A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from “Eris”, a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country.

COVID spike

In a less-than-shocking development, the top drugs of the launch class of 2021 were all for preventing or treating everyone’s least favorite virus.

Veeva, Modern Data

Lessons from biopharmas taking a patient-first approach.

Artificial intelligence, face

Generative AI such as Amazon’s HealthScribe transcribing patient visits may open a whole new world of real-world evidence by organizing unstructured and untapped data sources in EHRs.

Illumina

The regulator has requested documents and communications related to the acquisition along with certain statements and disclosures about the “conduct and compensation” of certain members of the companies’ management, according to Illumina.

Complex road

Bringing a drug to market is harder than ever, and manufacturers continue to navigate a complex road to get therapies to patients. On average, manufacturers spend more than $125 million over the three years leading up to launch, yet two-thirds of drugs fail to meet launch expectations.

box, layoffs

Regulatory rejections and clinical trial failures are forcing biopharma companies to restructure in an effort to save costs.

FDA

August kicked off with two FDA approvals—for Merck’s Ebola vaccine in kids and Taiho’s combination therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer—and another rejection for Mesoblast’s aGVHD treatment.

electronic board

Healthcare stocks have already slumped in China since the government in late July launched a year-long anti-graft campaign, targeting what it said was the rampant practice of bribing of doctors in drug and medical equipment sales.

Oxycontin

The justices paused bankruptcy proceedings concerning Purdue and its affiliates and said they would hold oral arguments in December in the administration’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling upholding the settlement.