Top of the morning to you. And a steamy one, it is. In fact, there is more steam rising from the grounds of the Pharmalot campus than from our ritual cup of stimulation. But this is to be expected at this time of year, yes? Although there is that small matter of climate change. In any event, there is work to be done. So as always, we have assembled a few items of interest for you. After all, the world keeps spinning no matter what the thermometer says. Hope you have a successful day and conquer the world. And of course, do keep in touch. …
For only the second time, Pfizer is offering a warranty for a medicine that will cover the cost for any patient or health plan if the medication fails to work, a move that expands an effort to appease concerns about high drug costs, STAT reports. The newest warranty program began last month and covers Panzyga, which was approved last year in the U.S. to treat a rare neurological disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIPD. Patients can get repaid for four treatments — up to $16,500 each, or a maximum of $50,000 — if use is discontinued for clinical reasons. And insurers can also get reimbursed for their own outlays.
Pfizer and Valneva have begun a late-stage trial of a Lyme disease vaccine as evidence mounts that the tick-borne illness is rapidly spreading across the U.S. and Europe, The Financial Times tells us. The companies are recruiting 6,000 people aged 5 years and older for a Phase 3 trial of the co-developed vaccine, the only Lyme disease jab undergoing tests on humans. Almost half a million people every year are being diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease in the U.S., where it was first diagnosed in 1975. A previous Lyme disease vaccine developed by GSK was withdrawn from the market in 2002, amid legal claims by some patients that it caused side effects such as the onset of arthritis.
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