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Today's Rundown

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Providers cry foul over new surprise billing rule's arbitration process

Providers are united in opposition to the Biden administration's latest surprise billing rule, claiming it tilts a dispute resolution process in payers' favor.

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Top Stories

Researchers retract preprint study that miscalculated higher heart inflammation risk for Moderna, Pfizer COVID vaccines

In the past few weeks, anti-vaxxers have rallied behind a nonpeer-reviewed study by a group of Canadian researchers as evidence against COVID-19 vaccines. Turns out, the paper made a fatal mistake in reaching its conclusion.

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The 2021 Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards

After a year when it seems like creativity should have hit a pause, the Fierce Pharma Marketing Award winners are proof of just the opposite.

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MoonLake over the moon with $230M SPAC deal for llama antibodies to challenge Novartis' Cosentyx

Just five months after debuting with a nanobody licensed from Merck KGaA, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics is headed to Wall Street. The Swiss biotech is linking arms with blank-check company Helix Acquisition in a SPAC deal that will give MoonLake $230 million in proceeds.

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FDA greenlights combination at-home test for COVID and influenza in children as flu season approaches

Labcorp aims to tackle both infections with a single test, with an at-home collection kit for gathering samples from children as young as two years old.

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New insights into the ‘second brain’ in the gut could inspire treatments for intestinal diseases MSU team reports

Michigan State University researchers discovered that glial cells actively modify electrical signals in the gut to maintain normal functions like motility. They believe the findings could inspire new treatments for common conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and other motility disorders.

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Humana launching 72 new Medicare plans for 2022

Humana is launching 72 new Medicare Advantage plans for 2022 across hundreds of additional counties, the insurer announced Friday.

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UCSF's customized 'pacemaker for the brain' successfully treats severe depression

The brain stimulation system includes a small device implanted on the patient’s brain that continuously monitors neurological activity and instructs two leads in separate areas of the brain to emit pulses if abnormal activity is detected.

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Anatara partners with virtual trials company ObvioHealth for siteless IBS study in Australia

Anatara Lifesciences is joining the decentralized clinical trials movement. The Australian company will test a microbiome-targeted medicine for patients who have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea using in-home data through a partnership with ObvioHealth.

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Roche, Takeda and Pfizer notch top scores among rare disease patient advocacy groups

Rare disease patients, like many, are seeing pharma companies in a better light these days, but there’s still a need for transparency, fairer pricing and more patient engagement, according to a survey of 230 rare disease patient advocacy groups.

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