COVID-19 cases in the Americas increased by 12.7 percent last week from the prior week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on May 4, as infections continued to rise in Central and North America.

Abortion protestors

Protesters rallied under the slogan “off our bodies” in cities across the United States on May 3, demanding abortion rights be protected after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries believes the company would have to pay around $2.6 billion in cash and medicine to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging the world’s largest generic firm and other drug manufacturers fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Washington reached a $518 million settlement with drug distributors McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Cardinal Health, ending a months-long trial over the companies’ alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the state, the three companies announced on May 3.

VERO Biotech Inc. – an Atlanta, Georgia-based company focused on saving lives, alleviating suffering, and improving the health economics of care – was awarded the prestigious Golden Helix “Innovation Award” for its breakthrough development of the GENOSYL® Delivery System, the first advancement in the delivery of inhaled nitric oxide in 20 years, and the “Deal of the Year” Award for 2022 by Georgia Bio, the state’s life science trade association.

Following the record surge in COVID-19 cases during the Omicron-driven wave, some 58 percent of the U.S. population overall and more than 75 percent of younger children have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to a U.S. nationwide blood survey released on April 26.

hydrocodone

Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and other defendants on April 26 said they were not to blame for the opioid crisis in San Francisco, and that they acted responsibly when providing legal medications to patients in pain.

Of all the communities touched by the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals (HCPs) are arguably among those most affected. Specialists on the front lines in primary care, critical care, infectious diseases, and pulmonology roles have experienced COVID-19 first hand—often risking their own health and that of their families to help. A new report from Apollo Intelligence provides a barometer on physicians’ sentiments for 2022, and together with other research, frames a wake-up call to medical device and pharma teams in charge of building a brand presence with prescribers.

Novartis’ Sandoz business unit saw a strong financial performance in the first quarter of 2022, with overall sales growth of 8 percent, mostly outside of the United States. Sales for the generics and biosimilar unit benefited from what the company called a normalization of the impacts of COVID-19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ignored the health risks when they created new markets for opioids, a lawyer for the city of San Francisco told a judge on April 25 during opening statements of the first trial to target manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies over the addictive pain medicines.