Highlights of the important and interesting in the world of healthcare:
HIV prevention breakthrough. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Truvada, sold to subdue the AIDS- causing virus in those already infected, cut the risk gay and bisexual men had of contracting HIV by 44 percent when taken in a daily dose, according to findings published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
Medical loss ratio rules announced. The Obama administration issued rules on Monday defining a promise to consumers in the new federal healthcare law that insurers will spend at least $4 out of $5 they collect in premiums on medical services and other efforts to improve patients’ health, reports the Washington Post.
Insurers complain about the rules… The so-called medical loss ratio rules are much more insidious than just limiting the amounts health insurance companies can spend on overhead. They are a jobs killer, opines InsureBlog.
But they find a loophole. U.S. health insurers can include the cost of federal taxes in determining whether they spend enough on patient care, increasing the amount that can be kept for administration or profit under the new rules, according to a Bloomberg News story in the Indianapolis Star.
Embryonic stem cells tested for eye disease. For the second time in history, the Food and Drug Administration has a approved human trial of a therapy developed from embryonic stem cells: Advanced Cell Technology will start a clinical trial using cells grown from human embryonic stem cells to test a treatment for an inherited degenerative eye disease, reports CNN Health.
Another day, another J&J recall. Johnson & Johnson has yanked about 4 million packages of children’s Benadryl allergy tablets and about 800,000 bottles of children’s Motrin caplets from pharmacies and distributors due to “insufficiencies” in manufacturing, writes Pharmalot blog.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Making the grade. Professional listing service Avvo.com has begun listing (and rating) doctors, according to American Medical News.
