Top Stories

  • President-elect Joe Biden has warned his coronavirus response team, including COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients and his deputy, Natalie Quillian, that they are underperforming expectations as the incoming administration seeks to meet an ambitious target of 100 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in its first 100 days, people familiar with the conversations said. The tensions have risen as the initial vaccine rollout hits snags and immunizations remain far below earlier benchmarks set by the Trump administration. (Politico)
  • Reports of a highly contagious new COVID-19 variant that originated in the United States and could be driving the current surge of infections were inaccurate and based on speculative comments from Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House’s coronavirus task force, according to several government officials. Birx’s theory was included in a weekly report sent to state governors and ran in several news outlets, despite internal disagreement with Birx among scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The New York Times)
  • An experimental drug from Eli Lilly & Co. helped Alzheimer’s patients in a small trial, slowing the decline of memory and daily living activities by 32 percent after 18 months compared to patients who received a placebo, the company said. Lilly is now enrolling patients for a larger study of the drug, called donanemab, and if the findings hold up, it would suggest researchers have found a treatment that could slow the progression of the disease. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents 36 health plans throughout the country that insure millions of Americans, said it will halt political donations to lawmakers who voted against certifying Biden’s electoral win. Kim Keck, the group’s chief executive and president, said in a statement that its political action committee, supported by employee contributions, would not support lawmakers who voted to “undermine our democracy.” (Bloomberg Law)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

01/11/2021
Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase Panel: The Digital Healthcare Revolution 5:30 pm
01/12/2021
Consumer Electronics Show
01/13/2021
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Consumer Electronics Show
HHS Health Information Technology Advisory Committee Meeting 9:30 am
Washington Post Live: Artificial Intelligence in Health Care 2:00 pm
01/14/2021
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Consumer Electronics Show
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Meeting
Kaiser Family Foundation Webinar: Early Lessons from the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout to High Priority Populations 12:00 pm
Politico Live: Fast and Fair? The COVID Vaccine Rollout 1:00 pm
Princeton University and the Brookings Institution Webinar on the Future of Children: Promoting early development 1:00 pm
01/15/2021
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Meeting
National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation Panel on The Challenges of Aging During COVID-19: Long Term Care, Vaccination and Isolation 1:00 pm
01/16/2021
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
View full calendar

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Download the report for the full rankings overall and by generation, and for the brands that most increased their brand ID in 2020.

Coronavirus

Pfizer, BioNTech Boost Vaccine Goal More Than 50% to 2 Billion
Naomi Kresge, Bloomberg

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE raised their Covid-19 vaccine production target for this year to 2 billion shots, as the partners respond to a global rush of countries seeking to order more doses.

Hospitals say syringes supplied by feds waste vaccine doses
Susannah Luthi and Rachel Roubein, Politico

Hospitals are throwing out doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine because the federal government is giving some of the facilities syringes that can only extract five doses from vials that often contain more.

Lawmakers Exposed to Covid-19 During Capitol Attack, Physician Says
Billy House, Bloomberg

Lawmakers may have been exposed to the coronavirus while they were held in a secure room during Wednesday’s attack on Congress, the Capitol’s attending physician said Sunday.

At Elite Medical Centers, Even Workers Who Don’t Qualify Are Vaccinated
Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times

Administrators and young graduate students have been inoculated at leading research hospitals, contrary to state and federal guidelines.

Pfizer Struggled to Recruit for Covid Drug Trial as Cases Soared
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg

Pfizer Inc. is pushing back by months a late-stage study on its lead antiviral treatment for Covid-19 because it couldn’t enroll enough patients at a time when infections are surging.

Pressure Grows for States to Open Vaccines to More Groups of People
Abby Goodnough, The New York Times

Some states are already expanding eligibility to people 65 and over, even though millions of people the C.D.C. recommends go first — health care workers and nursing home residents — have yet to get shots.

China says WHO team to probe COVID-19 origins will arrive Thursday
Gabriel Crossley and Se Young Lee, Reuters

A World Health Organization (WHO) team of international experts tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic will arrive in China on Jan. 14, Chinese authorities said on Monday.

2 Arthritis Drugs Reduce Deaths in Very Ill Covid Patients, Study Finds
Katherine J. Wu, The New York Times

The big dip in mortality shown in the trial of about 800 patients has caught some experts by surprise because previous studies of the drugs showed little benefit.

6 Months After Leaving the Hospital, Covid Survivors Still Face Lingering Health Issues
Pam Belluck, The New York Times

A large study of patients from a Wuhan, China hospital showed that a half-year later, three-quarters were struggling with problems like fatigue, depression and diminished lung function.

CDC Shut Down a Lab Involved in Making Faulty Coronavirus Tests
James Bandler et al., ProPublica

A CDC lab involved in making faulty coronavirus tests sent to state and local officials early in the pandemic was closed down hours after an October investigation by ProPublica exposed key mistakes the CDC made in manufacturing those tests.

Novavax bosses cash out for $46 million with COVID-19 vaccine trials still under way
Jessica DiNapoli, Reuters

Top executives at U.S. pharmaceutical company Novavax Inc aren’t waiting to see how well their COVID-19 vaccine works before they reap the financial rewards.

Payers

An 11th-Hour Approval for Major Changes to Medicaid in Tennessee
Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times

The Trump administration’s move, which Biden could eventually reverse, would loosen program rules and cap the state’s funding as part of a block grant.

Health insurers’ outlook boosted after Dems’ Georgia win
Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare

Analysts expect Democratic control in Washington to boost health insurers’ bottom line, particularly for payers that focus their business on the Affordable Care Act exchange and Medicaid managed-care.

Providers

Mortality rate for Black babies is cut dramatically when they’re delivered by Black doctors, researchers say
Tonya Russell, The Washington Post

Although Black newborns are three times as likely to die as White newborns, when Black babies are delivered by Black doctors, their mortality rate is cut in half.

Hospitals slow to disclose their payer-negotiated rates
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare

Many hospitals are breaking new federal rules that seek to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers.

Pharma, Biotech and Devices

Bluebird Bio to Spin Off Cancer-Drug Unit
Joseph Walker, The Wall Street Journal

Bluebird Bio Inc., a biotech pioneer in the field of gene therapies, plans to split itself in two later this year, spinning off its cancer-drug unit into a new, publicly traded company so it can focus on rare diseases.

Sanofi to Buy Antibody Maker Kymab in $1.45 Billion Deal
Tim Loh, Bloomberg

Sanofi agreed to buy the U.K. monoclonal antibody developer Kymab in a deal worth as much as $1.45 billion to gain experimental medicines for inflammation diseases as well as cancer.

FDA advisory panel meetings became ‘rarer and tougher’ in 2020
Ed Silverman, Stat News

Among the myriad changes wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meetings to review medicines are “rarer and tougher” now, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Health Technology

AI startup that captures vital signs via phone cameras launches new corporate wellness solution
Heather Landi, Fierce Healthcare

One artificial intelligence health startup that offers video-based health tracking sees big opportunities among insurance companies and employers with the growing demand for health monitoring tools.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Cannabis Is About to Break Through
George Hodgin, Morning Consult

Because of wise new steps being taken by the federal government, we are on the precipice of a major shift in the availability of quality cannabis research that will give the medical and scientific community an improved understanding of both the risks and benefits of cannabis products, opening the door to significant public health breakthroughs.

A Light Regulatory Touch to Keep Covid Drugs Current
Scott Gottlieb, The Wall Street Journal

New variants of the Covid virus appear more infectious, and it’s urgent to get as much protective immunity into the population before these strains can take root. The effort will require a new scientific and regulatory framework that allow countermeasures to be adapted and updated quickly as the threat evolves.

Research Reports

Rates of COVID-19 Among Residents and Staff Members in Nursing Homes — United States, May 25–November 22, 2020
Suparna Bagchi et al., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Rates of COVID-19 among nursing home residents and staff members increased during June and July 2020, and again in November.

General

Medicaid, Obamacare Expected to Top Democrats’ Early Health Agenda, Former Aides and Policy Analysts Say
Gaby Galvin, Morning Consult

With a tight Senate majority, Democrats’ focus will likely remain on health coverage and costs.

Biden’s HHS to Inherit Legal Fights Over Obamacare, Medicaid
Lydia Wheeler, Bloomberg Law

Legal battles left over from the prior administration are likely to dictate which health-care policy priorities President-elect Joe Biden and his officials must focus on first.

Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith Takes Aim at Racial Gaps in Health Care
Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times

Appointed head of the incoming administration’s task force on health equity, the Yale University scientist “is not sitting in her ivory tower.”

Morning Consult