Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Says It's Trying To End Cancer Drug Shortages
The White House says it鈥檚 working to end shortages of three key generic chemotherapies. But experts said the administration would have to provide more details to fully mitigate the health care system鈥檚 concerns. (Wilkerson, 9/12)
2Seventy Bio, a Cambridge biotech developing cancer drugs, said Tuesday it will lay off about 40 percent of its workforce, or 176 employees, becoming the latest Massachusetts drug company to slash its staff as the business sector faces hard times. 2Seventy鈥檚 chief executive, Nick Leschly, who led the Somerville gene therapy company Bluebird Bio for 11 years before it spun off 2Seventy in 2021, also said he plans to step down as chief executive and become chairman of the board of directors. (Saltzman, 9/12)
In other pharmaceutical news 鈥
Over-the-counter eye drops sold by CVS Health Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance and six other companies are illegally marketed and pose a public health concern to Americans, US regulators said in warning letters Tuesday. A deadly bacterial outbreak was linked to other eye drop products earlier this year. (Muller, 9/12)
A local supplement manufacturer sold products made with ingredients that could lead to heavy metal toxicity, the Southern Nevada Health District reported Tuesday. Harmonic Innerprizes, the health district said in a news release, also sold items which had ingredients that are not food grade and with ingredients from unapproved sources. (9/12)
Amid high demand for laxatives, doctors are cautioning people not to overuse the products or take them for purposes other than constipation relief, such as weight loss. Pharma giant Sanofi said its over-the-counter laxative, Dulcolax, is facing supply constraints. 鈥淥ver the past few months, we have seen unprecedented demand for Dulcolax products," a Sanofi spokesperson said. "As a result, some retailers temporarily may not have certain Dulcolax products on their shelves.鈥 (Bendix, 9/12)
Plenty of legal precedent already allows Medicare to determine what it will pay for health care goods and services, the Department of Justice argued this week in defense of new Medicare drug price negotiations. The filing, in response to Merck's lawsuit, indicates how the government will defend the program's constitutionality against a wave of similar challenges. (Reed, 9/13)