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April 15, 2020___

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Gilead shares slip as a 2nd remdesivir COVID-19 trial halted in China

After having to halt enrollment in its severe COVID-19 trial due to a lack of patients, a second test of Gilead’s old Ebola drug remdesivir has befallen the same fate, this time in patients with a milder form of the disease.

Top Stories

Detroit Medical Center furloughs 480 workers due to COVID-19 financial crisis

Detroit Medical Center announced it will furlough 480 workers out of the approximately 12,000 workers due to the COVID-19 financial crisis.

Abbott launches coronavirus antibody lab test, plans to ship 20M per month this summer

After developing a high-throughput assay and a rapid point-of-care test, Abbott is now launching its third COVID-19 diagnostic, focused on detecting a person’s antibodies to the novel coronavirus.

WHO tasks ex-GSK CEO Witty with hastening COVID-19 vaccine R&D

The World Health Organization (WHO) has tasked ex-GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty with helping accelerate development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Witty is taking a leave of absence from his job at UnitedHealth Group until around the end of the year to co-lead the WHO initiative.

Biopharma roundup: GSK CEO says multiple COVID-19 vaccines may be needed; HHS inks big respirator deals

GlaxoSmithKine has signed a major deal with French drugmaker Sanofi to pursue a COVID-19 vaccine, but GSK's leader believes the collaboration's potential result might not be the only shot to hit the market.

Healthcare roundup: StartUp Health to launch 'Pandemic Response Moonshot' during music festival

FierceHealthcare's ongoing coverage of how the coronavirus is impacting the healthcare industry.

Verma: 2nd round of hospital funding to be more targeted at COVID-19 hot spots

CMS Administrator Seema Verma told reporters a second round of funding for hospitals will be more targeted at hot spots battling COVID-19

HHS inks $1.4B in 7 new ventilator orders with big medtechs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has signed new purchase orders with seven medtech manufacturers, totaling nearly $1.44 billion, to add about 137,000 ventilators to the national stockpile by the end of the year.

Multiple COVID-19 vaccines? That's what it could take, GSK CEO Walmsley says

Amid global COVID-19 lockdowns, the race for a vaccine has attracted daily attention as many experts see an immunization as a requirement to restarting society. While GSK and Sanofi made headlines Tuesday with their vaccine tie-up, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley said she hopes—and thinks—more than one group will succeed.

Can a popular class of diabetes drugs that includes Merck's Januvia help treat COVID-19?

Scientists are attempting to repurpose existing drugs as a quick way to tackle COVID-19. Among them is a University of Miami researcher who has pointed to previous studies of other coronaviruses in suggesting DPP-4 inhibitors used to treat diabetes might help.

CMS boosts Medicare payments for high-throughput COVID-19 diagnostic tests

CMS announced it will nearly double the payments for high-throughput diagnostic testing that can test a large batch of specimens quickly.

Fujifilm speeds production of potential COVID-19 therapy Avigan

After researchers targeted its influenza antiviral Avigan as a possible COVID-19 therapy, Japanese drugmaker Fujifilm said it was ready to scale up production to meet skyrocketing national demand. Now, with its foot on the gas pedal, Fujifilm hopes to make hundreds of thousands of regimens available in the coming months.

Novo Nordisk expands 90-day free insulin program to workers affected by COVID-19

With the novel coronavirus pandemic causing mass layoffs and endangering healthcare coverage, some drugmakers are stepping up to the plate to make their medicines more affordable. Now, Novo is expanding its popular free insulin access program to include workers affected by COVID-19. 

AMA and AHA team up to launch resource to fight malicious cyberactivity

The joint cybersecurity resource from the AMA and AHA called Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic offers actions both physician groups and hospitals can take to strengthen the protection on their computers, networks and medical devices from the rise in COVID-19-themed security threats and attacks, particular as more employees work from home.

Teladoc anticipates Q1 revenue to reach $180M boosted by surge in telehealth visits

Telehealth company Teladoc announced Tuesday it expects first-quarter 2020 revenue to reach between $180 and $181 million, beating its previous projections of quarterly revenue between $169 million and $172 million.