Mon.Jun 03, 2024

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STAT+: Elevance PBM’s president out as customers complain of prescription chaos

STAT

Paul Marchetti, the head of insurer Elevance Health’s pharmacy benefit manager, has left the company amid a wave of consumer complaints about patients receiving incorrect medicines or being unable to get their prescriptions filled. Elevance did not confirm Marchetti’s departure as the president of CarelonRx, but according to his Linkedin profile, he left the company in May.

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Association Found Between OTC Male Enhancement Supplementation and Liver Injuries

Pharmacy Times

Promises of sexual improvement may ensnare unsuspecting patients with potentially dangerous adverse effects from untested OTC remedies.

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Trending Sources

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Opinion: Shifting the focus from loneliness to social health

STAT

It’s been one year since the U.S. surgeon general issued a national warning about an epidemic of loneliness. Other countries recognized the problem earlier: the United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness in 2018; Japan did the same in 2021. These initiatives have brought attention to — and spurred action around — an important problem with serious health consequences, which include increased risks of heart disease, dementia, and premature death.

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National Nurses United pushes back against deployment of ‘unproven’ AI in healthcare

Fierce Healthcare

The nation’s largest nurses union is demanding that artificial intelligence tools used in healthcare be proven safe and equitable before deployment. | A union organization for nurses nationwide says the deployment of AI in healthcare will push nurses out of patient rooms and compromise patient safety. A new AI Bill of Rights lays out nurse and patient protections, which are not currently being met.

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From Diagnosis to Delivery: How AI is Revolutionizing the Patient Experience

Speaker: Simran Kaur, Founder & CEO at Tattva Health Inc.

The healthcare landscape is being revolutionized by AI and cutting-edge digital technologies, reshaping how patients receive care and interact with providers. In this webinar led by Simran Kaur, we will explore how AI-driven solutions are enhancing patient communication, improving care quality, and empowering preventive and predictive medicine. You'll also learn how AI is streamlining healthcare processes, helping providers offer more efficient, personalized care and enabling faster, data-driven

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STAT+: Physicians take Medicare Advantage to task for rural patients’ care gaps

STAT

In the rural California town where physician Atashi Mandal sees patients, Medicare Advantage is popular among the older residents, many of whom have multiple chronic health conditions. Problem is, there aren’t any in-network providers for several hundred miles. “My patients seem to be unaware of this major deficiency regarding participation in Medicare Advantage plans,” Mandal wrote in a recent letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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An Informatics Approach to Preventing Diversion of Controlled Substances

Pharmacy Times

Data analysis can help hospitals address waste of controlled substances that fuels diversion and increased costs.

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Patients With SCD Who Experience Longer Delays Transitioning Between Care More Likely to Be Hospitalized

Pharmacy Times

Patients with sickle cell disease with more than a 6-month delay transitioning from pediatric to adult care were about twice as likely to be hospitalized.

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STAT+: ASCO24: AstraZeneca won cancer’s big meeting — again. Will that help it fulfill its $80 billion ambition?

STAT

CHICAGO — AstraZeneca’s head of cancer research and development, Susan Galbraith , is British, and prone to a particularly British style of understatement. She doesn’t boast loudly. But she did come to this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology wearing a small lapel pin with the numeral 6 and the “AZ” corporate logo.

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Daratumumab Treatment Advancements in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Pharmacy Times

Daratumumab in combination with standard treatment regimens shows benefit in multiple myeloma.

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STAT+: Which hospital systems will join Kaiser’s Risant next?

STAT

More than a year ago, Kaiser Permanente made waves when it said it was creating a new, sprawling entity of nonprofit hospitals and doctors with Geisinger as its first takeover — the latest example of health care companies bulking up in an already highly consolidated industry. Nothing has happened since then, at least publicly. Geisinger’s 10 hospitals and 1,700 employed physicians are now officially part of the group, known as Risant Health.

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Position Your Pharmacy for Expansion

Speaker: Chris Antypas and Josh Halladay

Access to limited distribution drugs and payer contracts are key to pharmacy expansion. But how do you prepare your operations to take the next step? Meaningful data: Collect and share clinical data regarding outcomes, utilization, and more Reporting: Limited distribution models require efficient tracking and reporting systems Workflows: Align workflows with specific pharma and payer contractual requirements For in-depth, expert insights on pharmacy expansion, watch this webinar from Inovalon.

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Pharmacogenomics and IVDR: Overcoming transition challenges

pharmaphorum

Understanding the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to IVDR for pharmacogenomics can be complex. Learn more about how to overcome these challenges effectively.

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STAT+: Delfi Diagnostics announces key data, study design for its liquid biopsy test

STAT

CHICAGO — Delfi Diagnostics, a company seeking to develop liquid biopsy tests to help screen for lung cancer, published a scientific paper on Monday describing key aspects of the test and unveiled the design of a key clinical trial. Delfi also announced that the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, the VC arm of the drug giant, has made an investment of an undisclosed amount in the company.

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Blue KC exiting Medicare Advantage market by 2025 due to 'regulatory demands'

Fierce Healthcare

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is leaving the Medicare Advantage (MA) market at the end of 2024, the insurer announced recently. | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is opting out of the Medicare Advantage market. The health plan said its relatively low membership and burdensome regulatory factors meant the company no longer view the market as financially viable.

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STAT+: Structure Therapeutics oral GLP-1 drug led to weight loss in two studies

STAT

Structure Therapeutics reported Monday that its oral GLP-1 drug led to weight loss in two small studies, leading shares to surge in pre-market trading. In a 12-week Phase 2a study, the daily pill in a capsule formulation led to 6.2% placebo-adjusted weight loss. In a separate 12-week pharmacokinetics study, the company tested a new tablet formulation of the drug, called GSBR-1290, and it led to placebo-adjusted weight loss of up to 6.9%.

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What the FDA's New Dosage Guidance Means for the Future of Clinical Research

Speaker: Dr. Ben Locwin - Biopharmaceutical Executive & Healthcare Futurist

What will the future hold for clinical research? A recent draft from the FDA provides valuable insight. In "Optimizing the Dosage of Human Prescription Drugs and Biological Products for the Treatment of Oncologic Diseases," the FDA notes that "targeted therapies demonstrate different dose-response relationships compared to cytotoxic chemotherapy, such that doses below the Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) may have similar efficacy to the MTD but with fewer toxicities.

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Expert: PALOMA-3 Trial Results, Benefits of Subcutaneous Amivantamab for Lung Cancer Treatment

Pharmacy Times

The PALOMA-3 trial showed subcutaneous amivantamab was better than IV for lung cancer patients.

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Opinion: Antibiotic innovation is ailing. ‘Brain drain’ may kill it

STAT

In today’s labor market, good help is hard to find. For companies developing antibiotics, it’s becoming nearly impossible. Three years ago, I became CEO of the AMR Action Fund , which is investing approximately $1 billion in biotech companies developing treatments for antimicrobial-resistant infections, a growing global health crisis that now contributes to 4.9 million deaths every year.

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Kaufman Hall: Hospital margins, outpatient revenue grew in April

Fierce Healthcare

Amid a relatively strong first quarter for the sector, hospitals’ financial performance improved from March to April, per a new Kaufman Hall report. | Margins, outpatient revenue and operating room minutes all increased in April, the report found.

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STAT+: Illumina board agrees to spin off Grail, as divestment plans proceed

STAT

Illumina said Monday afternoon that its board of directors had approved a spin-off of its cancer test subsidiary Grail, signaling that a nearly four-year-long, $8 billion saga will finally draw to a close this month. Shares in the newly independent Grail are expected to be distributed on June 24, Illumina said in a statement. Illumina will retain a 14.5% stake in the company, which will trade under the ticker $GRAL.

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5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Pharmacy Management Software

Are you still using workarounds to manage your daily operations? To achieve peak performance, it's time to explore other options for specialty and infusion pharmacy software. Streamline pharmacy operations and improve clinical performance with automated processing, real-time data exchange, and electronic decision support. Download this helpful infographic to: Drive efficiency and patient adherence from referral receipt to delivery and ongoing care – all with our Pharmacy Cloud.

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ASCO: With Opdivo-Yervoy combo, Bristol Myers calls Roche and AstraZeneca's bets in first-line liver cancer

Fierce Pharma

Following fellow immunotherapy regimens by Roche and AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Yervoy want to carve out a piece of the first-line liver cancer market, too. | Following fellow immunotherapy regimens by Roche and AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Yervoy want to carve out a piece of the first-line liver cancer market, too.

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STAT+: Becton Dickinson to buy Edwards patient monitoring unit for $4.2 billion

STAT

Becton Dickinson plans to pay $4.2 billion for Edwards Lifesciences’ critical care business, which sells technology that monitors the heart conditions of critically ill patients. Edwards had told investors in December 2023 that it planned to spin off the business in order to focus more sharply on addressing structural defects in the heart. BD, meanwhile, wants to increase its monitoring presence in hospitals.

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ASCO: DREAMM-8 data puts GSK’s Blenrep back on track

pharmaphorum

GSK planning to refile anti-BCMA drug Blenrep in the US for multiple myeloma after reporting positive results from the DREAMM-8 trial at ASCO

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STAT wants to know your pick for a great summer read or listen

STAT

S TAT is putting together a list of books and podcasts that deal with health, medicine, and the life sciences that would be great to check out this summer. We invite our readers to fill out the form below, and you may see your pick in our upcoming annual roundup. To get a little inspiration, check out our past lists from 2023 , 2022 , and 2021.

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ASCO: AstraZeneca’s triple whammy in lung and breast cancer

pharmaphorum

AstraZeneca's ASCO 'super sunday' delivers new data for Tagrisso and Imfinzi in lung cancer and Enhertu in breast cancer

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STAT+: Agios drug reduces blood transfusions in patients with beta-thalassemia, study shows

STAT

Agios Pharmaceuticals said Monday that its drug called mitapivat reduced the need for blood transfusions in patients with a severe form of beta-thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder. The results achieved the primary goal of a placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial, and if the drug is eventually cleared by regulators, could accelerate sales. In the study, 30% of participants responded to treatment with mitapivat compared to 12% of participants offered a placebo.

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US-Chinese relations put the brakes on biotech cooperation

pharmaphorum

The BIOSECURE Act is a proposed legislation that reflects the current strained US-Chinese relations, impacting biotech cooperation. Learn more about the implications and challenges.

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STAT+: A short-lived Medicaid freakout sends insurers’ stocks diving

STAT

You’re reading the web version of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow of money in medicine. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday. What’s next for Risant? Kaiser Permanente grabbed everyone’s attention last year when it said it was creating Risant Health, a new and vague entity that acquired Geisinger and had plans to scoop up at least four more health systems that are focused on “value-based care.

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BIO 2024 - Live Coverage Day 1

pharmaphorum

Join us for live coverage of BIO 2024, featuring Viola Davis and Brooke Baldwin on Day 1. Stay tuned for exclusive updates and highlights from the event.

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STAT+: Leading CRO to pay record fine for badly neglecting hundreds of beagles in breeding facility

STAT

A leading contract research organization has agreed to pay $35 million — including the largest-ever fine for violating the Animal Welfare Act — as part of a criminal plea for badly neglecting hundreds of beagles in a breeding facility. The investigation into Inotiv, which provides drug discovery and development services to the pharmaceutical industry, drew national attention in May 2022 after U.S.

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GSK hit with high-stakes setback in Zantac saga as judge allows tens of thousands of lawsuits to proceed

Fierce Pharma

The decision of a Delaware judge on Friday to allow more than 75,000 Zantac lawsuits to go forward to jury trials has left four major drugmakers—GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim—vulnera | The decision of a Delaware judge on Friday to allow more than 75,000 Zantac lawsuits to go forward to jury trials has left four major drugmakers—GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim—vulnerable to costly awards, settlements and litigation fees as they try to resolve claims that the heartburn

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Stress in Childhood Associated with Earlier Adolescent Substance Use

Drug Topics

Research presented at ENDO 2024 found that environmental stress increased the likelihood of earlier alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use in females and traumatic events increased the likelihood in males.

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Bristol Myers' RayzeBio halts radiotherapy trial enrollment after isotope runs scarce

Fierce Pharma

Thanks to a shortage of the isotope actinium, RayzeBio has temporarily halted new patient enrollment in its phase 3 study in neuroendocrine tumors.

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GSK shares dive on Zantac court case ruling

pharmaphorum

Shares in GSK plummet after Delaware court says litigation claiming Zantac can cause cancer is cleared to go ahead

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ASCO: With first-in-class win, Sanofi's Sarclisa looks to step out of J&J's multiple myeloma shadow

Fierce Pharma

In the field of anti-CD38 treatment for multiple myeloma, Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex casts a long shadow. Now, Sanofi hopes a first-in-class win will help its Sarclisa gain an edge. | In the field of anti-CD38 treatment for multiple myeloma, Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex casts a long shadow. Now, Sanofi hopes a first-in-class win will help its Sarclisa gain an edge.

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