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An estimated 19 million Americans will be purchasing individual health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act for 2024, a record number of customers for what’s colloquially known as “Obamacare.” According to the Biden Administration, 15.3 million Americans have already signed up through HealthCare.gov, a 33% increase from last year. The deadline for enrollment is January 16.
“Millions of Americans signing up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act is good news,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “It means more Americans have the peace of mind of knowing that going to the doctor won’t empty their bank account.”
A quick housekeeping note: There’ll be no newsletter next week due to our winter break. Hope you have a happy holiday season!
JN.1 Covid ‘Variant Of Interest’ Spreading Fast In U.S. — Here’s What To Know
The World Health Organization said it is tracking a new coronavirus “variant of interest” called JN.1, an offshoot of the highly mutated “Pirola” strain that is spreading rapidly around the world and has become the fastest growing variant in the United States.
Read more here.
Pipeline & Deal Updates
Dermatology: The FDA has approved roflumilast, marketed by Arcutis Biotherapeutics as Zoryve, which is a topical foam treatment for patients over the age of 9 with seborrheic dermatitis.
AI For Small Molecules: Nimbus Therapeutics announced that it’s entered into a research collaboration with AI drug discovery company Anagenex to identify promising small molecules for drugs against multiple targets.
Bladder Cancer: The FDA approved a drug combination comprising Padcev, a drug co-developed by Astellas and Pfizer, with Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda as a first-line treatment for advanced bladder cancer.
Glaucoma: The FDA approved iDose TR, a pharmaceutical implant developed by ophthalmology drug company Glaukos, for reduction of eye pressure in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
Rite Aid Banned From Using AI Facial Recognition Technology For 5 Years After False Shoplifting Match Allegations
The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that, as part of a proposed settlement, it is banning convenience store chain Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes for five years after Rite Aid allegedly failed to “prevent harm to consumers” and have “reasonable procedures” in place tied to a facial recognition program it was using to detect shoplifters.
Read more here.
Other Healthcare News
The number of disturbing “fertility fraud” cases that claim dozens of women unknowingly gave birth to children fathered by more than 50 doctors across the United States continued to rise this year as medical professionals in Washington and Vermont faced new accusations they illegally used their own sperm to artificially inseminate patients.
The CDC issued a health alert earlier this month about a cluster of patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a potentially deadly infection spread by American dog ticks.
One of India’s leading online marketplaces is working with pharma giant Novo Nordisk to tackle illegal sales of counterfeit versions of the popular weight loss drug Wegovy.
Governments around the world must take “decisive action” to crack down on e-cigarettes and ban flavored vapes, the World Health Organization said last week, warning they must be treated in line with other similar products.
Researchers began testing a first-of-its-kind non-hormonal male birth control pill, a promising step for male contraceptive care as previous hormonal methods faced challenges like too many side effects and issues reducing sperm production.
Across Forbes
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What Else We are Reading
Silicon Valley’s Quest to Live Forever Has Many Warring Factions (Bloomberg)
Here are the best biopharma CEOs of 2023 (Stat)
Inhaled COVID vaccines stop infection in its tracks in monkey trials (Nature)