Medicaid announces plan for expensive sickle cell gene therapies; Vertex’s closely watched pain relief drug succeeds in late-stage trials — with a catch

Taking stock of the drug industry, from the lab to the medicine chest

January 30, 2024 Check out STAT+

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By Ed Silverman Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer

Christine Kao/STAT STAT+ | CMS will use outcomes-based agreements in bid to help Medicaid pay for sickle cell gene therapies The "access model" is designed to blunt the cost that state Medicaid programs would pay for these curative treatments. By Ed Silverman STAT+ | Vertex's closely watched pain relief drug succeeds in late-stage trials — with a catch The therapy performed well against placebo in Phase 3 trials, but didn't relieve pain better than a combination of acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. By Jonathan Wosen STAT+ | FDA's Woodcock reflects on more than 30 years at agency — and hints at what's next It's the end of an era for the Food and Drug Administration's longtime drug chief, Janet Woodcock. She talked about flexibility and the future with STAT. By Sarah Owermohle Adobe STAT+ | Cour Pharmaceuticals, a biotech taking aim at autoimmune diseases, raises $105 million Cour Pharmaceuticals is developing a sort of Trojan horse that it hopes can be used to treat various autoimmune diseases. By Allison DeAngelis STAT+ | Can Wegovy treat depression as well as obesity? New research looks to GLP-1 drugs for mental illnesses Researchers are studying whether drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy can treat mental health diseases like depression and bipolar disorder. By Elaine Chen

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