‘No safe amount': Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers questions on lead exposure
CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks down the health effects of lead exposure in adults and children, how it accumulates in the body, and what long-term risks it poses.
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Medscape
16 minutes ago
- Medscape
Supreme Court Ruling Preserves Access to Preventive Services
Health advocates welcomed a US Supreme Court decision announced Friday that preserves a federal mandate for insurers to cover, without copays, certain preventive medical tests and treatments. The Supreme Court split 6-3 in the decision announced Friday. While the court ruling was seen largely as a win for medical and consumer groups, some voiced concerns about its impact on the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary's power over an influential panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Families USA, said the Supreme Court ruling beat back 'yet another challenge' to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and was a win in terms of guaranteeing more access to care. "While this is a foundational victory for patients, patients have reason to be concerned that the decision reaffirms the ability of the HHS secretary, including our current one, to control the membership and recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force that determines which preventive services are covered,' Wright said. Religious Objection to HIV Prevention Treatment The case stems from a complaint filed by Braidwood Management, a Christian-owned firm objecting to how a provision of the 2010 ACA has been implemented. The Texas firm wanted to exclude coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV and other preventive health services for religious objections. The ACA requires coverage without copay for tests and treatments that get 'A' and 'B' ratings from the USPSTF. The USPSTF has issued recommendations with these top marks for more than 40 tests and treatments, noted Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the majority opinion in this case. Services with current 'A' and 'B' ratings from USPSTF include cancer and diabetes screenings, nicotine patches for adults trying to quit smoking, statin medications to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and physical therapy to help the elderly avoid falls, he wrote. Major Medical Groups Applaud Ruling The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Cancer Society, and about 30 other patient and medical professional organizations applauded the Supreme Court decision in a joint statement Friday. In February, these groups had filed a brief with the Supreme Court, arguing in favor of the mandate. In it, these groups said almost 152 million people in the US were able to get access to preventive services without cost sharing in 2020 due to the mandate. Reducing insurance coverage for preventive services would 'lead to worsening patient outcomes, resulting in preventable deaths, and creating higher long-term medical costs,' said the groups in the brief. The key question before the Supreme Court in this case focused on the view of authority of the USPSTF. In the majority opinion, Kavanaugh said the plaintiffs sought to portray the USPSTF as an independent agency wielding 'unchecked power in making preventive-services recommendations of great consequence for the healthcare and health-insurance industries and the American people more broadly.' In fact, those challenging the ACA mandate asserted that, with respect to preventive-services recommendations, the Task Force members were 'more powerful' than even the US president or the secretary of the HHS, Kavanaugh wrote. That's not the case, Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. Instead, the USPSTF members serve at the will of the secretary of the HHS, who can remove them, Kavanaugh noted. In addition, federal law allows the HHS secretary to directly review and block USPSTF recommendations before they take effect, Kavanaugh wrote. Some Reservations Family USA's Wright noted how HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr recently replaced members of the CDC's independent vaccine advisory committee as an example of his concerns. The American Gastroenterological Association called the Supreme Court ruling 'positive news for patient care protections.' 'The ruling reiterates the authority that HHS has over the task force and its decisions, and we remain vigilant considering the secretary's recent actions to other expert panels,' the AGA said Friday in a statement. 'We will continue to work with our coalition partners and champions to ensure patients continue to have coverage of essential preventive screenings.' The ACA mandate also has helped make cancer screening more palatable to younger patients, which physicians note is especially important given that more cases seem to be occurring earlier in life. National Institutes of Health researchers recently reported that the incidence of 14 cancer types increased among people under age 50 between 2010 and 2019. 'To convince healthy people to undergo a test when they're feeling fine to prevent a cancer that might or might not develop years in the future, it requires reducing barriers and taking away copays and providing insurance coverage,' Jatin Roper, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke University and AGA spokesman, told Medscape in recent interview. Roper reported no relevant financial disclosures.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vor, with new CEO, changes course to target autoimmune disease
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. Vor Biopharma is licensing rights to an immune disease drug from Chinese biotechnology company RemeGen, it said Wednesday, a little over one month after announcing plans to review strategic alternatives. As part of its shift in focus, Vor also announced it appointed former MorphoSys leader Jean-Paul Kress as CEO. Vor's previous chief executive Robert Ang will stay on as an adviser through October. Vor also raised $175 million in a PIPE, or private investment in public equity, that involved half a dozen investors including RA Capital Management, Forbion and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. PureTech Health and the oncologist and author Siddhartha Mukherjee founded Vor nearly a decade ago. Progress developing a treatment for leukemia led the company in 2021 to price a $177 million initial public offering. But a rocky few years forced Vor to change direction. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech had been advancing cell therapies called trem-cel and VCAR33, but in May revealed plans to wind down clinical operations and lay off 95% of its employees. Now, Vor is reestablishing itself as an autoimmune disease company. The deal with RemeGen gives its rights to develop and commercialize in most parts of the world a drug for generalized myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis that's already approved in China. Vor is paying RemeGene $45 million upfront along with $80 million in warrants to purchase common stock in exchange for the drug, called telitacicept. Telitacicept is in Phase 3 testing for generalized myasthenia gravis in the U.S., Europe and South America, according to the companies. Data from that trial is expected in 2027. 'I am absolutely thrilled to be leading Vor Bio as we transform the company to become a major player in autoimmune disease treatment,' Kress said in a statement. Telitacicept's targets are cytokines known as BAFF and APRIL, which have also been the focus of other dealmaking. Recently, China-based biotechs like RemeGen are providing more and more of the drug candidates licensed by U.S. and European drugmakers. 'Global biopharma companies can increasingly look to China as a cost-effective source of innovation, particularly for validated targets and rapid generation of proof-of-concept data,' Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Vor's decision to start anew with a Phase 3-ready drug candidate contrasts with the route preferred by some activist investors and analysts, who have pushed struggling biotechs to wind down and return cash to shareholders rather than try to reinvent themselves. Some, like Third Harmonic Bio and iTeos Therapeutics, have taken this course, while others have resisted the pressure 'I couldn't be more thrilled with this exciting new direction for Vor, and new leadership with the background and skills appropriate for this asset,' Ang, Vor's former CEO, wrote in a LinkedIn post. Shares in Vor nearly doubled on the news to trade around $1 apiece by Thursday afternoon. Recommended Reading Biopharma sector still growing despite layoff wave, Stifel report finds
CBS News
38 minutes ago
- CBS News
Staten Island family fights to keep beloved pet pig Lucy after 311 complaint
A Staten Island family is fighting to keep Lucy the pig, their beloved pet and emotional support animal. Health officials are threatening to take her away because they say it's illegal to have a pet pig in New York City. Pet pigs are illegal in NYC, health officials say Lucy was the subject of an anonymous 311 complaint earlier in June. Shortly after, a representative from the Health Department knocked on their door. "She said, 'They're not allowed in New York City. You're violating the law.' And I said, 'I didn't know, I'm confused.' She says, 'Well, we're gonna have to get back to you,'" owner Loriann Gannone said. A Staten Island family is fighting to keep Lucy the pig, their beloved pet and emotional support animal. CBS News New York "In New York City, keeping a pig as a pet has been prohibited for at least 25 years. And for good reason — pigs need outside space and companionship of other pigs to thrive, they can become aggressive toward people, and pig manure is especially odorous and may be problematic for neighbors. In addition, there is no USDA-approved rabies vaccine for pigs. All of this makes it inappropriate to keep pigs as pets in New York City," the city Department of Health said in a statement. The Health Department said no violations have been issued, and a City Hall spokesperson says they're working on a solution that involves getting Lucy moved to the Gannone family's house upstate, which the family says is under a lot of construction. Thousands sign online petition supporting Gannone family At 15 years old, the senior pig spends her days on a series of medication and resting on the couch, her owners say. "There's no benefit to remove this animal from the community," owner Michael Gannone said. "I take care of my grandchildren. I gotta pick them up from school, take them to school," Loriann Gannone said. "And then I gotta take care of [Lucy]. It's a lot of stress." In the past week, nearly 9,000 people have signed an online petition for the family to keep the pig. Their efforts have also gotten support from lawmakers like Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. Family friend Kaitlyn Grotto made her usual visit to Lucy the pig with her two young children, ages 1 and 4. CBS News New York Family friend Kaitlyn Grotto made her usual visit to Lucy with her two young children, ages 1 and 4. "She was raised around us, so any other environment is not gonna be fit for her," Grotto said. "No threat to anyone, this darling pig." The Gannones plan on meeting with supportive local lawmakers as soon as this weekend, hoping to find a solution.
