cancer vaccines
This is the story of science beating politics
STAT has the inside story about the triumph of an mRNA cancer vaccine by Moderna and Merck.
I’m a hype man, and I understand if you’re worn out by my constant promotion of STAT, but seriously, this article eclipses other coverage. Matthew Herper, Jason Mast, and Angus Chen delivered substance with verve on this one.
Here’s a paragraph that (mostly) sums up the story:
This is the story of a biotech relay race in which one of the most well-funded startups in the industry’s history found that what it thought was one of its riskiest projects turned out to be perhaps its biggest shot at success. It is the story of how one of the most storied large pharmaceutical companies was pulled along for the ride. And of how a researcher and drug company executive who had been holding on for decades to a radical idea he picked up while working at the National Institutes of Health lit the spark that may have made an anti-cancer dream come true.
The only thing I’d add is that this is a huge win in the face of an administration that is hostile to mRNA technology. A year ago, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discontinued funding for the development of mRNA vaccines, much to the alarm of scientists. The move left investors even more wary of funding mRNA technology, though they still poured money into its use as cancer treatments. Congressional appropriators bucked the administration by continuing to fund mRNA vaccine research.
Read more.
vaccine policy
Still on about vaccines
The administration posted a request for information that offers clues about its vision for vaccine policy and shows that pursuing changes is a priority, Chelsea Cirruzzo reports.
Such requests do not constitute policy, but the administration asks for feedback on a variety of ideas that offer insights into what it’s considering.
Read more about the questions it asks.
drug coverAGE
A new way to deny Medicaid drug coverage
When the administration issued a final rule barring the use of federal Medicaid and CHIP funding to pay for pediatric gender-affirming medications and surgery, the coverage was rightfully about the impact on those patients.
But there is another potential impact. The approach taken in that rule could be used to avoid paying for other drugs, too, upending an expectation that Medicaid covers the vast majority of prescription medication.
Read more.
