To view this email as a web page, click here

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Gilead should be allowed 'real pricing' for remdesivir—and a sizable profit, analyst says

Gilead Sciences perhaps faces the toughest decision in the entire biopharma industry on the pricing of COVID-19 drug remdesivir. Now, one Wall Street analyst is voicing his support for Gilead, arguing the Big Biotech shouldn’t be pressured to price remdesivir too low or penalized for making a sizable profit along the way.

read more

Top Stories

Insurers should prepare for 'volatile' individual market due to COVID-19 pandemic: study

Insurers should brace for volatility in the individual market as major job losses due to COVID-19 could increase morbidity in the marketplace, a study found.

read more

BIO: 'Boom and bust' pandemic response isn't working, Sanofi exec says. It's time to get ready for future outbreaks

With much of the world caught up in responding to COVID-19, experts and lawmakers are again underscoring the need to prepare for the next pandemic, as distant a concern as it may seem. 

read more

Kaiser Permanente: 8 key capabilities for a sustained response to COVID-19 

As the industry braces for the next phase of COVID-19, experts at Kaiser Permanente are sharing several key capabilities that will be critical to prepare for another potential surge. 

read more

Moderna finalizes design of phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial ahead of July start

Moderna has finalized the design and dosage of its phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial, keeping it on track to start the pivotal test next month. Work to get the 30,000-subject phase 3 trial underway is advancing in parallel to ongoing enrollment in earlier phases of development.

read more

Parents are going to be worried about schools reopening. Here's what doctors need to know

As state and local officials look to reopen schools in the fall, pediatricians and primary care doctors will likely field a lot of questions from worried parents about whether it's safe to send their children back to classrooms amid the coronavirus. Here's what physicians need to know, according to public health and education experts.

read more

Coronavirus tracker: Merck, Moderna execs talk vaccine hurdles; Coca-Cola to provide plastic tubes for COVID tests

Moderna and Merck execs warned that sourcing ingredients and finding enough staff could stall vaccine development, while Pfizer said it hadn't considered the ROI for its shot yet. Analysts pushed Gilead to monetize remdesivir, with one Wall Street analyst's support. And Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine cleared animal trials.

read more

Pharma sales rep salary survey finds annual incomes rising, but COVID-19 concerns mounting

An annual survey of pharma sales rep salaries showed another year-over-year increase, but it also revealed concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Salaries averaged more than $150,000 in 2019, for an increase of 6%. However, three-fourths of the pharma sales reps interviewed said they expect the COVID-19 crisis to negatively impact their incomes this year.

read more

A look inside Geisinger's new remote monitoring program for COVID-19 patients

Geisinger Health System is harnessing its online patient portal to monitor COVID-19 patients from home. 

read more

AstraZeneca, Emergent BioSolutions sign $87M deal to produce U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca made waves last week when it signed a massive $750 million deal to ramp production of a University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine up to 2 billion doses per year. Now, as part of a Trump administration effort to get shots into U.S. hands as soon as possible, AstraZeneca has agreed to another major manufacturing tie-up.

read more

New virtual community 'CareAsOne' launches to connect docs around changing healthcare

A group of healthcare leaders from health data platform Innovaccer launched a new virtual community for doctors this week. Called CareAsOne, the platform is aimed at providing a credible place for industry professionals to connect and share news and information around healthcare transformation and patient-centered care.

read more