Brian Buntz

Since the beginning of the pandemic, much of society has pinned its hopes on the availability of a vaccine. Now that several are available across the world, there is hope, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, in a recent JAMA interview. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”  One thing that…

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) posted fourth-quarter earnings in line with analysts’ consensus forecast. The firm repeated its recent long-term guidance.  The North Chicago, Ill.-based biopharmaceutical company, reported revenues of $13.9 billion — a 59% increase over the prior year. The quarter’s net income was $36 million, or $0.01 per share. That was considerably less than the earnings…

The prestigious consulting firm McKinsey has struck a deal with 47 states over its role in the opioid crisis.  Notably, the company had advised OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma (Stamford, Conn.) on “turbocharging” opioid sales. The pharma company had worked with McKinsey for 15 years.  The Justice Department concluded that McKinsey helped manage a Purdue Pharma…

To date, in the U.S., some 6.5% of the population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Alaska is currently the frontrunner in vaccinating its population. Almost 12% of Alaskans have received at least one dose. But two U.S.-linked countries — Palau and American Samoa — have vaccinated more people per capita than any…

“We bring the pharmacy to you.”  That’s a recent advertising slogan from online shopping behemoth Amazon (NSDQ:AMZN), which unveiled its plan to deliver prescriptions in November.  One of the key selling points of its service is prescription savings. The company promises that Amazon Prime members who pay without insurance can save anywhere from 80% of generics and 40%…

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) posted fourth-quarter results today that trailed the consensus forecast. The Basel, Switzerland–based company reported a $2.1 billion net income, an 86% increase in Q4 2019. Earnings per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $1.34 per share on revenue of $12.8 billion.  Analysts had anticipated earnings of $1.36 per share.  Still, there…

Federal shipments of COVID-19 vaccines could increase roughly 16% next week, potentially reducing some states’ shortfalls as they have broadened access to adults 65 and older. The U.S. government plans to increase its weekly allocation to states from 8.6 million doses to approximately 10 million doses. COVID-19 czar Jeff Zients, informed governors on Tuesday afternoon…

Some 20.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered as of Jan. 23 — roughly in line with the CDC’s end-of-2020 goal.  The pace of vaccination as of the morning of Jan. 21 was roughly 1 million, about four-fifths involving initial doses of the two-dose vaccine. The daily pace ticked up to 1.4 million…

Included in President Joe Biden’s sprawling strategy document for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic are an array of plans intended to ramp up vaccination efforts. Also in the plan are proposals for accelerating the development of therapies such as antiviral compounds effective against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses with pandemic potential. The “full-scale, wartime” plans have considerable relevance…

President Joe Biden has unveiled a series of anti-COVID-19 measures in his first full day in office, including signing an executive order instructing federal agencies to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) and other tools to speed the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and materials. In total, the president has signed 10 executive orders intended to…