Top Stories

  • Over the weekend, the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the United States rose to five, with the latest patients in Los Angeles and Orange County, California and Maricopa County, Arizona. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects that more Americans will be infected by the virus, which is contagious before symptoms appear, but said that the risk of becoming sick after coming in casual contact with someone who is infected is low. (USA Today)
  • The federal government is making arrangements to evacuate American citizens from Wuhan, China, on a charter flight that will seat roughly 230 people, according to people familiar with the effort. The U.S. consulate is attempting to reach Americans who are still in the city, including diplomats and their families, but those who accept a seat on the plane will have to pay their way. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Nestlé SA has decided to purchase Allergan PLC’s nutrition drug Zenpep, a pancreatic enzyme preparation, for an undisclosed price, as the Swiss company bolsters its medical nutrition portfolio with “products that support food ingestion, digestion and absorption.” (Reuters)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

01/27/2020
DIA Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management Strategies Conference
2020 ONC Annual Meeting
The Center for Global Development hosts a discussion on global health supply chains 3:30 pm
01/28/2020
2020 ONC Annual Meeting
DIA Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management Strategies Conference
House Ways & Means Committee hearing on proposals for paid family and medical leave 10:00 am
House Judiciary Committee hearing: “Fentanyl Analogues: Perspectives on Classwide Scheduling” 10:00 am
House Natural Resources Committee subcommittee hearing: “Public Disclosure Requirements for Protecting Human Health, the Climate, and the Environment” 10:00 am
House Education & Labor Committee hearing on addressing America’s maternal and infant health crisis 10:15 am
ABA: ART History 101 1:00 pm
01/29/2020
DIA Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management Strategies Conference
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)will participate in a Politico event titled: “Health Care Innovators: Navigating the Health Care Maze” 8:00 am
House Committee on Energy and Commerce health subcommittee hearing on improving safety and transparency in America’s food and drugs 10:00 am
AHIP: Key Considerations for Medicare Advantage Success 2:00 pm
01/30/2020
AHIP: Health Care Predictions for 2020 and the Role of Virtual Care 2:00 pm
View full calendar

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General

As Coronavirus Fears Intensify, Effectiveness of Quarantines Is Questioned
Chris Buckley et al., The New York Times

Amid news the coronavirus is spreading at an accelerating rate, concern is growing that China’s lockdown of cities may not only have come too late but could even make the situation worse.

Relatives Wonder Why Pneumonia Deaths Not in Coronavirus Tally
Wenxin Fan, The Wall Street Journal

A 53-year-old fitness trainer died on Wednesday after checking into a hospital in Wuhan a little more than a week earlier, said his niece. His family had expected the death certificate to reflect the deadly coronavirus, because as his condition deteriorated, his doctors told his family he was suffering from an untreatable virus in his lungs.

World Health Organization chief to meet Chinese officials in Beijing as coronavirus deaths rise
Emma Newburger, CNBC

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director general, is traveling to Beijing, China, to meet with government and health officials on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

Trump administration wants to lower seniors’ insulin costs
Caitlin Owens and Jonathan Swan, Axios

The Trump administration is working on a proposal to lower seniors’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin, which have nearly doubled over the last decade.

Trump should apologize for minimizing troops’ injuries, VFW says
Anne Gearan, The Washington Post

The veterans group decries the president’s “misguided” description of brain injuries as less severe than the loss of limbs.

‘They Did Not Realize We Are Human Beings’
Dan Diamond, Politico

In Iowa, a community of Marshall Islanders has found a place to settle, decades after the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on their Pacific home. Now can Washington deliver on the promises it made?

China extends holiday to contain virus as death toll rises
Joe McDonald, The Associated Press

China on Monday expanded sweeping efforts to contain a viral disease by extending the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home and avoid spreading infection as the death toll rose to 81.

Trump’s dispute with Azar gives new life to drug pricing plan
Sarah Karlin-Smith and Adam Cancryn, Politico

President Donald Trump has one big option to make good on his promise to slash drug prices: Tie the cost of U.S. drugs to the lower prices paid overseas

CTE doctor Bennet Omalu has profited selling distorted science
Will Hobson, The Washington Post

Bennet Omalu became famous after telling the world he’d discovered CTE. His fellow brain doctors knew better.

The Pharmacist Is Out: Supermarkets Close Pharmacy Counters
Sharon Terlep and Jaewon Kang, The Wall Street Journal

Regional grocery chains get squeezed by consolidation, shrinking profits in prescription drugs.

Pete Stark, former congressman who helped draft the ACA, dies
Axios

Former Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) has died, his family confirmed in a statement Saturday. He was 88.

Virus Worries Batter Stocks and Oil as Bonds Surge: Markets Wrap
Todd White, Bloomberg

Intensifying concern over the human and economic impact of the deadly coronavirus sent stocks, oil and China’s yuan tumbling Monday while spurring Treasuries and other havens. Italian bonds jumped after regional elections.

Payers

When Insurance Won’t Cover Drugs, Americans Make ‘Tough Choices’ About Their Health
Patti Neighmond, NPR News

The majority of Americans have health insurance that includes coverage for prescription drugs. But unfortunately that doesn’t ensure that they can afford the specific drugs their doctors prescribe for them.

Providers

Call For FDA To Withdraw Preterm Birth Drug Divides Doctors and Insurers
Emmarie Huetteman, Kaiser Health News

Doctors fear that the only drug approved to prevent preterm birth, the nation’s leading cause of infant mortality and disability, will no longer be available to expectant mothers.

Pharma, Biotech and Devices

J&J CEO to testify at trial for first time on Baby Powder risks
Michael Erman and Lisa Girion, Reuters

Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky was set to be called as a witness on Monday in what would be his first appearance in a jury trial over allegations that the company’s Baby Powder causes cancer.

‘The time to worry is now’: The coronavirus in China could threaten pharma’s ingredient sourcing
Ed Silverman, Stat News

As a novel coronavirus spreads through China and rattles the rest of the world, the pharmaceutical industry is on guard over the adequacy of its global supply chain.

China Testing HIV Drug as Treatment for New Coronavirus, AbbVie Says
Michael Erman, Reuters

China is testing an HIV drug as a treatment for symptoms of the new coronavirus that is rapidly spreading, said drugmaker AbbVie Inc on Sunday.

AmerisourceBergen CEO earned $14.7 million in company stock gains in 2019
Bob Herman, Axios

Steven Collis, CEO of drug distributor AmerisourceBergen, made $14.7 million in his company’s 2019 fiscal year based on the actual realized gains on his stock, according to new company disclosures.

J&J scientific officer ‘pretty confident’ they can create coronavirus vaccine as outbreak widens
Jessica Bursztynsky, CNBC

Johnson & Johnson’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels told CNBC on Monday that he believes the drugmaker can create a vaccine in the coming months to fight against the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Containing new coronavirus may not be feasible, experts say, as they warn of possible sustained global spread
Helen Branswell, Stat News

Some infectious disease experts are warning that it may no longer be feasible to contain the new coronavirus circulating in China. Failure to stop it there could see the virus spread in a sustained way around the world and even perhaps join the ranks of respiratory viruses that regularly infect people.

Coronavirus fears spark run on surgical face masks in U.S.
Jennifer A. Kingson, Axios

Despite reassurances from public health officials that Americans don’t currently need to wear face masks as a precaution against coronavirus, many drug stores are selling out.

Health IT

These 10 startups acquired by Alphabet reveal a health care play centered on surveillance
Erin Brodwin, Stat News

At a gathering of the world’s business and political titans last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai became the latest tech leader to sharpen his focus on health care.

Apple and Microsoft representatives are set to join a meeting on Monday promoting patient access to health data
Christina Farr, CNBC

Apple and Microsoft will each be sending a representative to a meeting on Monday hosted by a group that’s supporting efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services to make it easier for patients to access and share their medical information.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

U.S. Hospitals Aren’t Ready for the Coronavirus
Betsy McCaughey, The Wall Street Journal

No one knows whether the coronavirus will substantially threaten the U.S., where it has already been detected, but one thing is certain: American hospitals aren’t ready for the deadly virus or a future global contagion. Travelers from China’s Wuhan region are being diverted to five U.S. airports, where they can be screened.

Research Reports

Survival of African American and non‐Hispanic white men with prostate cancer in an equal‐access health care system
Paul Riviere et al., American Cancer Society

African American (AA) men in the general US population are more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer (PC) compared with non‐Hispanic white (NHW) men. The authors hypothesized that receiving care through the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system, an equal‐access medical system, would attenuate this disparity.

Morning Consult