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Bill Ackman Explains Why He Embraced RFK Jr.’s Skepticism on COVID Vaccines
Bill Ackman said in 2021 that delaying COVID vaccinations for older Americans “seems like genocide.” Today, the influential hedge fund chief and investor is amplifying the debunked anti-vaccine views of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Ackman is not denying his change. In fact, he said Kennedy is asking “important questions” about vaccines, raising issues he is interested in learning more about.
Several of Ackman’s recent tweets about COVID vaccines have stunned and confounded many of his colleagues on Wall Street, according to several people who have known and been allied with him for years. And it’s led both his allies and foes to ask the same question: Why is he doing this?
“I listened to RFK on several podcasts and a town hall and thought he raised important issues about vaccines and other issues that were worth learning more about,” said Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital. “I don’t feel like we’ve fully answered questions about the safety of all vaccines, particularly more recently approved vaccines, and our approach to determining their safety and efficacy.”
CDC to Reduce Funding for States’ Child Vaccination Programs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing funding to states for child vaccination programs, according to an agency email obtained by KFF Health News.
The funding cut “is a significant change to your budget,” said the email to immunization managers, dated June 27 and signed by two CDC officials.
The immunization managers who received the message are public health officials who direct state, territorial, and local programs to promote vaccinations against a variety of infectious diseases, such as measles and chickenpox.
The reduction comes from a federal immunization grant — totaling about $680 million in the latest year — that supports vaccination programs for children, according to the Association of Immunization Managers.
Moderna, Chasing GSK and Pfizer, Brings RSV Vaccine to Regulators
After decades of fruitless efforts to find a vaccine for RSV, the market may soon be brimming with options. Bavarian Nordic is also developing an inoculation for older adults. And Sanofi and AstraZeneca recently won the backing of an FDA advisory committee for preventive medicine for infants.
Like its successful COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna’s new shot is based on its messenger RNA technology, which may help it stand out from the pack. Moderna has told analysts that it believes its option will prove to be the best in the class for older adults and is also studying the shot in pediatric patients.
But first, Moderna has to catch up to rivals GSK and Pfizer, whose options won approval in time to be offered this fall ahead of the winter RSV season. And all of the companies will have to fight rising vaccine hesitancy and a lack of knowledge of the dangers of RSV.
Novavax’s COVID Vaccine Gets Complete Approval From European Commission
The European Commission has approved Novavax Inc’s (NASDAQ: NVAX) Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373), following a positive opinion for a full authorization from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency.
The vaccine is now fully authorized as a primary series in individuals aged 12 and older and as a booster dose in adults aged 18 and older to prevent COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccine was Novavax’s first and only commercial product in its 36-year history. However, it flopped after successful trials thanks to regulatory delays and manufacturing hiccups. Novavax’s COVID vaccine is authorized for use in more than 40 markets worldwide but has not yet been approved by the FDA.
‘Safe and Effective’: First Malaria Vaccine to Be Rolled Out in 12 African Countries
A long-awaited vaccine for malaria has been announced for rollout across 12 African countries over the next two years, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives.
An initial 18 million doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine have been assigned to the countries where the risk of children falling ill and dying from malaria is highest, according to a statement from the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef.
Another 16 African countries have asked for access to the vaccine and will be hoping for supplies when production has been scaled up. The vaccine, named RTS,S/AS01, was declared “safe and effective” in reducing deaths and severe illness after being given to 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi since 2019.
The vaccine is being produced by GlaxoSmithKline but with an expected 60 million doses needed each year by 2026, the Indian company Bharat Biotech will soon also be involved in supply.
Federal Officials Hatch a Three-Pronged Defense Against Another ‘Tripledemic’
To prevent a repeat of last winter’s “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, Americans will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves not just for flu shots but for two other vaccines, one of them entirely new.
Federal health officials have already asked manufacturers to produce reformulated COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed later this year. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took an additional step, endorsing two new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus for older Americans.
The three shots — flu, COVID and RSV — may help to reduce hospitalizations and deaths later this year. But there are uncertainties about how the vaccines are best administered, who is most likely to benefit, and what the risks may be.
Sometimes, vaccines work against one another when administered simultaneously. According to data presented to the CDC’s advisers, the RSV and flu vaccines produced lower levels of antibodies when given at the same time than when either was given alone.
The reports of adverse events related to the RSV vaccines made some CDC advisers reluctant to back them for people who do not face high risks from the infection.
Novo Nordisk Bought Prescribers Over 450,000 Meals and Snacks to Promote Drugs Like Ozempic
Novo Nordisk spent $11 million on meals and travel for thousands of doctors last year, federal records show, as part of its push to promote Ozempic and other weight loss-inducing diabetes drugs.
The pharmaceutical company bought more than 457,000 meals to educate doctors and other prescribers about its portfolio of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, according to newly released data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Nearly 12,000 prescribers had food paid for by the company more than a dozen times last year. More than 200 recorded more than 50 meals and snacks paid for by the company. One doctor, who is a frequent speaker for the company, recorded 193.
Nevada Secures $285 Million Opioid Settlement With Walgreens, Bringing Total Settlements to $1 Billion
The state of Nevada has reached a $285 million settlement with Walgreens regarding the pharmacy chain’s role in the opioid epidemic, the state’s top lawyer announced Wednesday.
The last in a series of multiyear settlements with pharmaceutical companies, retailers and others, it pushes Nevada’s total anticipated payments stemming from opioid claims to $1.1 billion, state Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office said in a news release.
Nevada is among numerous states that have reached settlements now totaling more than $50 billion nationwide.
Evotec Wins Orthopoxvirus Antibody Contract From U.S. Government
Evotec’s (EVTG.DE) Seattle-based subsidiary has won a $74 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defence to develop monoclonal antibody-based drugs targeting orthopoxviruses, the German biotech firm said on Wednesday.
The contract includes existing antibody development, antibody discovery, and artificial intelligence-driven de novo antibody design of therapeutic candidates, Evotec said in a statement.
Up to 10,000 Britons Could Take Part in Cancer Vaccine Trials
Up to 10,000 Britons are set to take part in clinical trials for personalized cancer vaccines by 2030 after the Government signed an agreement with a leading pharmaceutical firm.
Patients will be given precision immunotherapies that work by stimulating the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells.
The announcement comes after the Government signed an agreement with German-based company BioNTech — which previously developed a coronavirus vaccine with Pfizer in less than a year.
Trials will focus on personalized mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies which seek to activate a patient’s immune system. The technology is similar to that used in the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
