Aetna to cover multimillion-dollar gene therapies

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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for younger kids meets FDA bar, with CDC panel next week being key to wide rollout

Kids ages 5-11 in the United States are now eligible for vaccination against COVID-19. On Friday afternoon, the FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, Comirnaty. The Pfizer shot is the only one approved in the U.S. for those younger than 18.

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Top Stories

Gilead taps brakes on $4.9B bet after rival's failure, pushing blood cancer data out to 2022

Gilead’s $4.9 billion bet on Forty Seven has run into a delay. Weeks after Takeda’s rival drug flunked a pivotal trial, Gilead has pushed back the release of data from a phase 1b study designed to support accelerated approval.

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Aetna rolls out in-network coverage for Zolgensma, other multimillion-dollar gene therapies

Aetna is launching a new network to cover gene therapies for inherited retinal disease and spinal muscular atrophy. The insurer expects gene therapies to add $45 billion to healthcare costs between 2020 and 2024 if the FDA approves all other therapies currently in the pipeline.

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Resurgeant Veklury delivers Gilead $1.9 billion in sales and an earnings surprise

Veklury was thought to be in decline as a treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. But to the surprise of even Gilead, the antiviral staged a comeback in the third quarter, posting $1.9 billion in sales and allowing the company to bump up its projection for annual revenues.

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A COVID-19 vaccine delivered with a patch rivals traditional shots in mice: study

Researchers at University of Queensland collaborated with Vaxxas to develop a COVID-19 patch that warded off the virus in mice. They hope to raise funding to bring the patch into clinical testing but are facing competition from existing vaccines and other patch developers.

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DNA Script tallies up $165M to help launch its desktop DNA printer

Following the launch of its benchtop DNA printer earlier this year, DNA Script is preparing to take its platform to the masses. Using four specially prepared genetic “inks”—G, A, T and C—the strings of genetic code are assembled letter by letter, before being delivered in a purified, ready-to-use format.

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HHS proposes nixing controversial Trump-era 'sunset' rule due to massive resources needed for compliance

The Department of Health and Human Services proposed getting rid of a controversial Trump-era rule that would spark a massive agency review of all existing regulations, arguing that the previous administration vastly underestimated the cost of compliance.

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Daiichi jettisons ADC after flunking early solid tumor test

Daiichi Sankyo’s antibody-drug conjugate team has hit a rare bump in the road, dumping a gastrointestinal stromal tumor candidate after seeing “no clear responses” in a phase 1 trial.

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$100M Northwell-backed joint venture will give clinical, commercial guidance to budding AI companies

Young AI companies supported by the joint venture will have access to the health system's clinical data and experts as well as the venture firm's commercialization experience.

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NIH to deal out $75M for health data science research projects across Africa

The NIH will invest $74.5 million through a new program to establish data science research centers and training across Africa.

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AbbVie’s Vraylar turns in mixed results in depression, but pharma decides to file for approval anyway

AbbVie’s antipsychotic Vraylar could get a major boost from a potential expansion into depression. But like some other late-stage contenders, the drug’s clinical results fell short of a home run.

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Magnus Medical debuts with $25M to target drug-resistant depression with personalized therapy

The neurostimulation startup Magnus Medical is raising the curtain with $25 million in hand and an FDA breakthrough designation for its personalized treatment for severe cases of depression.

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Signet Therapeutics gets a $10M top-up for next-gen cancer bets

Little U.S.-China startup Signet Therapeutics has bagged a second seed round worth around $10 million as plots a path to the clinic.

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