Senate committee: Why do Americans pay more for prescriptions than people in other countries?
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is set to hold a hearing Thursday morning that is titled โWhy Does the United States Pay, by Far, the Highest Prices in the World for Prescription Drugs?โ
Jacksonville doctor says benefits of Merckโs COVID pill would include convenience, cost
Drugmaker Merck on Monday requested emergency use authorization for its antiviral pill against COVID-Drugmaker Merck asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its pill for treating COVID-19 in what would add an entirely new and easy-to-use weapon to the worldโs arsenal against the pandemic.
The Latest: 92% of Denverโs municipal employees vaccinated
At least 92% of Denverโs municipal employees were vaccinated against COVID-19 Friday, a day after the cityโs vaccine mandate took effect in a bid to slow the spread of the virus during the fall and winter, according to a review of city compliance data.
Biden boosts US vaccine stockpile as world waits
White House aides said Bidenโs first priority is ensuring that Americans are vaccinated before considering distributing doses elsewhere. AdRussia has sent millions of doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to countries around the world, even as it vaccinates its own population. Israel, which has vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer vaccines produced in Europe, has also attempted to use vaccine diplomacy to reward allies. Biden's purchasing strategy has come under criticism from nongovernmental organizations who have encouraged the White House to develop clear plans and thresholds for sharing vaccine with the world. So weโre not going to be ultimately safe until the world is safe,โ acknowledged Biden.
The Latest: Ontario seniors won't get AstraZeneca vaccine
The administration is invoking the Defense Production Act, a wartime measure that gives the federal government authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of the national defense, to equip two Merck facilities to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. AdBiden said Johnson & Johnson will operate 24/7 to produce the vaccine. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that teachers will receive doses of the newly approved one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, under a plan his administration will release. AdHe gave few details, but said he and a bipartisan legislative task force agreed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be set aside for teachers and then other workers considered to be essential, but who are not included in the first vaccination phase. States are receiving 2.8 million doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.
Longtime Merck CEO, minority advocate Ken Frazier to retire
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)KENILWORTH โ Longtime Merck executive Ken Frazier, whose leadership helped bring the drugmaker one of the most lucrative medicines in history and who is one of the few remaining Black CEOs of a major corporation, is retiring. Frazier, Merckโs CEO since early 2011 and an advocate for minority advancement who took on then-President Trumpโs tacit support of white supremacists, will retire on June 30. He is one of the few Black CEOs at the head of a Fortune 500 company. At Merck, Frazier clashed with then-President Donald Trump over his refusal to condemn violence by the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Share prices have more than doubled, and revenue has nearly doubled, under Frazier as CEO.
Merck ends development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines
The drugmaker will stop developing two potential COVID-19 vaccines after seeing poor results in early-stage studies. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)Merck is giving up on two potential COVID-19 vaccines following poor results in early-stage studies. The company said its potential vaccines were well tolerated by patients, but they generated an inferior immune system response compared with other vaccines. Merck was developing one of the potential vaccines with Franceโs Pasteur Institute based on an existing measles vaccine. Five potential vaccines have reached late-stage testing in the United States, the final phase before a drugmaker seeks approval from regulators.
The Latest: Texas COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to fall
State health officials Monday reported fewer than 13,000 people were being treated for the virus in Texas hospitals, marking the seventh consecutive day of declining patient loads. Some hospitals and clinics have reported having to cancel immunization appointments because they didnโt have enough vaccine doses to distribute. A little more than half of Ochsner employees have yet to get the vaccine, officials said at a news conference Monday. Tessa Walker Linderman, co-lead of Alaskaโs COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, told reporters the state expects to learn soon what its vaccine allocation will be for February. Health officials are also worried about variants that were first reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Strong sales of drugs, vaccines, propel Merck in 3Q
The strong result was due to sales slightly higher than a year ago, plus restrained spending. The Kenilworth, New Jersey, company on Tuesday said itโs making progress on three efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic: two vaccines and an antiviral drug. Meanwhile, Merck is developing two experimental vaccines that only require one dose, unlike the many two-dose vaccines further along in human testing. Merck reported revenue of $12.55 billion, also easily beating analyst projections for $12.26 billion. Veterinary medicine sales jumped 9%, to $1.22 billion.