Tuesday, January 4, 2022: Life Sciences

The CMS dropped a Trump-era rule that would have tied Medicare prices for some outpatient drugs to the lowest prices paid by other wealthy countries, citing procedural issues with how it was initially put in place. The rule, known as the most favored national policy,...

Tuesday, January 4, 2022: Life Sciences

Drug companies raised the prices on hundreds of medications on January 1, with most prices up five to six percent on average. Thus far, companies have raised wholesale prices by a median of 4.9 percent on more than 450 prescription medicines. According to the...

Tuesday, January 4, 2022: Life Sciences

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood testing startup Theranos, was found guilty of four of 11 fraud charges, a verdict she is expected to appeal. Holmes was also found not guilty on four counts related to defrauding people who had used the company’s blood...

Tuesday, January 4, 2022: Life Sciences

The FDA authorized booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. The agency also said children 12 and older can receive a booster shot five months after their second shot – down from six months previously – and cleared booster shots...

Thursday, December 30, 2021: Life Sciences

Health officials are considering redefining what it means to be “fully vaccinated.” The current standard for “fully vaccinated” —two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot — is substantially less effective against...

Thursday, December 30, 2021: Life Sciences

Johnson & Johnson announced that two clinical trials found that its booster shot offered strong protection against Omicron. Data from one real-life study from South Africa showed vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization from Covid-19 rose to 85 percent after...