Brainstorm Health Daily: August 4, 2017

Evaluate’s EP Vantage is out with its mid-year review of the biotech and pharma industries. To date, things are looking pretty good for the sector as far as stocks and public offerings are concerned. Major biotech indices like NASDAQ Biotechnology and Dow Jones Pharma and Biotech have posted gains that significantly outpace broader markets (17% and 11% growth, respectively, as of the end of June compared with 8% gains for the Dow and the S&P). Globally, there have also been 23 biotech IPOs so far this year, with the rate of public offerings gaining serious steam in the second quarter. And the study authors have a theory as to why.

“After the first half of 2017 biopharma investors are in a position to be exuberant: the threat of US price controls that have overshadowed the sector for a year have largely disappeared,” they wrote. “The pricing debate has fizzled to proposals for regulatory relief, increased competition and value-based pricing, news of which sent the US biotech index by late June to its highest point since the end of 2015.”

Biotech was largely down in the dumps throughout 2016 as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and a slew of other presidential contenders made drug makers and high treatment prices a convenient (and popular) political punching bag. But Congress and the Trump administration haven’t really followed through on the threats, as the researchers note. And over at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), new Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has made it his mission to expedite the drug approval process—a boon to the biopharma industry.

Happy Friday, and read on for the day’s news.

DIGITAL HEALTH

Epic's CEO reportedly got into a tiff with Joe Biden over medical record access. Greg Simon, formerly of the White House Cancer Moonshot and current president of the Biden Cancer Initiative, recently recounted an awkward episode between electronic health records (EHR) giant Epic Systems CEO Judy Faulkner and former Vice President Joe Biden. At a private meeting in January, Faulkner reportedly questioned why patients would want (or need) access to their full data set. “Why do you want your medical records? They’re a thousand pages of which you understand 10,” Simon quotes Faulkner as saying. Biden didn't take too kindly to that, reportedly replying, "None of your business. If I need to, I’ll find someone to explain them to me and, by the way, I will understand a lot more than you think I do." (Politico)

Insurers are seeing big savings from Lyft's medical transport service. As I've previously reported, insurance companies and health care providers have been joining up with ride-sharing services like Lyft in order to give elderly, poor, and secluded patients non-emergency medical transport to the hospital. And the high-tech partnerships are already reaping financial benefits for some: CareMore Health System tells CNBC that it's saved more than $1 million in just one year by switching over to Uber rather than taxis and other conventional medical transport services. Furthermore, the firm has also seen a 30% drop in patient wait times. (CNBC)

INDICATIONS

FDA approves a hep C treatment for all strains that gets the job done in 8 weeks. The hepatitis C market continues to see an influx of competition. On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AbbVie's Mavyret, the first-ever drug that can tackle all six of the most common hep C strains in just eight weeks (other therapies on the market either require 12 weeks or don't address all HCV forms). What's more, AbbVie is posting a list price that undercuts competitors from Gilead and others by at least $1,600 per treatment course (before rebates and discounts kick in). (Fortune)

Senate passes FDA user fee program that funds agency. The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a critical FDA funding bill that constitutes a quarter of the entire agency's budget. The user fee program collects money from drug and device companies, and it's expected to rake in between $8 billion and $9 billion over five years.

THE BIG PICTURE

Teen girls' suicide rate hits 40-year high: CDC. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the teen suicide rate among American girls doubled between 2007 and 2015 while spiking 30% among boys. For girls, the rate represents a 40-year high. The sobering data reflects a general trend in America, where suicides have become an increasingly common cause of death. There are a number of theories as to why, including the fallout from the economic recession and exposure to bullying and violence.

REQUIRED READING

Forget Obamacare. Congress Should Repeal and Replace This Instead, by Robert A. Mikos

Coinbase Reverses Course, Will Accept Bitcoin Cash, by Jeff John Roberts

Elon Musk Opens Up About Unrelenting Stress, by Ellen McGirt

37% of H-1B Visa Holders Work at These 20 Companies, by Grace Donnelly