House Republicans voted to ban quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) from being used as a drug pricing metric in federal health programs; insurance executives disapproved of newly proposed 2025 Medicare Advantage (MA) rates; patients with long COVID enrolled in an online exercise program said their health improved more than people who received standard care.
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The FDA has accepted GSK’s application for priority review for extended use of Arexvy in higher-risk adults aged 50 to 59 years; pharmacy retail chains are finding it harder to draw the next generation of pharmacists; antivaccine activists are falsely downplaying the dangers of measles amid global outbreaks.
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Pandemic-era policies that made it easier for patients to receive opioid addiction treatment will continue permanently; the Biden administration is facing pressure from Democrats and reproductive health groups to make sure the first OTC birth control pill is affordable; a FDA expert panel on Friday is set to resume the debate over how to make pulse oximeters more accurate for people with darker skin.
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CMS released the proposed 2025 Advance Notice for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Programs; there have been 561 deaths related to the use of Philips’ recalled ventilators and machines for treating obstructive sleep apnea since 2021; the FDA warned the public against copycat eye drops due to infection risk.
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What We’re Reading: Sickle Cell Treatment Access; Patent Thicket Attacks; US Syphilis Cases Rise
January 31st 2024Sickle cell disease (SCD) will be the first focus of the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model; the FTC has challenged the validity of over 100 drug product patents to help increase competition and potentially lower prices; the rate of infectious syphilis cases in the US rose 9% in 2022.
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IV Methylprednisolone, Tacrolimus Effective in Prednisone-Resistant Ocular MG
January 31st 2024Researchers have retrospectively analyzed data from nearly 60 patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (MG) not adequately responding to oral prednisone, finding that both intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone and tacrolimus monotherapy helped reduce symptoms.
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What We’re Reading: ADHD Medication Mix-Up; Surge in ACOs; Mifepristone Restrictions
January 30th 2024Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication packets are found with incorrect pills; CMS data reveal record numbers of providers and beneficiaries participating in accountable care organizations (ACOs); Supreme Court will hear arguments over FDA regulations on abortion medication in March.
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New MG Research Focuses on More Tailored Treatment, Bibliometric Analysis Finds
January 27th 2024The data search of Web of Science Core Collection, spanning 2003 to 2022, identified various prospective directions in myasthenia gravis (MG) research, including in personalized treatment, subtype-based treatment, and novel immunotherapeutic strategies.
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US women in low-income regions are experiencing a steep increase in cervical cancer diagnosis and death despite medical improvements; a Senate committee launches an assisted living examination, its first hearing on the industry in 2 decades; the CDC urges health care providers to be alert for patients who have fever, rashes, an traveled abroad following reports of 23 measles cases since December 1.
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Real-World Data Show Suboptimal Efficacy With AZA in Treatment-Naïve High-Risk MDS
January 26th 2024Pulling data from a US electronic health record–based database, researchers found low rates of complete remission and poor overall survival among 382 patients who had myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) receiving first-line azacytidine (AZA).
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What We’re Reading: ACA Sign-Up Surge; Hospitals Fight Climate Change; Secondary Cancers, CAR T Link
January 25th 2024A record 21.3 million people signed up for health insurance this year using the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces; nearly 80% of health care providers think it is important for their hospital to minimize its environmental impact; the FDA noted a potential link between CAR-T products and the development of T-cell cancer.
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Sarepta Therapeutics has started screening participants for a Phase 3 clinical trial to test its gene therapy candidate SRP-9003 in children with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2E; wastewater testing points to a new COVID-19 infection wave fueled by the JN.1 variant; most patients on anti-obesity medications kept at least some weight off up to a year after they stopped taking them.
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Study Highlights Need for Additional Caregiver Support in Higher-Risk MDS
January 23rd 2024The study, which pulled self-reported data from online bulletin boards across the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2020, found that the degree of burden varied based on patient disease stage, among other factors.
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What We’re Reading: CAR T Therapy Warning; Child Flu Cases; Alzheimer Blood Test
January 23rd 2024Pharmaceutical companies required to update prescribing information for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies; Texas dashboard reports a 40% increase in pediatric flu cases; a blood test shows high accuracy for Alzheimer disease biomarkers.
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What We’re Reading: Global Pandemic Accord; New Abortion Initiatives; Cervical Cancer Increasing
January 22nd 2024Meeting the 2024 deadline for an international agreement on pandemic response may not happen; the Biden administration announces measures to counter restrictive state laws on abortion; cervical cancer incidence declines as more women receive the human papillomavirus vaccine.
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The new Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model is designed to test for improving outcomes for adults with mental health and substance use disorder; patients with long COVID show prolonged activation of the immune system’s complement system after an acute infection; scientists now believe our bodies benefit most when our sleep is consistent, not just long.
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CMS has announced new federal rules that require health insurers to streamline requests to cover treatments; nearly 50,000 veterans used the emergency suicide prevention program launched by the Department of Veteran Affairs in 2023; the FDA recently authorized the first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical device to help doctors detect the most common forms of skin cancer.
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What We’re Reading: Health Insurance Premiums; Drug Price Hikes; Postpartum Depression Pill Access
January 17th 2024Families with workplace health insurance may have missed out on $125,000 in earnings over the past 3 decades due to rising premiums; so far, there have been about 600 drug price hikes in January; experts worry that minority and low-income people will not have easy access to zuranolone, the first FDA-approved postpartum depression pill.
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What We’re Reading: Saving Rural Hospitals; Rising Drug Prices; Global Tobacco Use Declines
January 16th 2024New program seeks to revitalize struggling rural health care facilities; NIH director advocates for actions to address unaffordable medications; WHO reveals significant drop global tobacco use
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