over the market for a rare disease drug…
STAT Health Tech: Elon Musk’s secretive brain implants startup & Verily’s move into health insurance
A version of this digest first appeared in the weekly STAT Health Tech newsletter. To…
Soda and Teens, the Combo May Cause Aggression
It’s known that when teens consume sodas or soft drinks, the raise their risk of…
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STAT Plus: Telehealth company Amwell files to sell shares to public, Google
American Well Corp., a Boston telehealth company known as Amwell, said it plans to sell…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Covid-19 vaccine makers push EU for liability protections; pharma plans counteroffer to Trump
Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? Another busy day is unfolding here on…
Opinion: Americans aren’t listening to coronavirus warnings because the messaging is wrong
Images of bars and restaurants packed with maskless people fill the news along with new…
A dilemma for ‘long-haulers’: Many can’t prove they ever had Covid-19
As the coronavirus pandemic rolls on, an unknown number of seemingly recovered patients are experiencing…
‘We do belong here’: The scientist behind #BlackInNeuro hopes to transform a Twitter movement into a lasting community
Angeline Dukes, a graduate student in neuroscience, didn’t intend to organize an entire movement. But…
STAT Plus: U.S. authorities expected to file charges against Teva in generic price fixing probe
Federal prosecutors reportedly plan to charge Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) of conspiring with other manufacturers of…
Don’t Rely on Dr. Google if You Have Chest Pain
Chest pain is something you should never second guess. Don’t waste time searching online. Call…
STAT Plus: Drug industry lobbyists circulate two drug pricing proposals in hopes of warding off a Trump executive order
WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry is weighing two drug pricing policies that it could offer…
STAT Plus: Cardinal Health is accused of running a ‘rent-a-vet’ scheme to win government contracts
The largest association of independent nuclear pharmacies in the U.S. is accusing Cardinal Health (CAH),…
COVID-19 Takes Mental Health Issues Mainstream
The pandemic has amplified people’s reactions to everyday situations. Anxiety and depression are more common….
COVID-19 and Higher Ed: An Update
In-person classes, online classes, hybrids – as of a few days ago, one-quarter of the…
Atrial Fibrillation and Smoking, Not a Good Combo
We know. Smokers are constantly being told they should quit. But if they have a-fib,…
STAT China: Two more Hong Kong IPO filings, and Beijing’s latest drug price cuts
A version of this digest first appeared in the weekly STAT China newsletter. To receive…
STAT+ Conversations: A conversation with 23andMe
Editor’s note: A livestream of the conversation will be embedded above at 1 p.m. ET. …
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Hahn apologizes for statistical blunder; Fauci warns of approving a Covid-19 vaccine too soon
Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Blue skies and…
STAT Plus: Acadia Pharmaceuticals buys pain drug maker, part of effort to expand on psychosis treatment
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is purchasing a small Texas startup, CerSci, for $52 million in order to…
Pooled Testing Finds COVID-19 Infections Faster, More Efficiently
Pooled testing isn’t new, but Israeli researchers may have found a better, faster way to…
Opinion: To improve our dismal Covid-19 performance, establish common ground between lockdown and open economy
In these stridently partisan times, the U.S. has coalesced around two polarized default narratives about…
Opinion: Lifetime risk: a new way to understand deaths from firearms and drug overdoses
Shortly before the coronavirus shuttered schools last spring, I toured a new elementary school in…
STAT Plus: As Elon Musk’s Neuralink prepares to draw back the curtain, ex-employees describe rushed timelines clashing with science’s slow pace
The hype from Elon Musk has been coming for weeks: This Friday, his secretive brain-implants…
Four scenarios on how we might develop immunity to Covid-19
As the world wearies of trying to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many of us are…
FDA Has Second Thoughts on Convalescent Plasma for COVID-19
The FDA has reversed course and authorized convalescent plasma as an emergency use authorization for…
As Covid-19 pressures mount, political newcomer Stephen Hahn struggles to protect an FDA under siege
WASHINGTON — Stephen Hahn, a political novice who moved here in December to take over…
Study Shows Extent, Danger of TB Exposure: Part I
According to the WHO, 10 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis worldwide in 2018. Read…
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STAT Plus: Sun Pharma unit to pay $21 million for giving docs false instructions for an acne treatment
A unit of Sun Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay nearly $21 million to settle allegations of…
STAT Plus: Pharmacists say they tell patients about physical changes to pills, but consumers say that isn’t always the case
Most consumers say they aren’t notified of physical changes in their prescription pills, even though…
Flu Vaccines for Children Help Keep Community Safe
Wondering if your child should have the flu vaccine? It doesn’t benefit just your child….
Amid pressure from scientists, NIH will study Gilead’s remdesivir-like compound against Covid-19
The National Institutes of Health plans to independently explore whether a Gilead Sciences (GILD) compound,…
Opinion: We don’t know if convalescent plasma is effective against Covid-19. With the emergency authorization, we might never know
Convalescent plasma has been used to fight many infectious diseases, from scarlet fever in the…
Straight talk on the FDA’s tumultuous weekend — and new questions about its independence
This weekend, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency clearance to convalescent plasma, a treatment…
STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: FDA decision to OK Covid-19 plasma prompts skepticism; will Trump fast track AstraZeneca vaccine?
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was…
First Covid-19 reinfection documented in Hong Kong, researchers say
Researchers in Hong Kong on Monday reported what appears to be the first confirmed case…
Opinion: Hospital CEOs, med school leaders shouldn’t sit on for-profit health care company boards
In late July, Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, president of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, came under…
Opinion: Is Covid-19 growing less lethal? The infection fatality rate says ‘no’
Recent reports have suggested that Covid-19 has become markedly less lethal in the United States….
STAT Plus: In the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer turns to a scientist with a history of defying skeptics — and getting results
For the pharma behemoth Pfizer, the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine is not just…
Is convalescent plasma safe and effective? We answer the major questions about the Covid-19 treatment
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue an emergency authorization Sunday for doctors…
FDA, under pressure from Trump, expected to authorize blood plasma as Covid-19 treatment
WASHINGTON — President Trump is expected to announce Sunday evening that the Food and Drug…
FDA commissioner needs to push back and tell Trump the agency is not part of the ‘deep state’
The next 73 days are going to be very difficult for Stephen Hahn. As the…
Drug makers rebut Trump tweet that FDA ‘deep state’ is delaying Covid-19 vaccines and drugs
WASHINGTON — In a tweet Saturday morning, President Donald Trump accused the Food and Drug…
PhRMA scrambles to respond to Trump’s drug pricing ultimatum, as Monday deadline looms
WASHINGTON — Drug makers and their lobbyists are struggling to agree on a strategy that…