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Today's Rundown

White House rolls out COVID-19 booster plan, but the FDA and CDC have yet to have their say
Attacking Alzheimer's by protecting synapses from amyloid beta
Pandemic has changed the way patients see doctors, new survey finds
Regeneron, GlaxoSmithKline COVID-19 antibodies in high demand as Delta drives a pandemic surge
Biden administration to invest $19M to expand telehealth in rural, underserved areas
EchoNous scales up portable ultrasound platform with FDA OK for full-body probe
GSK's Jemperli follows Merck's Keytruda with FDA nod to target certain tumors regardless of location
J&J's DePuy Synthes launches shoulder replacement system geared toward smaller surgical centers
Xellia spent $200M and 5 years to fix up former Boehringer site in Cleveland. Now, it's up and running again
Optum quietly adds cash-pay virtual care services to online pharmacy
COVID-19 tracker: CDC launches disease forecasting center; J&J vaccine recipients deserve booster info, expert says

Featured Story

White House rolls out COVID-19 booster plan, but the FDA and CDC have yet to have their say

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Despite data showing two COVID-19 vaccine doses remain largely effective against severe symptoms, hospitalizations and deaths, the Biden administration is urging booster shots for all to get a jump on the rise in infections among the vaccinated.

Attacking Alzheimer's by protecting synapses from amyloid beta

By Kyle LaHucik

UCSD scientists discovered a protein pathway that they believe could inspire new treatments for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers found that by blocking the toxic actions of amyloid beta in mouse models, they were able to protect synapses, which are critical to preserving memory.

Pandemic has changed the way patients see doctors, new survey finds

By Anastassia Gliadkovskaya

The survey, which received responses from nearly 1,200 U.S. patients mid-May, found that the pandemic raised patients' expectations of their doctors, namely how actively they communicate about general health issues as well as COVID-19.

Regeneron, GlaxoSmithKline COVID-19 antibodies in high demand as Delta drives a pandemic surge

By Kevin Dunleavy

Despite the high-profile success of COVID-19 antibodies as a treatment for former president Donald Trump, it’s taken a while for the drugs to really catch on. That's changing with the latest surge of the virus.

Biden administration to invest $19M to expand telehealth in rural, underserved areas

By Heather Landi

The Biden administration is investing $19 million to expand telehealth in rural and underserved communities to help increase access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, the investments will provide funding for telehealth incubators to pilot new telehealth services and track outcomes in rural medically underserved areas that have high chronic disease prevalence and high poverty rates.

EchoNous scales up portable ultrasound platform with FDA OK for full-body probe

By Andrea Park

The new Lexsa probe can generate ultrasound images of the lungs, vasculature and nervous and musculoskeletal systems, all of similar or better quality compared to more expensive, cart-based ultrasound systems.

GSK's Jemperli follows Merck's Keytruda with FDA nod to target certain tumors regardless of location

By Angus Liu

GlaxoSmithKline’s PD-1 latecomer Jemperli has scored an FDA go-ahead to expand into a larger cancer field. Once again, it’s following in the footsteps of Merck’s market leader Keytruda, but first-in-class opportunities await down the line.

J&J's DePuy Synthes launches shoulder replacement system geared toward smaller surgical centers

By Conor Hale

The Inhance system aims to tackle a broad range of cases while downsizing the amount of equipment that needs to be processed and stored outside of hospital settings.

Xellia spent $200M and 5 years to fix up former Boehringer site in Cleveland. Now, it's up and running again

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Xellia on Tuesday said its Cleveland factory is now commercially operational and has released the first anti-infectives made there for distribution to U.S. hospitals. The unnamed product is the first drug Xellia has made at the plant since it had to be “extensively rebuilt” following its purchase in 2015.

Optum quietly adds cash-pay virtual care services to online pharmacy

By Paige Minemyer

Optum has quietly added multiple services to its online pharmacy, putting it in direct competition with trendy direct-to-consumer startups.

COVID-19 tracker: CDC launches disease forecasting center; J&J vaccine recipients deserve booster info, expert says

By Noah Higgins-Dunn,Kevin Dunleavy,Fraiser Kansteiner

In an effort to better prepare against future pandemics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is establishing a "disease forecasting center." Plus, one expert says J&J vaccine recipients "deserve better" from U.S. healthcare officials. And more headlines.

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