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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies and organizations worldwide to change courses, and the U.K.’s Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre is no different. With a new £131 million contribution from the U.K. government, the center aims to both speed up and expand upon its prior ambitions...“This is a transformational moment for our organization to be part of a national and global response, and we’re very proud to be part of that,” Duchars said. Even beyond COVID-19, VMIC also aims to be a partner for vaccine developers worldwide that could tap its manufacturing and development expertise for various diseases...READ MORE

Tobacco and e-cigarette companies have been accused of using the COVID-19 crisis to advertise e-cigarettes on social media and “undermine minimum age purchase restrictions” that protect minors...The not-for-profit activist group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids analysed the marketing tactics of big tobacco, e-cigarette and vaping companies in 28 countries, including the UK...It found that on social media, the two largest tobacco companies – Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco – had appropriated ‘Stay at home’ hashtags used by governments and health authorities to market heated cigarette products, such as Glo and iQOS, and e-cigarettes, including Vype...READ MORE

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a 60-page document that provides detailed suggestions for different phases of reopening workplaces, schools and restaurants, after an earlier draft was rejected by the White House for being too prescriptive...The document, which expands on several tools the agency released last week to guide specific types of organizations, was posted on the CDC website over the weekend without fanfare. The guidelines are similar to ones included in the draft, though they pertain to fewer types of businesses and are less restrictive...READ MORE

When retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Richard Gray and his wife, Sheila, were able to go to the Nellis Air Force Base pharmacy, they picked up their prescriptions with full coverage and no copayment...But now their only option is off base, and the 16 medications they take between them cost upward of $2,000 a month out of pocket at Walgreens...Under the base’s public health emergency called on April 3 and renewed May 4 in response to the coronavirus outbreak, only uniformed members and their dependents and essential civilian contract employees are allowed on base, including the pharmacy...The Nellis pharmacy was placed off limits for retirees on April 10, leaving thousands of local military widows and retirees, many of them living on fixed incomes, locked out of the no-cost medication to which they are entitled. Now they are subject to copays that can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars...READ MORE

The two-month casino shutdown in Nevada seems to have an end in sight...On Friday afternoon, Gov. Steve Sisolak gave Nevada casinos a tentative date they could plan to reopen: June 4. Seventy-eight days after casinos first closed down to help stem the spread of COVID-19...The move comes as the state has faced an increasing amount of pressure to reopen; Nevada’s unemployment rate hit record highs in April, and casinos in 12 other states had opened their doors ahead of those in Sin City...Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said Sisolak’s announcement is “fantastic news” for Nevada’s gaming industry...“Our members have spent more than two months preparing for this day,” she said in an emailed statement. “They’ve put in place enhanced health and safety plans and protocols … Our members are excited to show off the enhancements they’ve made that preserve the experience while ensuring the well-being of our employees and visitors.”...Casinos have been preparing for this day for weeks, publishing updated health and safety guidelines and setting tentative booking dates online to make sure they’d have guests ready to fill rooms...READ MORE

‘We’re ready to go back’
Tourists ready to return
All eyes on the Gaming Control Board

The World Health Organization’s head said on Tuesday he would keep leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off funding and quit the body...WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the agency’s role after the United States again withheld full support for a resolution on the pandemic...Washington allowed the resolution calling for a review into the global response to the pandemic to pass by consensus, but said it objected to language about reproductive health rights and permission for poor countries to waive patent rules...WHO officials running the meeting clapped and cheered after the resolution was passed without a vote hours after Trump tweeted his threat to pull the United States out of the body...It calls for a review into the WHO-led global response, something the United States has demanded...READ MORE

Gilead Sciences’ initial donation of remdesivir will be exhausted by early summer. The biotech will start charging for the drug in COVID-19 after that, and it might not be just a year or two of revenue flow...The company will pivot to a commercial plan after the donated supply of 1.5 million doses runs out around June or early July...The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review recently found remdesivir would be cost-effective at $28,670...But the U.S. drug cost watchdog argued that $50,000/QALY should be applied to remdesivir during a public health emergency. After that calculation, ICER pegged a reasonable price at $4,460...READ MORE

Before COVID-19 killed thousands of nursing home residents, about 4 in 10 homes inspected were cited for infection control problems, according to a(Government Accountability Office) government watchdog report...that finds a “persistent” pattern of lapses...“Warning signs were ignored and nursing homes were unprepared to face a pandemic,”...“There need to be big changes in the way nursing homes care for seniors.”...Nursing homes ended up bearing the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak...Most of those people were already at higher risk due to age and medical history, and they also shared dining rooms, recreation areas, bathrooms and sleeping quarters...over 34,000 coronavirus-related deaths at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, more than one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in the country...The GAO report found that about 40% of the nursing homes inspected in each of the past two years were cited for problems with infection control and prevention...READ MORE

The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the global supply chain, and the Trump administration has a message for established generics drugmakers: Bring your manufacturing on shore, or we will find new companies that do...two recent contracts the U.S. government signed to bring drug manufacturing to American soil. But will companies follow?...The HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority just inked a $354 million four-year deal with a company called Phlow to make generic medicine and active pharmaceutical ingredients in Virginia. The Department of Defense awarded a $138 million grant to ApiJect to expand U.S. production capability for prefilled syringes, following a $450 million deal the company won from the HHS...Both deals fall in the injectables category and involve significant investments to upgrade facilities and purchase future products. They both tap relatively new companies, which appear to be using innovative manufacturing technologies...Where does that leave traditional generic players such as Teva, Novartis’ Sandoz and Mylan? They may choose to join in...READ MORE

Johnson & Johnson says it's pulling its talc-based powders from the U.S. and Canadian markets. But the move comes as the drugmaker faces thousands of personal injury lawsuits over the product's safety—and as demand has fallen due to years of publicity about the legal fight...In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, J&J stopped shipping certain products—including its iconic baby powder—back in March to allow its factories to make high-demand medicines and to allow workers to spread out for social distancing reasons, the company said in a statement...Now, it's permanently discontinuing about 100 products, including its talc-based powders...READ MORE