AJMC Staff

Articles by AJMC Staff

Novartis hid manipulated data about its $2 million gene therapy Zolgensma from the FDA; US District Judge Kristine Baker granted a preliminary injunction preventing Arkansas from enforcing 3 abortion restrictions; a federal judge in Ohio expressed support for a plan by attorneys representing cities and counties suing US opioid manufacturers and distributors that would bring every US community into their settlement talks despite objections from most states.

Federal contractors lost not only wages during the 5-week government shutdown, some of them also lost health insurance; with advances in gene therapy, scientists are beginning to talk about a cure in sickle cell disease; there’s bipartisan interest in attacking the issue of unexpected medical bills, and the effort has been aided by President Donald Trump, who voiced support last week for protecting patients.

A report from the President’s Cancer Panel has found that use of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines remain low, despite improvements; Novartis believes that its new gene therapy to treat spinal muscular atrophy could cost $4 million to $5 million per patient; the chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society (ACS) resigned over concerns regarding controversial fundraising partnerships.

The FDA will start to review gene therapy experiments and products the same as other treatments and drugs; Alaska and Minnesota have become models for other states looking to curb health insurance premium increases with reinsurance programs; patients with limited English proficiency often have to rely on family members and friends to interpret for them, which can have serious consequences.

The chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel has been approved for a second type of blood cancer; the National Institutes of Health has started recruiting individuals for a database that will include data on more than 1 million people; Kansas’ request to impose a 3-year lifetime limit on Medicaid benefits is testing just how open the Trump administration is to allowing states flexibility.