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Thursday, September 7, 2017
[Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking]
Sponsored by
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Happy Thursday, everyone! Here's what you need to know about health and medicine this morning.
Opioid maker ignored warnings about marketing tactics
A newly released report from Sen. Claire McCaskill’s investigation into opioid manufacturers is adding to a growing pile of evidence that a major pharmaceutical company misrepresented its opioid painkiller and provided insurers misleading patient information. McCaskill’s office found that drug maker Insys, which manufactures the powerful fentanyl painkiller Subsys, misrepresented the drug to insurers to boost authorizations for Subsys. McCaskill’s report found that a consultant warned Insys in 2014 it didn’t have the right kind of policies in place to oversee those reimbursement efforts, but executives failed to take action. McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, released a copy of that consultant’s report as part of her investigation — more here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3a0787ea19&e=4aad33fd68>.
Jargon is making science hard to actually understand
Bad news: Science now confirms that scientific studies are getting harder to understand. New research<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=9b356cb84a&e=4aad33fd68> in eLife looked at more than 709,000 scientific abstracts published between 1881 and 2015, and found that the use of scientific jargon — clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, anyone? — is becoming more common. More than 20 percent of scientific abstracts now have a readability level that’s considered beyond college graduate-level English. That makes it harder for the public and policymakers to understand scientific research. One of the authors' suggestions: Include a “lay summary” that makes a paper easier for people to understand.
Progress in reducing stroke deaths is stalled
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The stroke death rate has fallen for the past four decades — but now, it seems progress has stalled. A new CDC report<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3289a4d1e3&e=4aad33fd68> finds that the decline in stroke death rates slowed down between 2000 and 2015 in 38 states, falling short of the projected progress. And among Hispanic individuals the death rate has actually climbed six percent each year since 2013. The authors say that increased rates of obesity and diabetes and lower rates of physical activity might play a part in the slowing progress. The good news: Health officials now have a clear picture of which groups to target with public health interventions.
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Big names that you’ll want to meet. Big issues that you’ll want to talk about. A week of activity designed for you. Enjoy it all in the company of the brightest minds from the Boston life science community. With a dazzling awards party and an evening of rock and roll, Biotech Week Boston is the convergence of business and fun. For a complete list of exciting events, visit BWBFestival.com<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=cd5730eafe&e=4aad33fd68>.
Children's health insurance, shaky markets, and more from Congress
The Senate Finance committee takes up the Children's Health Insurance Program in a hearing today as the deadline to extend federal funding for the program looms at the end of this month. The program has bipartisan support, but lawmakers are split on whether to keep funding the program at the higher levels established by the ACA. The funding is broadly considered essential — but STAT's Erin Mershon reports<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1b9cc57b5e&e=4aad33fd68> some key Republicans have already signaled they may wait until later this year, after the formal deadline, to approve the spending.
Elsewhere on the Hill, the Senate health committee is holding its second insurance stabilization hearing today, with five governors testifying about their constituents' experiences. And the Senate appropriations committee is marking up its 2018 appropriations measure for HHS — which includes nearly $300 million in Title X family planning grants that the House version eliminated.
Inside STAT<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=0db0d4160d&e=4aad33fd68>: Biotech CEO takes a risky second shot
Dr. David Hung believed he had a billion-dollar product with the Alzheimer’s treatment being developed by the California biotech startup he ran, Medivation. But when data from a major clinical trial came in 2010, the results were disastrous. The drug failed, and Medivation lost more than $1 billion in value in the first hour of trading. Hung saved Medivation — eventually selling it to Pfizer for $14 billion — and the rebound made him somewhat of a legend in biotech circles. But Hung still wanted to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s, so he’s trying his hand at it again. This time it’s with Axovant Sciences, and results from the company’s big trial are expected out this month. STAT’s Damian Garde has the story here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=aaf36a1723&e=4aad33fd68>.
Vivek Murthy talks health and stress with the NIH
Just two days after his successor was sworn in, former surgeon general Vivek Murthy is teaming up with NIH director Francis Collins to deliver a talk on health consequences of stress. Murthy — who was ousted<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fd3a5c19dc&e=4aad33fd68> by President Trump in April — made emotional well-being one of his priorities while serving as surgeon general, calling stress in the U.S. an “epidemic.” His secrets to dealing with stress<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=288e058468&e=4aad33fd68>? Meditation, walks, and plenty of sleep. You can watch the conversation here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=8f00f67f43&e=4aad33fd68> starting at 11 a.m. ET.
Scientists pinpoint genes tied to preterm birth risk
Researchers have pinpointed<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=fe4974f68e&e=4aad33fd68> six spots in the genome that impact how long a woman carries a pregnancy and her risk of going into labor early — a finding that could point to new tactics to prevent preterm birth. More than 15 million pregnant women across the world each year give birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and preterm birth remains the leading cause of death among children under age five. The new study analyzed data from more than 50,000 women across the globe, and found six regions of the genome where variations were associated with either pregnancy duration or preterm birth. The genes in those regions were already known to play a role in uterine development, maternal nutrition, and blood pressure control, which backs up the latest finding.
What to read around the web today
§ Move to end DACA leaves some young immigrants fearing for their health. Kaiser Health News<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=cb8235e4e9&e=4aad33fd68>
§ IV hydrogen peroxide: An unproven therapy that could be dangerous. KPCC<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f55f59f0ed&e=4aad33fd68>
§ When a company is making money from the opioid crisis. The Atlantic<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=15616df1fc&e=4aad33fd68>
More reads from STAT
§ A new advertising tack<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=2af3e78d9f&e=4aad33fd68> for hospitals: IBM’s Watson supercomputer is in the house.
§ A pen that detects cancerous tissue<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b5ec39c713&e=4aad33fd68> could help surgeons remove the full tumor.
§ In preparation for Hurricane Irma<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=1ba76cfab0&e=4aad33fd68>, hospitals in Florida Keys evacuate patients.
The latest from STAT Plus
§ PhRMA’s Stephen Ubl talks pricing and politics<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=6e66839cb1&e=4aad33fd68>.
§ Can Craig Venter really predict what you look like<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ca78a67678&e=4aad33fd68> from your DNA? Debate flares over new paper.
Thanks for reading! More tomorrow,
[Megan]
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