WASHINGTON: US hospitals have turned down about a third of their allocated supplies of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir since July as need for the costly antiviral wanes, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Friday (Sep 11). Some hospitals said they are still buying the Gilead Sciences medicine to build inventory in case the pandemic accelerates over the winter. But they said current supplies are adequate, in part because they are limiting use to severely ill patients. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed more liberal remdesivir use , but 6 out of 8 major hospital systems contacted by Reuters said they were not using it for moderate cases. READ: Ebola drug remdesivir conditionally approved for COVID-19 treatment in Singapore The slowdown suggests that a shortage of the drug is over and threatens Gilead's efforts to expand use of remdesivir, which it sells under the brand name Veklury in some countries. A Health and Human Services … [Read more...] about US hospitals turn down remdesivir, limit use to sickest COVID-19 patients
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Special Report: Big Pharma wages stealth war on drug price watchdog
REUTERS: As evidence grew this spring that the drug remdesivir was helping COVID-19 patients, some Wall Street investors bet on analysts’ estimates that its maker, Gilead Sciences Inc, could charge up to US$10,000 for the treatment. Then a small but increasingly influential drug-pricing research organization, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), said the treatment only justified a price between US$2,800 and US$5,000. Shortly after, Gilead announced it would charge about US$3,100 for a five-day treatment and US$5,700 for ten days - in line with the ICER recommendation. The episode illustrates the growing power of the Boston-based nonprofit to hold down U.S. drug prices. Over the past five years, ICER has pressured drugmakers to lower the cost of nearly 100 drugs. It aims to play a similar role with emerging COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. Health insurers increasingly use ICER's fair-value analyses to limit access to expensive drugs or to negotiate steeper … [Read more...] about Special Report: Big Pharma wages stealth war on drug price watchdog
Transcript: Anthony Fauci on “Face the Nation,” February 28, 2021
The following is a transcript of an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, that aired Sunday, February 28, 2021, on "Face the Nation." MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the president's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Good morning to you, Doctor. CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Good morning, MARGARET. MARGARET BRENNAN: We had this good news on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being greenlit overnight. But the COVID response coordinator has said he has been disappointed in the slow pace of manufacturing. How many doses will be available and when will they be available to the public? DR. FAUCI: Well, as soon as the EUA is essentially formalized, when- when doses can come out, you're going to see a few million doses, I mean, literally a handful. But by the end of March, there'll be 20 million and then there will be a total of 100 million as we get probably to June as we get halfway through the year. So we … [Read more...] about Transcript: Anthony Fauci on “Face the Nation,” February 28, 2021