CDC launches a new center to forecast infectious diseases; Alabama reaches settlement with opioid manufacturers; lack of diversity seen in Alzheimer disease trials.
The new CDC Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics launched yesterday, the Associated Press reports. The aim of the center is to serve as an early warning system to help guide the response to COVID-19 and future pandemics. Although the CDC has received temporary authority for COVID-19 data collection, the agency currently relies more on voluntary reporting and complex data agreements with states, experts explained. The new Center’s $200 million in funding came from the 2021 coronavirus relief package and it has already awarded $21 million to academic institutions working to develop forecasting methods.
A day after Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen reached a $99 million settlement with West Virginia, The Hill reports today that Alabama reached a $276 million settlement with the company, McKesson, and Endo Pharmaceutical over their roles in the opioid epidemic. Although the settlement does not mean an admission of guilt, Johnson & Johnson is slated to pay the state $70.3 million this year and McKesson will pay $141 million over 9 years. The funds will be used to help support communities in the state affected by the epidemic. Alabama and West Virginia opted out of pursuing the $26 billion national settlement with Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.
New reporting from Bloomberg highlights the lack of Black participants in Alzheimer disease trials throughout the United States. Although Black individuals are more likely than their White counterparts to develop the disease, this population only makes up 2% of clinical trial participants. For context, 9.6% of Americans aged 65 or older are Black, while clinical trials conducted for the newly approved drug Aduhelm included just 19 Black individuals out of 3285 participants. Similar disparities were also seen in trials for Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and spinal muscular atrophy, according to Bloomberg analyses, though these diseases are slightly less common in Black individuals.
New Insights on Breast Cancer Outcomes Among Sexual, Gender Minorities
December 7th 2023Despite there being a great demand for data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity in the cancer space, individuals who identify as a sexual and gender minority remain poorly represented.
Read More
Patients With HFrEF, HFpEF See Different Functional Capacity Benefits With Dapagliflozin
December 7th 2023The DETERMINE-Reduced and DETERMINE-Preserved trials demonstrated varying benefits of dapagliflozin on Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Total Symptom Score and Physical Limitation Scale as well as 6-minute walk distance.
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
Listen
Black Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Less Likely to Undergo IPAA Than White Patients
December 7th 2023Overall, the number of patients discharged from hospitals with an ulcerative colitis diagnosis increased between 2009 and 2018, but the number of patients opting for ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA) decreased.
Read More
Prediction Model Identified Risk Factors for ED Visits in Patients With Lung Cancer
December 7th 2023A risk prediction model that was based on machine learning could help to make resource utilization more efficient by correctly predicting emergency department (ED) visits in patients with lung cancer.
Read More