Large insurer to cover mental health digital therapeutics; FDA panel votes for withdrawal of controversial premature birth medication

A large insurer's decision to cover FDA-cleared prescription digital therapeutics for psychiatric and other conditions could be a landmark moment. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

Sponsored by      STAT+: Large insurer's decision to cover some prescription digital therapies may be a milestone for app makers By Mario Aguilar Tony Webster/Creative Commons Pittsburgh-based Highmark quietly put in place a policy in August describing when these treatments may be “medically necessary.” Read More STAT+: FDA panel votes that a controversial premature birth medication should be withdrawn By Ed Silverman Adobe The highly unusual hearing was closely watched because it was seen as a test of the ability of the FDA to exercise its authority. Read More Opinion: What the Makena vote means about accelerated approval, trust, and the FDA By Mikkael A. Sekeres Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images The vote to pull Makena off the market is the right decision. But the FDA needs to better communicate why some drugs deserve this. Read More Sponsored Insight by NOVAVAX How is Novavax responding to new variants? Novavax uses nanoparticle technology, allowing for quick engineering of vaccine antigens to help control the impact of new variants. Learn more. Black Death may have influenced evolution of genes involved in immune responses, study finds By Brittany Trang Researchers found the Black Death may have contributed to humans' current susceptibility to autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease. Read More Opinion: To learn lessons from pandemics, don't listen to big pharma By Winnie Byanyima Rafiq Maqbool/AP With empty pledges of "equity" and "global solidarity," the Berlin Declaration does little to help the Global South fight pandemics. Read More FDA authorizes booster shot for Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine By Helen Branswell JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images Unlike the latest boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the Novavax booster only targets the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. Read More Wednesday, October 19, 2022       1 Exchange Pl, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02109 ©2022, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Email Preferences | Contact Us | View In Browser