The latest information about the novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China, and advice on how pharmacists can help concerned patients and the public.

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All the most important developments in the COVID-19 pandemic for pharmacists and their teams, as they happen.

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Just over 550 community pharmacy staff members were referred for COVID-19 tests through a national booking system run by the Care Quality Commission, over ten days in mid-April 2020, the NHS watchdog has told The Pharmaceutical Journal.

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March 12, 2020 —[Note: Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Conference has been rescheduled from May.] Healthcare was already the top issue for voters—and the coronavirus pandemic only intensifies the focus heading into a hotly-contested election. Both parties want to “do something” about the cost of healthcare and especially drug prices, and what happens when […]

March 16, 2020 – Amid rising concerns over “Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19), the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission took action last week against seven companies for selling fraudulent COVID-19 products. The regulators sent Warning Letters to the companies because these products “are unapproved drugs that pose significant risks to patient […]

March 23, 2020 – As the United States grapples with the COVID-19 outbreak and its ongoing fallout, there is another pressing issue that is crucial to the American public: ensuring safe and fair elections between now and Nov. 3. “The Coalition believes it is important for all Americans to be active in the political process […]

March 30, 2020 – In addition to providing millions of Americans and many industries with financial support during the coronavirus outbreak, the emergency relief bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday accrues additional funding for the Food and Drug Administration’s coronavirus efforts and makes important changes to how […]

April 6, 2020 – The Coalition for Healthcare Communication last week endorsed an urgent request to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) to veto HB 732, which would put in place the nation’s first tax on digital advertising. The request, sent March 31 by national media and advertising trade associations and members of The Advertising Coalition, […]

April 13, 2020 – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responding to the challenges of COVID-19 in new ways that streamline product review and policy approaches, while also ensuring that entities promoting unapproved products that claim to be effective against the virus do not go unchecked. Last week, the FDA and the Federal Trade […]

April 20, 2020 – With additional changes to the regulations still in administrative review and businesses grappling with pressing COVID-19 issues, a group of nearly 100 advertising trade associations, organizations and companies asked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) to delay the July 1 enforcement date for the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). But it […]

May 4, 2020 – An important part of protecting the public health during the COVID-19 pandemic is making sure that the marketing of treatments or remedies that are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the virus is stopped before consumers waste their money or potentially are harmed by these products. […]

The European Medicines Agency has begun a rolling review of data on Gilead’s remdesivir, positioning it to cut the time it takes to decide whether to approve the drug in COVID-19 patients.

Newron will terminate work on its experimental Rett syndrome drug sarizotan after a complete failure in its pivotal STARS trial.

After penning a deal with Eli Lilly last month with the aim to have an antibody in the clinic within four months, Canadian-based AbCellera has been given a financial boost by its government.

Temple University researchers discovered that boosting levels of a protein called Lin28 in injured spinal cords of mice prompts the regrowth of axons and repairs communication between the brain and body. They believe the discovery could be used to develop new treatments for both spinal cord and optic nerve injuries.

Venture capital firm Frazier Healthcare has grabbed Scott Byrd, Ian Mills, and Gordon McMurray as its new Entrepreneur-in-Residence consultants.

Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent has become a popular treatment for atopic dermatitis and asthma. Now, a research team in Japan has discovered that IL-4 and its receptor—which Dupixent inhibits—could be promising targets for treating the eye disease age-related macular degeneration.

PTC Therapeutics is adding to its rare disease pipeline with a midstage biotech buyout with a low upfront payment tied in with stock and biobucks.

Sorrento Therapeutics is jumping into the race to develop therapies against COVID-19, teaming up with Mount Sinai to develop a cocktail of antibodies from the blood of 15,000 recovered patients. The company's scientists believe their multipronged therapy will sidestep risks such as treatment resistance.

Fortress Biotech has licensed a treatment for KRAS-driven cancers from Columbia University. Sticking to its blueprint, Fortress has set up a new biotech, Oncogenuity, to advance the preclinical asset and work to generate more oligonucleotides from the underlying platform.

Tough times at Orchard Therapeutics as it swings the ax across staffers and facilities, phases in new pipeline advances and reduces interest in others.

A recent study looking at the effects of caffeine on brief, high intensity exercise found the substance improved performance, regardless of genetic variations in how subjects metabolized caffeine.

From fewer containers and reduced shift work at harbors to delays in planned maintenance in factories, the coronavirus pandemic is impacting global supply chains in myriad ways. FoodNavigator-USA (FNU) caught up with Jon Peters (JP), president at Beneo, a leading supplier of chicory root fiber, rice ingredients, and the specialty low-GI carbs Isomalt and Palatinose, to find out more.

The dietary supplement industry as a whole is enjoying booming sales as consumer stock up on products to support optimum health. But an industry strategist warns that that sales bump is likely to be ephemeral, and brands that are not strategizing vigorously now may be caught out in the near future.

With social distancing in full effect, families have not only found themselves with a lot more time together, but a lot more time in front of their screens.

Recent research suggests that some brands may want to calm down their messaging.

The results provide priceless information on ancestry and predispositions to various illnesses.

Consumers are turning to dietary supplements in record numbers, but the industry must deliver on the results the products are promising if the industry is to convert them to long term customers, says Steve Mister.

The unpredictable spikes in demand that are distorting the supply chain in the current crisis has created another opportunity, in this case for herbal ingredients that help adults deal with urinary incontinence issues.

Combining exercise with a bacterial strain isolated from an Olympic weightlifting gold medalist may synergistically increase endurance compared to training or the probiotic alone, suggests data from a mouse study.

Marketing experts recommend that brands formulate a strategy to be as nimble as possible to deal with the as yet unknown changes to the supplement marketplace in the post pandemic world. A greater online capability is seen as one of key parts of that toolkit.

I saw the Breakthrough Prizes announced this weekend and was excited to learn about the interesting scientists on the list, including Jennifer Doudna who many of us in life science recognize for her CRISPR/Cas9 work. I’ll start out saying that I am glad to see a group of such influential people (Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Mark

Last week, the New York Times had a nice piece “A Faster Way to Try Many Drugs on Many Cancers” on basket clinical trials, which matches patients to a therapy based on the genetics of their tumor as opposed to the site of their primary tumor. This type of trial feeds into the current excitement about precision

Alternative title: Pitching a VC on Disruption of Blood Testing You may have seen some recent editorials about the necessary frequency of blood tests for healthy individuals, many of them prompted by a series of tweets from Mark Cuban: Although there are certainly potential dangers in expecting any and all test results to be immediately

Scientists work tirelessly to find a coronavirus vaccine. But there are some questions to answer: How soon a viable vaccine would be developed? Would billions of people worldwide be able to to get it?

The tech giant announces it is extending its previous work-from-home plans for most of its staff and will begin reopening offices this summer.

The Census Bureau says it plans to continue its relaunch of limited 2020 census operations on May 13, when the next round of workers is set to resume hand-delivering paper forms in rural communities.

And as summer nears, the question must be asked: Is it risky from a COVID-19 standpoint to go in a swimming pool?

Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, answers questions about access to testing for COVID-19, false-negative results and the challenges of mass testing.

By Monday at least 31 states will be open or partially open. This as President Trump pushed for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon.

President Trump wants businesses to start reopening after the coronavirus forced shutdowns. Here's what the White House task force recommends for states.

With social distancing, many people are speaking less and their voices sound raggedy. NPR's Scott Simon talks with speech pathologist Sandy Hirsch, about keeping the voice sounding as it should.

View our map and graphics to see where COVID-19 is hitting hardest in the U.S., which state outbreaks are growing the fastest and which are leveling off.

A map of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world. The respiratory disease has spread rapidly across six continents and has killed thousands of people.

Yesterday’s conference sessions surfaced interesting questions and approaches regarding the post-acute sector, bundled payment, emergency medicine and anesthesia. Post-Acute Focus: With more and more focus on the need to rationalize and re-organize the post-acute sector, we have seen multiple industry leaders start to evolve their strategies.  I blogged yesterday about AccentCare’s interesting strategy in the...… Continue Reading

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies breathed a sigh of relief Monday when the Federal Circuit unanimously ruled in a precedential opinion that the mere sale of manufacturing services to create embodiments of a patented product is not a “commercial sale” of the invention that triggers the on-sale bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) (pre-AIA).[1]  The en banc opinion...… Continue Reading

A large amount of wind, much discussion about the U.S healthcare, and the public getting soaked again – if you were thinking about Washington, DC and the new Congress, you’re 3,000 miles away from the action. This is the week of the annual JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco, with many thousands of healthcare...… Continue Reading

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health:  Is the healthcare industry pushing a rock up a hill?  We collectively are trying to provide healthcare with improved quality and reduced cost, but the structure of the nation’s healthcare system remains heavily siloed with the social determinants of health often falling wholly or partly outside the mandate and...… Continue Reading

Day 3 of the JPMorgan healthcare conference was one of striking contrasts between the old and the new. (And, by the way, the rain finally stopped for a day, but it will be back tomorrow to finish off the last day of the conference). The Old:  Sitting in the Community Health Systems (CHS) presentation and...… Continue Reading

Some interesting presentations on the last day of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that concentrated on common themes – the increasing importance of ancillary business line to bolster core business revenue and of filling in holes to achieve scale and full-service offerings. Genesis Healthcare – The largest U.S. skilled nursing facility (SNF) provider, which also is...… Continue Reading