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A top White House official on Tuesday delivered a pointed attack at a drugmaker fighting the administration’s Medicare negotiation plan in court. Christen Linke Young, White House Domestic Policy Council’s deputy assistant to the president for health and veterans affairs, took on Bristol Myers Squibb, which makes the blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis. Eliquis is one of 10 high-cost drugs the federal program has targeted first for negotiated prices. (Owermohle, 11/28)

Philips shares fell more than 6% on Wednesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is alerting patients about a new safety issue with machines made by the group that are used for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The Amsterdam-based healthcare technology company has been grappling with the fallout of the global recall in June 2021 of millions of respirators used to treat sleep apnea over worries that foam used in the machines could become toxic. (11/29)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is being accused by a group of advocates and physicians of refusing to take several steps that would widen access to its pricey cystic fibrosis medicines in predominantly poor countries. In a recent Zoom call, company executives were urged to drop patent claims and implement a global pricing model reflecting R&D and production costs, which could make the treatments more affordable. Instead, the Vertex team maintained the company will use a nascent donation program to address the concerns, according to people who attended the Oct. 12 session. (Silverman, 11/28)

In Sweden, University of Gothenburg researchers led an observational evaluation of the efficacy of primary COVID-19 vaccination (two doses followed by a booster) against long COVID, or post-COVID condition (PCC), among adults whose first infections were recorded in a national registry from December 2020 to February 2022. Average follow-up was 129 days. (Van Beusekom, 11/28)

Belgian drugmaker Argenx said Tuesday that its antibody medicine failed to achieve the goals of a late-stage study for a platelet-destroying autoimmune disorder — a setback in the company’s efforts to expand the drug’s use. (Feuerstein, 11/28)

A mass media campaign in England helped improve knowledge about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and attitudes regarding inappropriate antibiotic use, according to a study published last week in Eurosurveillance. (Dall, 11/28)

Taking into account whether people believe they are receiving a real treatment or a fake one (placebo) could provide better insights that could help improve interventions for conditions such as depression and ADHD. (University of Surrey, 11/28)