From drugmakers to doctors' organizations, groups thought to have the clout to steer policy and funding in Washington because they enjoyed bipartisan support and huge lobbying budgets have remained silent about Kennedy. They haven't spoken up even though he has accused them of fraud and conspiracy, and promised to hold them accountable.
That's not because they aren't worried, but because they didn't think they could stop him — or think the cost of speaking out would be too steep, five people representing health groups, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said. By staying mum, they hope to limit the fallout if Kennedy follows through on his plans to strip the industry to the studs.
Novartis agreed to acquire Blackstone Life Sciences' Anthos Therapeutics for up to $3.08 billion to boost its cardiovascular-drug pipeline. The deal means the Swiss pharmaceutical company retakes control over a treatment candidate for blood clots it licensed to Anthos when the Boston-based firm was launched in 2019.
President Trump's tariffs in China are in place and hitting all products imported from the country — including a number of pharmaceutical drugs that Americans rely upon. Chinese imports account for a significant proportion of U.S. prescriptions and over the counter drugs. Many of the Chinese-produced drugs are generics, which account for 91% of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S.
In 2023-24, CDC Estimates COVID-19 vaccination averted more than 5,000 US in-hospital deaths, 13,000 intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and 68,000 hospitalizations in 7 months in 2023-2024, researchers from the CDC estimated, although with considerable uncertainty. The investigators estimated COVID-related deaths ... using a novel multiplier model that used causal inference, conditional probabilities of hospitalization, and correlations between data elements in simulations.
Kroger Health has entered into a new agreement with Express Scripts to expand prescription medication and health service access to Express Scripts customers. This partnership allows the Kroger Family of Pharmacies to immediately start serving Express Scripts' Medicare Part D and Tricare/Department of Defense plan members. The move comes as Kroger continues to strengthen its healthcare presence. The agreement notably increases the reach of Kroger's health services, potentially impacting more than 100 million people in the United States who are under Express Scripts plans, including commercial and Medicaid clients.
Kroger Health is a significant player in the retail healthcare sector, with over 2,200 pharmacies across 35 states and telehealth services through The Little Clinic in nine states. The company's healthcare team, numbering 24,000, delivers a range of services with an emphasis on the integration of food as a key component of health and wellness.
The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to accelerate development of a pandemic influenza vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu in people, as concern grows about cases in dairy cows across the country. Moderna already has a bird flu vaccine in very early-stage testing that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19. The new funds from HHS include continued development of the vaccine, including a late-stage trial next year if those early study results are positive.