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AstraZeneca is the latest player to unveil early COVID-19 vaccine data, and results seem to show an efficacy gap between at least one of its vaccine regimens and those of its two mRNA-based peers. But while investors may be less than enthused with the data, the vaccine does sport a major advantage in logistics given its much warmer storage needs...AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, dubbed AZD1222, can be stored and transported at normal refrigerated temps of 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius (36 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least six months and can be administered in "existing healthcare settings," giving the shot a major logistics leg up over a leading mRNA-based competitor that requires ultra-cold storage...READ MORE

When it comes to influencers in pharma marketing, companies should skip trendy avocado toast and aerial yoga guru types and rely on lesser-known patient advocates—at least, according to data gathered by WeGo Health...Its recent network survey found that only 14% percent of the WeGo users surveyed mostly or completely trust lifestyle influencers, while 51% completely or mostly trust patient influencers. When it comes to branded pharma products, the survey was even more positive for patient influencers: 85% said they would be very or somewhat receptive to an ad from a patient influencer promoting a drug-related to the patient’s condition...READ MORE

To help pharmacists advise people on COVID-19 tests, FIP has...issued a guidance document produced by its SARS-CoV-2 Testing Working Group, which has evaluated the diagnostic testing methods and devices currently available...The document covers how different types of diagnostic tests work and the interpretation of results. It also addresses the question of whether or not the presence of antibodies confers immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and makes recommendations on information to give to patients who have tested positive or negative...READ MORE

Several years after saying the pharmaceutical industry was “getting away with murder,” President Donald Trump appears poised to unveil new drug pricing rules that could shake up U.S. pricing dynamics in a big way. But it remains to be seen exactly how the implementation will play out...Trump plans to unveil two major measures—an international pricing index and a rule to crack down on drug rebates...The international pricing index—also called the “most-favored-nations" clause—would tie U.S. prices in Medicare to lower prices abroad. The pharmaceutical industry has intensely resisted the proposal. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, for one, characterized it as “horrible” policy, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., said the president’s summer executive orders on drug pricing were “an enormous distraction” amid the COVID-19 fight and threatened American jobs...READ MORE

As a tide of late-stage data rolls in on COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, the U.S. is gearing up for reviews that could see a vaccine authorized and deployed before the year is out. On Saturday, the chief of the White House's Operation Warp Speed effort laid out a definitive timeline, setting expectations for when the public could expect at least two shots to become available...Moderna will file for an emergency nod for its mRNA-based vaccine candidate before the month is out, Moncef Slaoui, Ph.D., head of "Warp Speed" and former vaccine chief at GlaxoSmithKline, said...That submission will segue straight into a Dec .17 data review, with the aim to ship vaccines to distributors within 24 hours of approval and potentially start vaccinations two days after the advisory panel makes its call, Slaoui said...READ MORE

Amazon is getting more serious about pharmacy...This announcement is much less disruptive than it appears to be. Amazon is copying the GoodRx discount card model—including GoodRx’s partnership with Express Scripts. At the same time, Amazon is launching a mail pharmacy that will accept insurance and be in PBM pharmacy networks...Amazon’s actions are another negative headwind for retail pharmacies, but not a fatal blow to the system. Perhaps Amazon will one day become a true disrupter...Amazon Pharmacy operates as a home delivery pharmacy. It is built on the backbone of PillPack, which Amazon acquired for $700 million in 2018...Just like any other pharmacy, Amazon relies on your pharmacy benefit plan to determine your out-of-pocket expenses. Nothing magical here...READ MORE

As planning for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine begins in earnest, experts say policymakers should include value-based pricing in those considerations...Pricing for value would ensure drug companies and other firms are able to continue to innovate new ways to address the virus without lining their pockets with billions in profits off of a critical vaccine...The researchers say COVID-19 vaccines and therapies will likely require a hybrid pricing approach that cribs from multiple strategies, but measuring value is key for policymakers to "consider the full costs and benefits of products and the wide-ranging ramifications of their actions."...READ MORE

NHS England is preparing for the huge task of delivering COVID-19 vaccines, including through community pharmacies...Delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine to the public will require the participation of “as many of the workforce who are trained in vaccination as possible” from community pharmacy...Jill Loader, deputy director of pharmacy commissioning at NHS England and NHS Improvement, said there were “a number of different ways community pharmacy can get involved” in the COVID-19 vaccine delivery programme, with some community pharmacies expected to be commissioned as a vaccination site through a locally enhanced service...“We anticipate that we are going to need to use as many of the workforce who are trained in vaccination as possible,” she said...READ MORE

With Moderna and Pfizer both reporting sky-high response rates to their COVID-19 vaccines, the pressure is on federal health officials to ensure a rapid—but smooth—rollout. Wednesday, they unveiled a detailed timeline that provides some clues about when most Americans can expect to be vaccinated...High-priority populations such as healthcare workers and nursing home residents could obtain COVID-19 vaccines in December...The key to distributing the vaccines to older Americans quickly is a distribution deal the government struck with Walgreens and CVS last month. Last week, more agreements were formed with pharmacy chains and independent pharmacies...Warp Speed has been fostering the development of six additional COVID-19 vaccines...Moderna expects to ship 20 million doses for use in the U.S. by the end of this year and up to 1 billion worldwide next year. Pfizer is gearing up to ship 50 million doses this year...READ MORE

The Department of Health and Human Services recently released a final rule requiring health insurers to disclose drug pricing and cost-sharing information...“Under this final rule, more than 200 million Americans with private-sector insurance (both individual-market and employer-based) will have access to a list of real-time price information, including cost-sharing, enabling them to know how much care will cost them before going in for treatment,”...“We want every American to be able to work with their doctor to decide on the healthcare that makes sense for them, and those conversations can’t take place in a shadowy system where prices are hidden,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar, MD,. “With more than 70% of the most costly healthcare services being shoppable, Americans will have vastly more control over their care...Although the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association is still reviewing the final rule, “we would warn regulators to guard against giving away competitive pricing information to drug manufacturers and pharmacies,”...READ MORE