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As the pandemic shows no signs of ending anytime soon, scientists and public health officials across the globe are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine, which President Donald Trump now says could be ready before the upcoming U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3. Our team has the latest on vaccine developments. We also have updates on Trump's latest executive order on drugs, telemedicine and more in today's newsletter.
| | The race for Covid-19 vaccines and drugs forge on | We got early-stage data on Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine this week, which infectious disease specialists said looked promising, despite some initial confusion right after the data release that caused a 30% drop in Novavax's shares. But experts also remind us only large phase three trials will tell us if these vaccines work and are safe. And as we wait for vaccines, antibody drugs may offer solutions sooner; Eli Lilly announced this week it was starting a late-stage clinical trial of its drug in nursing homes to try to prevent infections in residents and staff of facilities that have had. Finally, we got a better look at pricing of the vaccines in the U.S., as J&J struck a billion-dollar deal with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses, and Moderna told analysts on its quarterly earnings call that it had already struck "small-volume" deals at three times that price. No such deal yet for Moderna and the U.S. government, perhaps as Moderna holds out for a higher price tag.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | A week of tectonic shifts in telemedicine | I'm not playing poker with Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic anytime soon. We talked about his strategy to make Teladoc a multi-service virtual primary care provider, just days before he finalized the $18.5 billion deal for Livongo. Their merger and the Trump administration's push for more parity on Medicare telemedicine reimbursement this week is going to push competitors to speed up the expansion of their own virtual offerings. It may prove to be one of the lasting positive effects of the Covid pandemic that no one was betting on five months ago.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | Speaking of Teladoc and Livongo … | Telehealth company Teladoc and Livongo, which specializes in providing remote coaching for people with chronic illnesses, agreed to merge in an $18.5 billion deal announced this week. It's easily one of the biggest deals in the history of digital health, and in 2020 so far. So we wondered: How did a deal of this magnitude get done in a pandemic? Well, it turns out that it took a whole lot of late night Zoom calls and one very socially distanced meeting in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit was selected because it was one of the few places in the country where three executives - Livongo founder Glen Tullman, Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic and Livongo boardmember Hemant Teneja - could safely meet. "Our two companies were either on a path of convergence or collision," Teladoc's CEO Jason Gorevic told us.
-Chrissy Farr | | | | Trump signs executive order on 'essential' drugs and touts vaccine progress | President Donald Trump rattled more cages in pharma this week with an executive order that will require the federal government to buy "essential" drugs from U.S. companies instead of from other countries like China. It comes after the FDA warned consumers earlier this year of disruptions to the medical supply chain, including shortages of prescription drugs and critical medical products due to the pandemic. Separately, Trump claimed that the U.S. could have a safe and effective vaccine by Election Day on Nov. 3, a much more optimistic forecast than from his own public health officials. It will likely add to concerns that the White House is pressuring U.S. regulators to approve a vaccine before its ready. Though scientists are optimistic about finding a usable vaccine, they caution there's never a guarantee.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | NYC sets up coronavirus quarantine checkpoints | As if New York wasn't discouraging tourists enough with its 14-day mandatory quarantine for most out-of-state visitors, New York City is now setting up quarantine checkpoints at "key entry points" along main bridges and tunnels to the city to screen for travelers coming from more than 30 states with bad coronavirus outbreaks, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. City officials blame out-of-state visitors for a fifth of all new coronavirus cases. NYC's Test & Trace Corps deployed teams to screen arrivals at Penn Station train station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. If you've come from one of the 35 states on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's restricted list, plan on getting calls and text messages checking in on your quarantine. "And if we can't get through to you on the phone, we've deployed teams that are now knocking on your door and making sure you're safe," said Dr. Ted Long, who's running the city's new contact tracing agency.
-Noah Higgins-Dunn | | Small Business Playbook | August 12, 2020
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Who should join: This program is geared toward small business owners and leaders. | |
Earlier, telemedicine services in India were just used to treat the patients from rural areas due to the lack of proper transportation and other hindrances faced by them. But, due to the development of wireless communications and technology along with the need for immediate response and consultation by the patients, telemedicine has emerged as a must-have Medical-protocol for treatments.
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