Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Mifepristone Is Life Saving; Making Naloxone OTC Will Make It More Impactful
聽The ruling earlier this month by a Texas federal judge to suspend the US Food and Drug Administration鈥檚 approval of a drug that is used frequently for medication abortions, is very personal for me. That鈥檚 because I took mifepristone years ago during a miscarriage, and it saved my life. (Roxanne Jones, 4/18)
In an attempt to make naloxone more accessible amid the massive human toll of the opioid crisis, the FDA recently approved over-the-counter naloxone. Naloxone is the one solution that has remained constant through the evolving opioid crisis. (Jonathan JK Stoltman and Mishka Terplan, 4/17)
Merck鈥檚 $200-a-share deal for a company that has yet to have a drug approved for sale represents a premium of 75% to Friday鈥檚 closing stock price. At first blush, this seems giddy, even desperate. That it barely registered with followers of health-care mergers says much about Big Pharma鈥檚 challenges. (Ed Hammond, 4/18)
The demand for Adderall has surged, with U.S. prescriptions rocketing to 41.4 million in 2021 鈥 a 10.4% increase from 2020, according to IQVIA, a life sciences industry analytics provider. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the spike in demand, coupled with 鈥渋ntermittent manufacturing delays,鈥 have created a national shortage. (Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, 4/14)
The explosion of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic has been transformative for countless patients who might otherwise be unable to access care. But the Drug Enforcement Administration is preparing to roll back telemedicine options for many essential prescriptions. It would be a dangerous move, exacerbating already gaping disparities and imperiling the most vulnerable patients. (Kate M. Nicholson and Leo Beletsky, 4/15)