Biotech and Pharmaceuticals

Senators call on Medicare to offer broad coverage of Alzheimer’s treatments as public pressure grows

February 17, 2023 admin

U.S. senators on Friday called for Medicare to offer broad coverage of Alzheimer’s treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration, warning that current restrictions cost patients precious time as their disease progresses. “Given the progressive nature of this terminal disease, we encourage you to take steps now to ensure patients have immediate access to FDA-approved treatments if the patient and clinician decide it is right for the patient,” the senators told Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in…

Maker of promising Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi expects full FDA approval this summer, expanded Medicare coverage

February 17, 2023 admin

Tek Image/science Photo Library | Science Photo Library | Getty Images Japanese drugmaker Eisai expects the Food and Drug Administration to fully approve its Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi this summer, which would expand access to the pricey new antibody under Medicare. U.S. CEO Ivan Cheung said the FDA, which granted accelerated clearance in January, could give full approval as soon as July if the company gets an expedited “priority review” for demonstrating a significant improvement in how early Alzheimer’s is treated. “We’re literally talking about maybe like five months away, so…

Biden delivers speech on downing of Chinese spy balloon, other aerial objects

February 17, 2023 admin

(The stream is slated to start at 2 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a video above at that time.) U.S. President Joe Biden will address the nation for the first time on his decisions to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon and three additional unidentified aerial phenomena over the last few weeks. The remarks came after days of mounting pressure from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who say the American people deserve to hear from the president exactly what the administration knew about…

Eli Lilly recruits Black patients for Alzheimer trial as drugmakers seek more diversity in clinical studies

February 16, 2023 admin

Sharon Kimbrough went to the Black Women’s Expo in Atlanta to sell her memoir. Getting tested for Alzheimer’s was the furthest thing on her mind, but when nurses from Eli Lilly approached her about the company’s new trial, she decided to let them draw her blood. “I had two family members that had Alzheimer’s,” said Kimbrough, a retired advertising executive. “Sometimes I have memory issues and some of it in older age happens. But it could be something else.” Eli Lilly drove two mobile labs to the Black women’s gathering,…

FDA advisors recommend over-the-counter use of life-saving opioid overdose treatment Narcan

February 16, 2023 admin

The Food and Drug Administration’s independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended over-the-counter use of the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, which would significantly expand access to the life-saving treatment. Emergent BioSolutions‘ Narcan is the most commonly sold treatment for opioid overdoses. The FDA is expected to make a decision by March 29 on whether to allow people to buy the four milligram nasal spray without a prescription. The agency is not required to accept its advisors recommendation, though it typically does so. Emergent BioSolutions said Narcan would be…

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel will testify before Senate next month on Covid vaccine price hike

February 16, 2023 admin

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel will testify before the Senate health committee in March over the company’s plans to hike the price of its Covid-19 vaccine. Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the health panel, confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that Bancel would appear at a hearing titled: “Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine?” Bancel told the Wall Street Journal in January that the company was considering increasing the price of its vaccine to between $110 to $130 when the…

Watch live: Biden outlines plans to cut U.S. deficit by $2 trillion over the next decade

February 16, 2023 admin

(The stream is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a video above at that time.) U.S. President Joe Biden is in Lanham, Maryland today where he will speak to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 26 about the state of the economy and the threats that House Republicans and their policies pose to rank-and-file workers. Wednesday’s speech is the latest in a string of public addresses he’s given on his plan to, in his words, “build an economy…

House GOP asks Fauci and dozens of health officials to testify in investigation into Covid origins

February 14, 2023 admin

House Republicans have asked former White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony to testify before Congress as they launch a new investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The GOP leaders of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Committee on Oversight and Accountability sent a letter to Fauci on Monday requesting a transcribed interview. Fauci said in November that he would cooperate with any oversight hearing in the Republican-led House. “If there are oversight hearings I absolutely will cooperate fully and testify before the Congress,” Fauci told reporters…

Op-ed: U.S. inflation and jobs reports shows fastest recovery in 30 years under Biden

February 14, 2023 admin

Cecilia Rouse is chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. These are extraordinary times for America’s economy. Recent data suggest that our labor market remains strong even as inflationary pressures are showing signs of easing. The employment report earlier this month suggested U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs in January, well above what private forecasters were expecting. The unemployment rate in January was the lowest it’s been since 1969. Over 12 million jobs have been created since President Joe Biden took office. Certainly, as we also learned today, inflation…

Nikki Haley enters race for president as first challenger to Trump for the Republican nomination

February 14, 2023 admin

Former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022. Wade Vandervort | AFP | Getty Images Nikki Haley, a former governor for South Carolina and United Nation’s ambassador, announced she was entering the 2024 presidential race on Tuesday, making her the first Republican to challenge her former boss and ex-President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. Haley has been assembling a team to explore a potential run for weeks. “Republicans have lost the popular vote…