Government
Harvard panel examines the 21st Century Cures Act | STAT NewsThe 21st Century Cures Act has sparked debate since its passage in the last days of the Obama presidency. The law promises to ramp up funding for biomedical research while it also loosens regulations governing drugs and medical devices. Supporters say it will speed up approval of new treatments, while critics are concerned that the safety and effectiveness may be compromised.
Politics & Policy
Indiana's Claims About Its Medicaid Experiment Don't All Check Out | NPRIndiana expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in 2015, with a few extra conditions that were designed to appeal to the conservative leadership in the state. The Federal government approved the experiment, called the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP 2.0, and it is now is up for another three-year renewal. But a close reading of the state's renewal application shows misleading and inaccurate information is being used to justify extending HIP 2.0.
Information technology
The quest for one of science's holy grails: artificial blood | STATThe quest to develop substitute blood has bedeviled researchers in academia, the military, and the biopharma industry, with several companies — including Baxter, Northfield Laboratories, and Biopure — abandoning their attempts.
Pharmaceuticals
Facing criticism, drug makers keep lid on price increases | The Wall Street JournalFacing mounting criticism about prices, drug companies put some limits on their increases this year. Prescription-drug makers traditionally raise list prices in January. This year, they didn't raise prices for as many drugs as last year and imposed fewer boosts of 10% or greater, according to an analysis by the investment firm Raymond James & Associates.
WHO releases list of world's most dangerous superbug | STAT
For the first time ever, the World Health Organization has drawn up a list of the highest priority needs for new antibiotics — marching orders, it hopes, for the pharmaceutical industry.
Pfizer subpoenaed in U.S. over patient assistance plans | Reuters
Pfizer said it received subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts related to its support for organizations that provide financial help to Medicare patients.
Dangerous antibiotic-resistant infections on the rise for children in the U.S., study finds | The Washington Post
Rising infections caused by a type of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics is causing longer hospitalizations and may mean a higher risk of death for children in the United States, according to a new study.
Safety, quality and clinical practice
VA data show low rate of discipline for drug loss, theft | The Washington PostDoctors, nurses or pharmacy staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs' hospitals were fired or reprimanded in only a small fraction of thousands of reported cases of opioid theft and missing prescriptions since 2010, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press.
