Monday, January 31, 2022: Life Sciences

About 150 drugmakers raised their list prices by an average of 6.6 percent for 866 medicines in the United States in the first few weeks of 2022. The analysis from Rx Savings Solutions shows that the average price hike was higher than the 4.5 percent increase over the...

Friday, January 28, 2022: Life Sciences

Merck & Co. Inc. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said their COVID-19 antiviral pill, molnupiravir, was active against the Omicron variant in six lab studies. The drug’s effectiveness against Omicron hasn’t yet been studied in human trials. (Article...

Friday, January 28, 2022: Life Sciences

Biogen Inc. will sell its nearly 50 percent stake in Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture with Samsung Biologics to develop biosimilar drugs, to its partner for at least $2.25 billion. The deal will give Biogen access to $1 billion in cash upon closing as the pharma...

Thursday, January 27, 2022: Life Sciences

The Biden administration redirected nearly $7 billion from an emergency relief fund for health care providers in order to buy COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, leaving the emergency fund nearly empty. A spokesperson HHS defended the decision, saying it was a...

Thursday, January 27, 2022: Life Sciences

The Biden administration is considering ways to improve access to free, at-home COVID-19 tests for Medicare beneficiaries. The administration’s requirement for private insurers to cover the tests doesn’t apply to Medicare since Medicare coverage doesn’t...

Thursday, January 27, 2022: Life Sciences

Moderna Inc. said it began testing an omicron-specific version of its COVID-19 vaccine booster in a clinical trial among 600 adults who have received two or three doses of its existing shot. The announcement came one day after Pfizer Inc. launched its own similar...