The newest treatment approved for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) will be withdrawn from the market due to negative clinical trial results; former President Trump’s surgeon general is advocating for conservative states to support needle exchanges; new US hepatitis C infections dropped slightly in 2022 after more than a decade of steady increases.
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Antismoking groups sued the US government over the long-awaited menthol cigarette ban; the fill rate for Adderall and Vyvanse dropped more than 10% in 2 years despite soaring demand; the Biden administration has responded to offers from the manufacturers of drugs selected for Medicare pricing negotiations.
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Challenges of Real-World Adoption of Effective Therapies, Practices to Treat Newly Diagnosed MM
April 2nd 2024There are now highly effective therapies to treat newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM), but it will still take time for them to be adopted in practice, said Chakra Chaulagain MD, FACP, hematologist/oncologist, Maroone Cancer Center of Cleveland Clinic Florida.
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The Biden administration finalized a new regulation that curbs the use of short-term health insurance plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the CDC issued an advisory on Thursday alerting health care providers about an increase in invasive meningococcal disease; the number of US tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade.
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CMS released a final rule to help patients obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage and issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities; debate over if gift card incentives are acceptable in health care marketing.
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Dr Chakra Chaulagain: PFS Is the "Bare Minimum," but OS Is Ideal for Choosing Between MM Therapies
March 28th 2024Response rates are important when choosing between therapies to treat multiple myeloma (MM), but improvement overall survival (OS) is the ideal, said Chakra Chaulagain MD, FACP, hematologist/oncologist, Maroone Cancer Center of Cleveland Clinic Florida.
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The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone; the FDA is inspecting far fewer pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical research; AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand the 340B program to include for profit-pharmacy chains.
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New Treatments for Newly Diagnosed MM Offer a Lot of Benefit, but Key Knowledge Gaps Remain
March 25th 2024While there is, rightfully, a lot of optimism around the latest treatments for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, not everyone is gaining the same benefit, said Kenneth Shain, MD, PhD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.
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The White House has called out the Republican Study Committee’s budget proposal for backing legislation that would put restrictions on abortion access; nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2022; surgeons in Boston have transplanted a kidney from a genetically engineered pig into an ailing 62-year-old man.
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CMS is highly likely to negotiate the price of the obesity medication semaglutide in the coming years; many health care providers are trying to determine whether their cyberattack insurance will help cover their losses after the Change Healthcare hack; the US life expectancy increased for the first time in 2 years.
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A global AIDS program that was in limbo for months got temporary relief after congressional negotiators agreed to a 1-year renewal in the next government funding package; the outcome of the November presidential election could determine the state of fetal tissue research in the US; federal officials and industry executives failed to make improvements that stop hacking attacks.
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AstraZeneca joins efforts to address high drug prices by capping out-of-pocket costs for its inhalers; Opill, the first OTC birth control pill, is now accessible through online sales; expansion prompts questions on the effectiveness and regulation of remote monitoring technology.
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The HHS Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether patient data were exposed in the cyberattack on Change Healthcare; a new study claims that the US’ high maternal mortality rates are the product of flawed data; HHS secretary is open to drug testing recipients of welfare.
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An appeals court rules against the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in a 340B contract pharmacy dispute; for-profit investors’ acquisition of nursing homes has raised concerns about the quality of care provided in these facilities; President Joe Biden’s proposed budget for 2025 includes changes that would do away with the current system of biosimilar interchangeability.
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Most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover postpartum depression drug, zuranolone; state lawmakers are increasingly opposing health care mergers that they believe do not serve the public interest; Medicaid extensions made in 2021 led to a 40% decline in postpartum lack of insurance.
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Novo Nordisk is working with authorities in several countries to tackle counterfeit versions of popular diabetes drug semaglutide (Ozempic); Amylyx’s controversial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug failed to help patients in a large follow-up study; disruptions from the Change Healthcare cyberattack are costing health providers as much as $1 billion a day.
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The FDA has pushed back its approval deadline for donanemab, Eli Lilly’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment; Cigna recently announced the launch of a program on aimed at capping annual weight-loss drug cost increases for health insurance providers and employers at 15%; a new monoclonal antibody product to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was 90% effective at preventing children from being hospitalized.
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