Peter Wehrwein, Managing Editor

The company has confirmed that group representing itself as ALPHV/Blackcat, a ransomware-as-service criminal group known to cybersecurity experts, is behind the cyberattack on the pharmacy claims processor owned by UnitedHealth.

Vision symptoms resolved within a month, the specialists said in their report in JAMA Ophthalmology, but they say that retina specialists need to be aware that ths side effect from Vabysmo (faricimab) is more common that data from clinical trials would indicate.

How health plans and self-insured employers coped with the huge number of prescriptions for weight loss. It started with off-label Ozempic (semaglutide) and now there’s FDA-approved Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide).

The deliberate disconnection of Change Healthcare to ring fence a cyberattack entered its seventh day today. Prescribers are finding ways to get pharmacy claims processed, and UnitedHealth Group says disruption to the dispensing of prescriptions has been minimal. But independent pharmacies want more information and protection from financial consequences from pharmacy benefit managers.

Participation in the program will not be a prerequisite for GLP-1 prescriptions.

Researchers say the open-label extension of their study suggests the response to Xolair (omalizumab) will be a durable, but an accompanying editorial says that “protection will most likely disappear” after treatment is stopped.

At the moment, Simlandi (adalimumab-ryvk) has the high-concentration, citrate-free, interchangeable Humira (adalimumab) market to itself.

Duke researchers tested a program that involves hair stylists in raising awareness, possible uptake of HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among Black women, a group that is disproportionately affected by new HIV infections.

The information systems of Change Healthcare, a recently acquired subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, were disconnected on Wednesday.

Research results reported in the journal Science today add to the evidence that “immunogenetics” likely influences people’s susceptibility to developing lung cancer, especially among smokers.

Research and development funding increased in 2023 but clinical trial starts fell by 15%, partly because of fewer COVID-19-related trials, according to IQVIA's worldwide report on research and development in the biopharmaceutical industry.

The Health and Human Services department could wind up overpaying (or possibly underpaying) for the drugs for which it is negotiating a “maximum fair price” for Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act, argue experts at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. A fuller picture of rebates and net prices could help that from happening, they say.

Researchers have identified an association between cataract surgery and a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

A large retrospective study of patients in South Korea shows that the SGLT2 inhibitors seem to do a better job with bringing about regression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

2023 results are providing a "solid jump point into 2024," says Zubretsky. Like other insurers, Molina reported higher-than-expected Medicare spending.

Johns Hopkins researchers investigated how home environments may affect physical activity.

The company increased its projection for its 2024 medical-benefits to 87.7%.

A study published in Health Affairs shows that lung and colorectal cancer mortality was higher among veterans who were unhoused compared with those who were housed and higher yet in those who lost housing after they received a diagnosis.

Republicans voted in favor of a bill that would prohibit the use quality-adjusted life years (QALY) metrics by federal agencies, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid managed care organizations. Some patient groups celebrated the passage. Experts have worried that "similar measures" language could stifle all comparative effectiveness analysis.

On public health, Medicaid and Medicaid managed care, and profit seeking in healthcare.

New acne guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology recommend Winlevi (clascoterone), a topical treatment, and Seysara (sarecycline), a narrow-spectrum tetracycline, but qualify the recommendation as conditional because of concerns that the high cost may affect equitable access to treatment,

U.S. drug distances were far higher, even when rebates were factored in. The exception is unbranded generics for which prices in the U.S. are lower.

The report on drug spending touches on the rise of the GLP-1s. hows that As of January, semaglutide was the 5th ranked drug when it came to drug expenditures among Vizient pharmacy partners.

A review of published research identified only five studies. They showed that telemedicine, particularly for follow-up care, was as effective as in-person care in many respects

Data from 17 longitudinal studies of adults with HIV treated with antiretroviral therapy how that proportion of deaths caused by AIDS has fallen from nearly 50% to 16% and that all-cause mortality has been sliced in half.

Gilead's share price fell 10% today after it announced that Trodelvy, an antibody-drug conjugate, failed to meet its overall survival end point in a trial testing it as treatment for metatstatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Experts from Harvard, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins debate the wisdom of cost sharing in today's JAMA Internal Medicine.

A research team led by University of California, San Francisco, found flaws in how the large language model assessed prevalence and made differential diagnoses.

The FDA approved Dermavant Science's Vtama (tapinarof cream) last year as a treatment for plaque psoriasis. Sales have been disappointing, according to press reports. Will Vtama, which has a different mechanism of action than the current batch of topical medications for atopic dermatitis, fare better in the atopic dermatitis market?