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Today's Rundown

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U.S. indictment says Chinese hackers tried to steal COVID-19 vaccine and drug research

Only days after three governments said Russian hackers were targeting groups conducting COVID-19 vaccine research, the United States has indicted two Chinese nationals for hacking hundreds of companies, governments and other organizations throughout the U.S. and beyond, including those working to combat the pandemic.

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Top Stories

Hope, hype and pandemic vaccines: We're not there yet

Vaccines are not big money spinners: They are typically under the radar R&D and commercial products, there in the background quietly and generally quite cheaply savings billions of lives while we all get excited about a few partial responses from a next-gen cancer drug that will cost as much as the average house.

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AMA, ACP join groups imploring Congress for more COVID-19 contact tracing, testing funding

The American Medical Association and other healthcare groups implored congressional leadership to include more funding for COVID-19 contact tracing and testing after published reports the White House is seeking to block such relief.

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Where do COVID-19 vaccine players stand on pricing? So far, it's no profit, slight profit or undecided

Numerous COVID-19 vaccine players are racing ahead, and while a group of front-runners has taken shape, other companies in earlier stages of research are already thinking about launching their as-yet-unapproved shots, too. Here's what they told Fierce Pharma about potential price tags.

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AHA: Half of U.S. hospitals could be operating in the red by end of year

A new analysis from the American Hospital Association found half of all U.S. hospitals are at risk of operating in the red by the end of the year as talks for another round of federal funding heat up in Congress.

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Pandemic hits Novartis sales, with eye meds, Cosentyx suffering from slowdown

Stockpiling of medicines boosted Novartis’ sales during the early days of COVID-19, but a hangover followed. Lagging eye drugs, slower psoriasis sales and more dragged the Swiss drugmaker's sales down in Q2—and a hoped-for new use for gene therapy Zolgensma looks farther away than ever.

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Pfizer, Amgen, GSK lead spike in digital ad spend during COVID-19 pandemic

Pharma advertising took a nosedive when the COVID-19 pandemic hit: Advertising to professionals dropped by 30% in March, according to digital ad tracker MediaRadar. But by mid-April, spending began to climb again and by May, medical and pharma ad spending was up 56% overall year over year.

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CureVac closes $640M investment amid COVID-19 vaccine race

CureVac has closed a $640 million private financing round. The raising of the round, which is larger than all CureVac’s previously disclosed financings combined, comes as the biotech races to bring a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to market.

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How Collective Health, One Medical and other startups are working to get employees back to offices

From pop-up health clinics to symptom tracking apps to diagnostic testing, primary care groups and technology companies are pivoting to offer services and tools to support employers' return-to-work strategies. Here's what Collective Health and One Medical are doing.

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Wave of consolidation may be coming as independent physicians report COVID concerns: McKinsey

More than half of independent physicians reported they are worried about their practices surviving the COVID-19 pandemic indicating there may be a sharp uptick in future partnerships and consolidation, a new report found. 

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Merck taps contract research firm IRBM for peptides to hit back at pandemic virus

Big Pharma Merck has been pretty quiet on its R&D for COVID-19, but while keen to keep hype to a minimum, its research work in the background has been growing.

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FDA relaxes regulations for producing viral transport media required for COVID-19 tests

The demand for widespread COVID-19 diagnostics has strained every aspect of the enterprise, including the production of swabs, reagents and sterile containers. Now, the FDA has loosened its oversight of viral transport media, the liquid solution that keeps samples viable as they wait to be tested, in a move the agency says will help boost waning supplies.

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