HHS Secretary Alex Azar has been reportedly discussing the removal of Dr. Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner, according to Politico. The Politico report cited a half dozen current and former administration officials. FDA spokesperson Michael Felberbaum in an email to MassDevice denied an Azar-Hahn feud: “Commissioner Hahn enjoys a good relationship with Secretary Azar and […]
Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS)
MedTech 100 roundup: Industry continues its ascent
Stocks in the medtech industry maintained their upward trajectory, topping last week’s peak with yet another rise to new heights. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished last week at 95.66 (Oct. 16), marking a 0.6% gain from the 95.05 points registered at the end of […]
Labor unions, environmental groups sue feds over lack of PPE
Labor unions ranging across several types of frontline workers today joined environmental groups in a lawsuit against the federal government. Unions representing healthcare workers, teachers, transit operators and millions more joined the environmental groups to sue the feds over their failure to provide adequate reusable respirators, N95 masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) […]
How much could Operation Warp Speed change pharma, medtech distribution?
A top U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official used an appearance today at a virtual medtech conference to repeat the U.S. government’s astounding goal for its Operation Warp Speed program: start delivering 300 million doses of a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021. The project could revolutionize not only how pharmaceuticals are […]
HHS gives Vaxxas $22M to support vaccine patch tech
Vaxxas announced today that it has received a $22 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at U.S. HHS to support a clinical study involving the company’s vaccine-delivery patch. The money will mostly pay for a Phase 1 clinical study in which Vaxxas’ high-density micro-array patch (HD-MAP) delivering pandemic influenza vaccine to […]
Report: AstraZeneca Phase III COVID-19 vaccine remains on hold in U.S.
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is reportedly keeping its COVID-19 vaccine trial in the U.S. on hold as questions remain over patient safety. U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC yesterday that federal investigators are looking for “answers to important questions,” regarding the safety of patients involved in the trial operated by the United Kingdom-based company in […]
J&J launches fourth large-scale COVID-19 vaccine trial
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has begun enrollment of adult volunteers for a fourth Phase 3 clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The National Institutes of Health announced today that J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals COVID-19 vaccine candidate (JNJ-78436725) has begun the Phase 3 trial to evaluate if it can prevent symptomatic COVID-19 after a single dose regimen. Up […]
MedTech 100 roundup: Stocks top pre-pandemic high
After weeks of flirting with the heights hit before COVID-19 ravaged the markets, medtech stocks finally topped the pre-pandemic high last week. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — spiked up to 93.11 points on Sep. 2, nearly a full point ahead of the pre-pandemic high of […]
Report: Feds to send Abbott’s rapid tests to states for school reopenings
The U.S. government is reportedly set to use rapid COVID-19 tests it purchased from Abbott (NYSE:ABT) for school reopenings. Reuters reported that the feds will send an “overwhelming majority” of Abbott’s tests to governors and state territories to support school reopenings and other critical tasks, according to a Trump administration official. The administration struck a $750 […]
HHS ends more ventilator contracts as national stockpile fills up
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reportedly terminating more ventilator contracts as the national stockpile is full. The Hill reported today that HHS is throwing out some of the contracts that totaled $3 billion as the U.S. government sought to supply as many ventilators as possible during the first surge of […]
Ventec, GM complete HHS ventilator contract
Ventec Life Systems and General Motors announced today that they completed their government contract to produce 30,000 ventilators. The two companies kicked off mass production of Ventec’s V+Pro critical care ventilator at GM’s Kokomo, Ind., plant in April, having received a $489.4 million contract from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to deliver […]
