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Happy October! Lots of stories! You’re going to love them!
China’s ascendant biotechs are ‘blowing everyone’s minds’
A gaggle of investors. A shimmering “Science City.” And a surefire confidence that drug development in China is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than anywhere else in the world — including the United States.
STAT’s Jason Mast flew to Shanghai to witness a two-day biotech summit that featured a frenzy of dealmaking as everyone tried to cash in on Chinese-designed drugs, which now make about a third of the world’s pipeline and draw more than half of all licensing or collaboration deals. The Chinese Communist Party is confident that its drug developers will have at least five blockbuster drugs by 2030.
Given all this, does the U.S. still have the scientific edge? Read Jason’s phenomenal piece.
281,000
That’s the number of legal immigrants who may lose their government health benefits starting today, simply because they were not born on U.S. soil.
These immigrants are at risk of losing Medicaid in October because of the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill, according to a new analysis from KFF Health News. Hundreds of thousands more may lose their Affordable Care Act plan subsidies and Medicare coverage in January.
Those losing their health benefits include refugees of war, asylees who fled persecution, victims of sex trafficking, and interpreters who risked their lives assisting U.S. service members in Afghanistan. All of them reside in the U.S. with the federal government’s permission.
It’s another sign that President Trump’s signature tax bill last year may impact more people than expected, especially immigrants. Read more.
Nebraska’s Medicaid work requirement is already costing a lot of people their insurance
The early returns on Nebraska’s Medicaid work requirement are not great for people hoping to keep their coverage.
Fourteen percent of new applicants and 7% of individuals who tried to renew their health benefits were denied or lost coverage due to not meeting work requirements, according to a new KFF analysis.
Disenrollment rates could get worse in January, when Nebraska residents will be forced to provide additional documents to prove their qualifications. The state will most likely further restrict who qualifies for a “medical frailty” exemption, too. (STAT’s Isabello Cueto has a great story on how the state has made it extraordinarily confusing for its residents to understand who qualifies.)
Lots of interesting data in this report, you should check it out.
Pharma’s new top lobbyist is no stranger to Washington
In the television show “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” there’s a recurring gag where the main characters destroy a cabbage seller’s cart, causing the heads to spill everywhere. It happens a lot. I wonder if Eric Cantor might relate to that cabbage seller right now, at least a little bit.
The drug industry lobbying group PhRMA has tapped the former GOP House majority leader as pharma’s top voice in Washington, just as calls for lower drug prices and a change to the status quo reach a fever pitch.
Cantor has tangled with populism before. He was seen as effective as the party’s “chief political strategist” during his time in Congress, but he couldn’t survive his brush with an insurgent, right-wing Republican, who unseated Cantor in 2014. Can he navigate better this time on behalf of pharma? Read more from Daniel Payne.
Trump administration appeals ruling blocking limits on international student visas
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday appealed a court ruling blocking it from restricting how long international students and postdoctoral researchers can remain in the United States.
DHS is seeking to implement a four-year cap on how long these researchers can stay in the country, arguing that a longstanding policy that allowed them to remain for the length of their training promoted fraud. A coalition of academic groups sued the Trump administration, alleging that the policy violates federal law concerning the implementation of new regulations and would jeopardize the nation’s scientific preeminence. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing DHS from implementing its four-year cap while the lawsuit moves forward. The administration is hoping that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit will overturn this injunction. — Jonathan Wosen
In defense of giving children GLP-1s
GLP-1s have been hailed as “wonder drugs” that can treat many ailments — for adults. What about kids? The early data suggest these therapies can also help teens whose childhood obesity can later lead to organ failure, writes an NYU transplant surgeon.
No drugs in this class are approved to treat obesity in children under 12, even though GLP-1 prescriptions for children between 8 and 11 have increased more than 300-fold since 2019. That number needs to increase. Read more from obesity specialist Babak J. Orandi.
What we’re reading
- He’s slashing quality at nursing homes. The state is letting it happen, Boston Globe
- A girl nearly died after drinking raw milk. The state did little to punish the unlicensed farmer who sold it., ProPublica
- U.S. ends health aid to Zimbabwe after ‘America First’ deal is spurned, Washington Post
- Rural MAHA followers say Trump hasn’t improved health of their communities, poll finds, Associated Press and KFF Health News
- What’s behind HHS claims that gender-affirming care ‘may’ radicalize, NPR