About Covid-19
Newly Published Phase 3 Study in People with COVID-19 Shows SaNOtize Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray Reduced Viral Load by 99% within Two Days “Phase 3 trial demonstrated a reduction in SARS-CoV-2 viral load in high-risk COVID-19 patients by 94% and 99% within 24 and 48 hours of treatment, respectively
Median time to a negative PCR test was three days after beginning treatment in the nitric oxide group vs. seven days in the placebo group (P < 0.05)
Participants recruited during delta and omicron surges, suggesting antiviral properties of nitric oxide effective against evolving variants of concern”
Here is the research article.
Long-term Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children and Adults After Mild Infection “ In this cohort study of 252 family clusters with COVID-19, anti–SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain IgG persisted until 12 months after infection in all age groups, showing significant higher antibody peaks for younger individuals at every follow-up time point. Children younger than 3 years were found to develop higher levels of binding antibodies compared with adults older than 18 years.”
About health insurance
Are Financial Barriers Affecting the Health Care Habits of American Men? From the Commonwealth Fund: “Highlights:
Looking across the 11 high-income countries in our study, rates of avoidable deaths, chronic conditions, and mental health needs for U.S. men are among the highest in our analysis.
Men in the U.S. have the lowest rate of prostate cancer–related deaths.
Men in Canada, the United States, and Sweden are the least likely to have a regular doctor and have among the highest rates of emergency department use for conditions that could have been treated in a doctor’s office.
Men in the U.S. and Switzerland skip needed care because of costs and incur medical bills at the highest rates.
In the U.S., men with lower income or frequent financial stress are less likely to get preventive care, more likely to have problems affording their care, and more likely to have physical and mental health conditions.”
Profits, medical loss ratios, and the ownership structure of Medicare Advantage [MA] plans “In 2021, about 67% of enrollment in MA was accounted for by 5 large insurers: United, Humana, CVS/Aetna, Kaiser, and Anthem. These firms typically have a few related businesses that provide at least some services to their MA plans. For example, Humana owns part of “Kindred at Home,” a home health and hospice provider. Likewise, Kaiser owns Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and the Permanente Medical Groups that all contract with Kaiser MA plans. CVS/Aetna, United, and Cigna all own PBMs that contract with their MA plans. Other businesses include physician practices, pharmacies, ambulances, and dental, vision, and hearing services providers.”
The average gross margin for the top 10 companies in 2019 was 4.35%. But the article has many caveats about how difficult it is to calculate this figure, especially because of the interrelated businesses of the parent company.
Jury Convicts Man of $600 Million Health Care Fraud, Wire Fraud, and ID Theft Scheme “According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mathew James, 54, of East Northport, operated a medical billing company that billed for procedures that were either more serious or entirely different than those James’ doctor-clients performed. James directed his doctor-clients to schedule elective surgeries through the emergency room so that insurance companies would reimburse at substantially higher rates. When insurance companies denied the inflated claims, James impersonated patients to demand that the insurance companies pay the outstanding balances of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Payers' underwriting earnings dropped 65% in 2021 “Six things to know:
Among all payers, underwriting profits declined 65 percent to $23.9 billion.
Commercial payers saw underwriting profits decrease 90 percent to $1.2 billion. This was driven by COVID-19 variant waves in the summer of 2021.
Medicare Advantage plans reported a profit increase of $7.4 billion.
Premiums grew in 2021 industrywide, but there was a slight decrease among group plans. That dip was offset by a major increase in individual ACA enrollment, which grew from 2.5 million to 14.5 million.
Payers with diversified product portfolios weathered the decline better than those whose portfolios lacked diversity.
Despite the pandemic impact, U.S. payers recorded record capital and a surplus of $273 billion for 2021, a 13.5 percent increase year over year.”
Health insurance status and cancer stage at diagnosis and survival in the United States “Compared with privately insured patients, Medicaid-insured and uninsured patients were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage (III/IV) cancer for all stageable cancers combined and separately. For all stageable cancers combined and for six cancer sites—prostate, colorectal, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, oral cavity, liver, and esophagus—uninsured patients with Stage I disease had worse survival than privately insured patients with Stage II disease. Patients without private insurance coverage had worse short-term and long-term survival at each stage for all cancers combined; patients who were uninsured had worse stage-specific survival for 12 of 17 stageable cancers and had worse survival for leukemia and brain tumors. Expanding access to comprehensive health insurance coverage is crucial for improving access to cancer care and outcomes, including stage at diagnosis and survival.”
About pharma
Theravance cashes in Trelegy Ellipta royalty rights for $1.1 billion upfront “Theravance Biopharma announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its royalty rights on global net sales of GSK's asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment Trelegy Ellipta (fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol) to Royalty Pharma for over $1.5 billion, including an upfront cash payment of around $1.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the next 10 business days.”
Bayer offloads Nebido as part of pharma unit transformation “Bayer agreed to sell its male hypogonadism treatment Nebido (testosterone undecanoate) to Grünenthal for up to €500 million as the German drugmaker continues to focus on its key areas of innovation. Last year, the long-acting injectable generated sales of €117 million.”
Judge Approves $264 million Mylan/Viatris Settlement Over High EpiPen Prices “Viatris, formerly Mylan, now must pay out a settlement of $264 million to consumers, insurers and pension funds who sued the company over steep price spikes for EpiPen, which is used to quickly administer epinephrine to treat potentially fatal allergic reactions.”
Alnylam Sues Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna Again Over Alleged Patent Infringement “Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has filed new complaints against Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna over alleged patent infringement of its biodegradable lipids, which the company claims are essential to the safety and efficacy of the companies’ messenger RNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.
Alnylam previously filed suit against the companies in March for alleged infringement of its patented lipid nanoparticle technology. In the new complaint, which cites a different patent, Alnylam said the lipid technology is used to help prevent the rapid degradation of the vaccines upon administration.”
Few biopharma risers stand out at the half year “Only a fifth of the 660 global drug developers tracked by Evaluate Vantage ended June in positive territory. Among the winners Lantheus stands out as the only stock to produce a triple-digit gain, excluding takeover targets, while Covid fatigue caused valuations at the big pandemic plays to continue ebbing away.
Pfizer, Moderna, Biontech, Novavax and Curevac registered some of the biggest declines in their respective market cap brackets. Covid is far from over, but questions about the durability of revenues from vaccines and other treatments is causing investors to look for new growth stories.”
Read the article for details by company.
About the public’s health
Studies Probe Adenovirus Link to Childhood Hepatitis Cases “Two new studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, report that two medical centers — one in Birmingham, Ala., and another in Birmingham, England — have seen increases in the number of children with acute, unexplained hepatitis in recent months.
The research also presents more circumstantial evidence that adenovirus 41, which often causes gastrointestinal symptoms, may be a contributing factor. In both studies, adenovirus infections were detected in about 90 percent of children tested, and children who developed acute liver failure or required transplants had higher average levels of the virus in their blood than those with milder cases.”
About health technology
Illumina loses challenge to block EU antitrust probe into $8B Grail buyout “Fighting to push its $8 billion acquisition of Grail past European regulators, Illumina suffered a key setback Wednesday when an EU court ruled an antitrust probe into the buyout can proceed.Illumina was challenging the inquiry after the EU objected to the acquisition over concerns it would concentrate most available genetic sequencing tests under one roof. The company has said it would appeal the ruling to Europe’s highest court…, but the bloc’s antitrust group may not wait for that process — which could take years — to wrap up before deciding whether to block the deal.”