AJMC Staff

Experts anticipate a rise in US COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths beginning in 3 to 4 weeks; Covis Pharma pushes to keep hydroxyprogesterone caproate (Makena) on the market; more than 1.3 million American adults with diabetes delayed purchasing or skipped or rationed insulin doses due to high costs.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1.2 billion toward eradicating polio worldwide; founders of BioNTech say that cancer vaccines could be available within the next decade; an early increase in flu activity has hit southeast and south-central states hardest according to the CDC.

Results will be presented at an upcoming medical conference.

President Joe Biden is directing HHS, through an executive order, to use the Innovation Center to lower drug prices; the US extended the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days; the CDC reported that 75% of teenagers experienced adverse childhood experiences in 2021, which worsened their mental health.

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The FDA authorizes the COVID booster shots for children as young as 5; babies born during the pandemic may experience delayed communication skills compared with babies born prior; regulatory burden has increased for 89% of medical practices.

Beveridge, now with Avalere Health, addressed the importance of clinical pathways in selecting therapies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the emergence of options for EGFR Exon 20 Insertion+ NCSLC.

The bill was introduced by 2 Republicans and 2 Democrats and would direct HHS to undertake a study to understand how substitution of interchangeable biologic products may be impeded.

Families may see lower costs for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA); Walgreens Boots Alliance will take full ownership of CareCentrix; Bright Health will stop offering individual and family health insurance plans in 9 states.

Closures of children’s hospitals and floors leaves pediatric care in a precarious position; Jewish women in Kentucky sue over abortion laws citing religious freedom; 36% of counties in the United States are without obstetric care or obstetric providers.

Teva, the largest US supplier of Adderall, expects shortages to continue for the next 2-3 months; FDA expands use of Boostrix for immunization during the third trimester of pregnancy to prevent pertussis in infants; over the last 3 decades, Black women had a 40% higher breast cancer death rate compared with White women.

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Rebound symptoms of COVID-19 after Paxlovid treatment are likely due to a heightened immune response; a new study shows that rates of teen vaping have not subsided much; the rates of monkeypox cases are 5 times higher among Black Americans.

Federal rules that take effect today will allow all patients full access to their health records in a digital format; 66 clinics nationwide have stopped providing abortions in the 100 days since the overturning of Roe v Wade; a Gallup poll found that more than half of Americans had a negative view of health care cost and equity.

Medical and advocacy groups are petitioning the FDA to change the label for mifepristone to reduce barriers for miscarriage care; health insurers are becoming more flexible to ensure emergency care is met after Hurricane Ian; President Joe Biden will nominate US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, for the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Optum and Change Healthcare have completed their merger initiated in 2021; efficacy of the Jynneos vaccine is in question after 90 of 7339 individuals contracted monkeypox after vaccination; the CDC will no longer maintain a list of country-by-country COVID-19 travel advisories.

Svante Pääbo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries in human evolution; the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALA drug AMX0035 was priced at $158,000 per year or about $12,500 per 28-day prescription; more than 16,000 Americans died of combination cancer and COVID-19 in the first 10 months of the pandemic.

The Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) will be the successor to the Oncology Care Model.

The targeted therapy, to be sold by Taiho Oncology as Lytgobi, had previously received breakthrough status in 2021 and was accepted for priority review in March.

Edward Arrowsmith, MD, MPH, medical director for clinical pathways for OneOncology, discussed treatment challenges in EGFR Exon 20 insertion+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and best practices in use of clinical pathways.

The FDA approved AMX0035 (Relyvrio) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Thursday; new research suggests looking at microbes and fungi within cancer tumors; US suicides increased in 2021 following a 2-year decrease in deaths by suicide.

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Early intervention for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is crucial to reduce disability due to the disease, said Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician, Children’s Hospital of Chicago; assistant professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Alcohol and cigarette use among teens declined between 1991 and 2019, while vape use increased; most US physicians reported at least 1 symptom of burnout between the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022; an estimated 12 billion annual workdays are lost due to depression and anxiety among employees.

Coverage of vitiligo treatments is variable and patients can face an economic burden in the form of direct and indirect costs, explained David Rosmarin, MD, vice chair, education and research at Tufts Medical Center.

COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a small, temporary increase in menstrual cycle length; CMS announced a 3% reduction in Medicare Part B premiums; Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced Kenvue as the name of its new consumer health company set to launch next year.

Biogen Inc agreed to pay $900 million to settle allegations about improper physician payments; the American Cancer Society warns that fertility preservation for patients with cancer is at risk after the overturn of Roe v Wade; the Supreme Court will hear a case about Medicaid recipients’ ability to sue their providers.

Nonprofit hospitals pursue profits from low-income patients; the Biden administration announced that $1.5 billion would be set aside to battle opioid overdoses and support recovery; an Arizona judge ruled that a state law that criminalizes nearly all abortions could take effect immediately.

A deal was reached to renew 5-year FDA user fee programs; children and adolescents with COVID-19 had a 60% increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D); states cannot penalize Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees for facilitating abortions permitted by federal law.

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