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It's been more than 500 days since Fierce launched the Fierce COVID-19 Update newsletter back in March 2020. Since then, the COVID-19 Update has served as your daily source for our coverage of the world’s worst pandemic in a century, spanning healthcare, biotech, medtech and pharma news. Starting today, our afternoon update will take a broader view of the action in our industries. While we recognize the pandemic is far from over, we’re shifting this newsletter’s focus to developments from across life sciences and healthcare, including pandemic news—but not limited to it. From cancer drug development to medtech mergers and healthcare policy debates, we’ll bring you the biggest Fierce headlines here each day. We appreciate your readership over the past 18 months, and we hope you’ll stick with us for the day’s most important news every afternoon.

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

'Forced into a virtual world': How pharma R&D bounced back from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic

By Annalee Armstrong

Clinical trials are the lifeblood of any drug company. Without clinical research, new treatments do not get approved or sold. But what happens when a once-in-a-hundred year pandemic sends the world into lockdown?

With the pricing situation 'untenable' in Europe, Bluebird will wind down its operations in the 'broken' market

By Kevin Dunleavy

Bluebird Bio will concentrate its efforts in the United States, winding down its operations in Europe because the company couldn't agree on pricing for its costly, one-time gene therapies.

GE Healthcare moves imaging, clinical analytics platforms to Amazon Web Services cloud

By Andrea Park

GE Healthcare will begin moving several of its software platforms to the AWS cloud, making it easier for healthcare providers and artificial intelligence developers alike to access clinical data to improve patient care.

CMS proposes pulling model that ties Part B drug prices to those paid overseas

By Robert King

CMS decided to pull a controversial model that ties prices for certain Part B drugs to those paid overseas after a series of legal defeats.

BioNTech, eyeing $18B+ in COVID-19 vaccine sales this year, poised to join the ranks of the world's top drugmakers

By Fraiser Kansteiner

Now prophesizing €15.9 billion ($18.7 billion) in COVID-19 vaccine sales this year, mRNA specialist BioNTech will likely join the ranks of the world’s top 20 drugmakers by revenue this year. It’s a similar story to Moderna, which has vaccine orders for 2021 worth some $20 billion.

Insurers came back down to Earth in Q2 following sky-high profits a year ago

By Paige Minemyer

Payers are bracing for the pandemic's influence to continue through the end of this year.

Epizyme CEO Bazemore passes the baton as company looks to 'next phase of growth'

By Amirah Al Idrus

With two approvals for its cancer drug Tazverik and trials in various other tumor types underway, Epizyme is making changes at the top. CEO Robert Bazemore is handing the reins to Grant Bogle, a biopharma veteran who’s been on the company’s board since 2019.

COVID-19 vaccines, safety policies offer strong rallying cries for labor campaigns

By Dave Muoio

As healthcare workers' unions seek to balance personal safety against rights protections, their positions stand to impact recruitment efforts and contract negotiations extending well beyond the pandemic.

Biohaven's Nurtec ODT outmuscles AbbVie's Ubrelvy in gaining new migraine patients following key FDA nod

By Noah Higgins-Dunn

Biohaven's oral CGRP med now tops AbbVie’s version when it comes to new-to-brand prescriptions, an impressive feat for a specialized drugmaker facing off against one of pharma's largest players.

COVID-19 tracker: Pentagon to mandate vaccines; Gilead requires jabs for U.S. employees

By Noah Higgins-Dunn,Kevin Dunleavy,Fraiser Kansteiner

The Pentagon said U.S. Military members will soon be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a move supported by President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences said it will require its U.S. employees and contractors to get the vaccine by the beginning of October. Plus more headlines.

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