2022 - Pharmacist Digest

U.S. government spent more on health care in 2022 than six countries with universal health care combined

STAT

DECEMBER 19, 2023

trillion in federal and state health care expenditures in 2022 — about 41% of the nearly $4.5 American taxpayers footed the bill for at least $1.8 trillion in both public and private health care spending the U.S. recorded last year, according to the annual report released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Why the biopharma ‘IPO playbook’ changed in 2022

PharmaVoice

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

Biopharma IPOs have puttered in 2022, particularly compared to the record-breaking previous year, but they might be set to rebound.

The 2022 PharmaVoice 100

PharmaVoice

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

From standout executives to R&D pioneers — this year’s class of honorees is defining the next era of leadership.

High sensitivity cardiac troponins for ED chest pain evaluation (2022 ACC pathway)

ALiEM - Pharm Pearls

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

The 2022 American College of Cardiology (ACC) pathway provides timely guidance [1]. Applying the 2022 ACC guideline Before delving into the specifics of the hs-cTn pathways, start with the ECG. The ACC 2022 pathway has a section dedicated to ECGs in ischemia [1], and FOAMcast has a great visual summary.

Hospitals

Hospitals Diabetes

STAT+: The prices of 8 drugs were hiked without proof of new benefits, costing the U.S. $1.2 billion in 2022, report finds

STAT

DECEMBER 11, 2023

During 2022, drugmakers substantially raised prices on eight widely used medicines without any new clinical evidence to justify the increases, leading patients and health insurers in the U.S. to spend an additional $1.2 billion last year, according to a new report.

Drug Pricing

STAT+: Moderna CEO made $398 million in 2022, but still pledges to give most to charity

STAT

MARCH 17, 2023

Bancel made $398 million in 2022 based on the actual realized gains of stock that was exercised and sold, according to STAT’s calculations from Moderna’s annual compensation disclosure filed this week.

Vaccines

STAT+: How Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers ratcheted up profits in 2022

STAT

JUNE 5, 2023

Publicly traded health insurers were not the only ones in the industry that continued to amass large windfalls in 2022. billion in profit for Health Care Service Corp., the parent of five Blues plans. A quadrupling of profit at BCBS of Alabama.

STAT+: Health care CEOs dialed back their pay in 2023. They still made $3.5 billion

STAT

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

billion combined last year, compared with $4 billion in 2022. million in 2022. But the biggest names in health care still made $3.5 The average chief executive brought home $11 million, while the median was $4.1 Those figures compared to an average of $13 million and median of $4.3

Pharmaceutical Companies

Pharmaceutical Companies Pharmaceutical Companies Hospitals

STAT+: Ultragenyx reports early success with Angelman syndrome drug, backing up 2022 acquisition

STAT

APRIL 15, 2024

Ultragenyx has found early success with its experimental treatment for the rare disease Angelman syndrome, supporting the company’s decision to acquire its development partner two years ago.

Communication

Routine vaccinations drop among U.S. kindergartners for the third year in a row

STAT

JANUARY 12, 2023

kindergartners who’ve received standard childhood vaccines took a small but notable dip into the 2021-2022 school year, health officials said Thursday, amid disruptions related to Covid-19 and fears that anti-vaccine sentiment stirred up by the pandemic could be spreading to other shots. The percentage of U.S.

Vaccines

Opinion: To reduce suicide, primary care and mental health clinicians need to work together. Congress can help that happen

STAT

JUNE 24, 2024

Suicide rates in the United States increased approximately 36% between 2000 and 2022, according to updated data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Suicide was responsible for just under 50,000 deaths in 2022 (the last year with complete statistics) — an all-time high.

Congenital syphilis cases in the U.S. have skyrocketed, CDC says

STAT

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

The number of cases of congenital syphilis in 2022 was more than 10 times the number recorded in 2012, the agency said, noting that most of the 3,761 cases reported in 2022 could have been averted, if the babies’ mothers had been adequately tested and treated. Read the rest…

What will it take to end health care worker burnout?

STAT

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Researchers compared survey data from 2018 and 2022, finding that health workers experienced poorer mental health outcomes post-pandemic. Of those surveyed, 46% of health workers reported feeling burnout often or very often in 2022, compared to 32% in 2018. Read the rest…

Hospitals

After Amylyx drug failure, what’s next for ALS?

PharmaVoice

MARCH 15, 2024

The company’s combo treatment Relyvrio was approved in 2022, but after failing a phase 3 trial, may be pulled from the market.

STAT+: The list of the worst biopharma CEOs of 2022: No ‘winner,’ just accountability

STAT

DECEMBER 20, 2022

I enjoy thinking about and writing the Worst CEOs of Biopharma column every year. It’s not because I’m mean or vindictive. This list is about holding people and an industry accountable. It’s a public service!

As Covid deaths drop, heart disease and cancer remain leading causes of death

STAT

AUGUST 8, 2024

lower than 2022. Heart disease and cancer remained the first and second leading causes of death, followed by unintentional injuries as No. Overall, deaths in 2023 were 6.1% Read the rest…

Who will get the call from Stockholm? It’s time for STAT’s 2022 Nobel Prize predictions

STAT

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

We live in a time where the rate of medical and superlative scientific advances is accelerating — by more than 1,300% since 1985, according to one recent estimate.

Vaccines

Scientists spot an orangutan using a plant to treat his own wound in the wild

STAT

MAY 2, 2024

Which is likely how Rakus, an adult male orangutan frequently seen in Gunung Leuser National Park in South Aceh, Indonesia, acquired a face wound in June 2022. Things can get tense.

Lyme disease cases rise, but largely due to a change in data collection

STAT

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

A new report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears to show that Lyme disease cases in the United States rose by 69% in 2022 over previous years. The change, an attempt to lift a crushing reporting burden off the shoulders of states where Lyme disease infections are common, went into effect in 2022.

Overdose deaths hit another record but show signs of leveling off

STAT

MARCH 20, 2024

recorded 107,941 drug overdose deaths in 2022, according to a new federal report — a total that marks an all-time record but also shows signs that the country’s overdose rate may finally be leveling off after years of steady increase.

The U.S. hasn’t seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950. Other STD rates are down or flat

STAT

JANUARY 30, 2024

syphilis epidemic isn’t abating, with the rate of infectious cases rising 9% in 2022, according to a new federal government report on sexually transmitted diseases in adults. NEW YORK — The U.S. But there’s some unexpected good news: The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade.

‘Concern is real’ about long Covid’s impact on Americans and disability claims, report says

STAT

JUNE 6, 2024

A new report commissioned by the SSA in 2022 captures what we know so far about long Covid, and hints at how the nation’s disability benefits system might need to shift in the wake of the pandemic. That could change as the burden of long Covid becomes clearer. Read the rest…

Covid-19 increases risk of developing autoimmune disease, but vaccination helps, large study shows

STAT

MARCH 4, 2024

The Covid group was compared with an uninfected control group and a group of patients who had influenza during the same period from 2020 to 2022. AIRDs include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, vasculitis, and other conditions. Read the rest…

Vaccines

Vaccines Medical Records

Is there a nursing shortage in the United States? Depends on who you ask

STAT

OCTOBER 16, 2023

In 2022, the American Hospital Association quoted an estimate that half a million nurses would leave the field by the end of that year, bringing the total shortage to 1.1 Hospitals are frustrated with a nationwide nursing shortage that’s only gotten worse since the pandemic.

Hospitals

Report: Measles cases and deaths increase worldwide, as childhood vaccinations rates decline

STAT

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Estimated measles cases rose 18% to 9 million in 2022 when compared to the previous year, and deaths rose by 43% to 136,200, according to the report , jointly authored by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccines

Opinion: H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle: A wake-up call to action

STAT

APRIL 12, 2024

since 2022, has now appeared to have breached a new barrier of inter-mammalian transmission, as exemplified by the expanding outbreak in dairy cows in several jurisdictions linked to an initial outbreak in Texas. H5N1, a strain of the flu virus known to infect bird species globally and several mammalian species in the U.S.

Researchers try to tease out possible ties between long Covid and menopause

STAT

OCTOBER 20, 2023

When she stopped getting her period in March 2022, Daryn Schwartz wasn’t especially concerned. At 42, she had recently come off birth control, and figured her cycles were still adjusting. When it hadn’t come back by the summer, she sought gynecological care, but was told to wait it out. So she did, with no changes.

Federal officials and physician groups express outrage over revelations of recent coercive sterilizations

STAT

JUNE 6, 2024

Federal officials, medical organizations, and reproductive health advocacy groups have expressed outrage in response to STAT’s recent investigation revealing that women with sickle cell disease have felt pressured into sterilizations as recently as 2017 and 2022.

Antiviral used for mpox no better than placebo, NIH says

STAT

AUGUST 15, 2024

The results are notable because the drug, tecovirimat, has rarely been studied clinically for mpox, despite its sporadic use over the years in parts of Africa and its wider use during the 2022 and 2023 outbreaks in the U.S. and Europe. Read the rest…

Drug overdose deaths fell for first time in five years, though still exceeded 100,000

STAT

MAY 15, 2024

drug overdose deaths, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly a 3% drop from 2022. Last year saw 107,543 U.S. Read the rest…

Surge of respiratory disease in China triggers anxiety, but experts see likely explanation

STAT

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

China only lifted that diktat — and eased the draconian restrictions that made it work — in late 2022. Read the rest…

More than 1 billion people have obesity, including 159 million young people, study estimates

STAT

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Obesity rates grew particularly fast among children and teens, quadrupling from 1990 to 2022, the latest year the analysis looked at, while rates among adults more than doubled. More than 1 billion people — or one in eight people worldwide — are now estimated to have obesity, a new study finds.

Feds bar Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from government health programs

STAT

JANUARY 19, 2024

Holmes was sentenced in November 2022 to 11 years in prison following a trial that determined she knew her blood-testing startup, which was founded in 2003 and which claimed to be able to test for a range of diseases and risks with one finger prick, produced inaccurate and faulty results.

Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

STAT

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

in 2022 — undoing over two decades of progress. At least partially as a consequence of over 1 million Covid-19 deaths, life expectancy in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past few years, falling from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 in 2020 and 76.1 and Italy all enjoy a life expectancy of 80 years or more.

STAT+: 7 children developed blood cancer after Bluebird Bio gene therapy for rare neurological disease

STAT

OCTOBER 9, 2024

That means four additional patients have developed blood cancers since June 2022, when concerns about three cancer cases prompted the Food and Drug Administration to hold a hearing of outside advisers before approving the treatment, marketed as Skysona. One patient died from complications of cancer treatment.

Hospitals

India’s lax oversight of pharmaceutical manufacturing imperils health around the world

STAT

JANUARY 9, 2023

Cough medicine tainted with ethylene glycol that killed at least 19 children in Uzbekistan in late December 2022 has once again revealed lax oversight and regulation of pharmaceutical companies based in India. That preventable tragedy, which involves products made by Marion Biotech, based in Noida, India, echoes earlier cases.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Companies Pharmaceutical Companies

STAT+: Sanofi enters vaccine licensing deal with Novavax, giving beleaguered biotech a lifeline

STAT

MAY 10, 2024

market until July 2022 , long after the makers of mRNA vaccines had reaped billions in sales. The pact includes a $500 million upfront payment, with up to $700 million more on the table if certain regulatory and launch milestones are reached.

Vaccines

STAT+: Goldman Sachs launches $650 million fund for life science investments

STAT

JANUARY 3, 2024

billion had been raised by 556 first-time funds in 2022. Last year, around $11.6 billion was raised by 183 new VC funds, which was the lowest fundraising total for first-timers since 2013, according to Pitchbook. Around $25.6 Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

Exodus of life scientists from academia reaches historic levels, new data show

STAT

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

in 2022 who had firm next steps, roughly 53% planned to pursue postdoctoral research, a temporary period of additional training that is virtually a requirement for those hoping to land a faculty job. Among newly minted life science Ph.D.s

CDC: Signs point to an early start for flu season, with cases already ticking up in parts of the U.S.

STAT

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Flu transmission has been low since the start of the pandemic , but an odd spurt of activity in April, May, and even early June of 2022 — which coincided with the onset of an early and robust flu season in Australia — suggests that flu may be making its way back. Read the rest…

STAT+: Medicare Advantage insurers ramped up use of technology to deny claims, Senate investigation shows

STAT

OCTOBER 17, 2024

As of 2022, those three insurers were turning down roughly a quarter of all requests for post-acute care among their Medicare Advantage enrollees, according to the congressional report.

Nursing Homes

Nursing Homes Inpatient Hospitals

Meghan O’Rourke on a medical system not built for chronic illness — and the ‘invisible kingdom’ that could spur change

STAT

OCTOBER 23, 2023

“Its parts need upkeep, piece by piece,” she wrote in her acclaimed 2022 book, “The Invisible Kingdom.” The chronically ill patient dejected after fruitless interactions with doctors was nearly invisible, and solitary. She saw the body, within the paradigm of Western medicine, as a car.

After Amylyx ALS trial failure, patients share disappointment and fear — but some hope

STAT

MARCH 12, 2024

But while the Phase 2 results led to the drug’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 2022 , they failed to replicate in a larger group. Read the rest…

Drug Development

Baby monitor videos yield evidence for long-suspected link between seizures and unexplained toddler deaths

STAT

JANUARY 4, 2024

27, 2022, Katie Czajkowski-Fell and Justin Fell weren’t woken up. The baby monitor didn’t go off. Any sound or motion in the twins’ room was supposed to set off an alarm — but in the wee hours of Nov. They’d gotten it because of Hayden’s febrile seizures.

Immunity

Immunity Immunization

U.S. government spent more on health care in 2022 than six countries with universal health care combined

Why the biopharma ‘IPO playbook’ changed in 2022

Trending Sources

The 2022 PharmaVoice 100

High sensitivity cardiac troponins for ED chest pain evaluation (2022 ACC pathway)

STAT+: The prices of 8 drugs were hiked without proof of new benefits, costing the U.S. $1.2 billion in 2022, report finds

STAT+: Moderna CEO made $398 million in 2022, but still pledges to give most to charity

STAT+: How Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers ratcheted up profits in 2022

STAT+: Health care CEOs dialed back their pay in 2023. They still made $3.5 billion

STAT+: Ultragenyx reports early success with Angelman syndrome drug, backing up 2022 acquisition

Routine vaccinations drop among U.S. kindergartners for the third year in a row

Opinion: To reduce suicide, primary care and mental health clinicians need to work together. Congress can help that happen

Congenital syphilis cases in the U.S. have skyrocketed, CDC says

What will it take to end health care worker burnout?

After Amylyx drug failure, what’s next for ALS?

STAT+: The list of the worst biopharma CEOs of 2022: No ‘winner,’ just accountability

As Covid deaths drop, heart disease and cancer remain leading causes of death

Who will get the call from Stockholm? It’s time for STAT’s 2022 Nobel Prize predictions

Scientists spot an orangutan using a plant to treat his own wound in the wild

Lyme disease cases rise, but largely due to a change in data collection

Overdose deaths hit another record but show signs of leveling off

The U.S. hasn’t seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950. Other STD rates are down or flat

‘Concern is real’ about long Covid’s impact on Americans and disability claims, report says

Covid-19 increases risk of developing autoimmune disease, but vaccination helps, large study shows

Is there a nursing shortage in the United States? Depends on who you ask

Report: Measles cases and deaths increase worldwide, as childhood vaccinations rates decline

Opinion: H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle: A wake-up call to action

Researchers try to tease out possible ties between long Covid and menopause

Federal officials and physician groups express outrage over revelations of recent coercive sterilizations

Antiviral used for mpox no better than placebo, NIH says

Drug overdose deaths fell for first time in five years, though still exceeded 100,000

Surge of respiratory disease in China triggers anxiety, but experts see likely explanation

More than 1 billion people have obesity, including 159 million young people, study estimates

Feds bar Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from government health programs

Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

STAT+: 7 children developed blood cancer after Bluebird Bio gene therapy for rare neurological disease

India’s lax oversight of pharmaceutical manufacturing imperils health around the world

STAT+: Sanofi enters vaccine licensing deal with Novavax, giving beleaguered biotech a lifeline

STAT+: Goldman Sachs launches $650 million fund for life science investments

Exodus of life scientists from academia reaches historic levels, new data show

CDC: Signs point to an early start for flu season, with cases already ticking up in parts of the U.S.

STAT+: Medicare Advantage insurers ramped up use of technology to deny claims, Senate investigation shows

Meghan O’Rourke on a medical system not built for chronic illness — and the ‘invisible kingdom’ that could spur change

After Amylyx ALS trial failure, patients share disappointment and fear — but some hope

Baby monitor videos yield evidence for long-suspected link between seizures and unexplained toddler deaths

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