A call to redefine cancer treatment studies, the latest health news, Stanford president defends his decision, and much more!

Happy Thursday! Our fearless leader Alexander Bois-Spinelli is off again this week so it’s Areesha Lodhi and Ryan Fitzgerald steering the ship to bring you a weekly dose of stories from STAT. We have plenty of news to get to, including a slew of STAT exclusives, so let’s hop to it…

A call to redefine cancer treatment studies?

Cancer drug studies analyze various factors to determine efficacy of a treatment – from side effects to overall survival. But Charlotte Huff explores the need for a new data point – time toxicity. Tasks like clinic appointments, picking up medication and chemotherapy all eat up a significant chunk of a #cancer patient’s life. How can time toxicity be measured and inform care for patients? More in this article.?

The latest health news

Our colleague Matthew Herper sat down with Michael J. Fox (yes, THE Michael J. Fox) to talk about life with Parkinson's and new research funded by his foundation that could be a “game changer” for the disease.

Fox also penned a First Opinion essay this week talking about Matt’s powerful critique of biology’s century. Fox writes, “As someone who has Parkinson’s, up until now, I think I could be forgiven for feeling a little left behind in biology’s century.” Read the full essay here.

Andrew Joseph has his very first report from STAT’s new London bureau! A new study Wednesday showed that using genome sequencing greatly expanded the number of diagnoses researchers could provide for children with developmental disorders from thousands of families across the United Kingdom and Ireland.?

Stanford president defends his decision

Stanford University’s president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, took responsibility in an email to STAT for the decision not to correct or retract a paper at the heart of an investigation of alleged research misconduct.?

“It was my call to conduct additional follow-up experiments rather than to correct or retract the 2009 study,” he wrote, adding that most of the study’s findings are still valid. Our colleague Jonathan Wosen, PhD is continuing to cover this situation, so be on the lookout for more.?

More changes in post-Roe America

And the battle for effective reproductive care continues in post-Roe America. Access to the #abortion pill, mifepristone, became uncertain last week after a federal judge suspended FDA approval for it. Now, the Justice Department is appealing the decision at the Supreme Court. Andrew Joseph and Sarah Owermohle write about the clash and implications of the case.?

Although the Texas federal judge placed restrictions on access to #mifepristone, a Washington federal court ordered the FDA to ensure access to the pill going forward. As the fate of the pill is in limbo, pressing questions linger. What happens now? And could the makers of mifepristone apply for a new FDA approval? Sarah Owermohle and ed silverman give answers in this piece.?

The court rulings have put a lot on stake for pharmaceutical companies as a whole. Some entities, like Biotechnology Innovation Organization, have aggressively pushed back, calling the decision “an assault on science.” But others like PhRMA have remained fairly quiet, despite being the top-spending lobbying group in the health care sector. Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports on why this may be the case.?

Exclusive news out of Capitol Hill?

Sen. Bernie Sanders is back in the news as he plans to call the chief executives of the country’s largest insulin manufacturers to testify before his health committee. Our colleagues Rachel Cohrs, John Wilkerson , and Ed Silverman report that news according to #insulin maker Eli Lilly and two sources familiar with the plans.?

The move will keep the pressure on the companies over their prices despite the fact they have said they plan to lower the list price of their older insulin products.

In related news, the Senate health committee was expected to mark up legislation related to generic drugs, PBMs, and some leftovers from the FDA’s user fee agreements next week, but leaders are planning to reschedule the meeting, sources told STAT. So what’s in — and out — of the mix???

And Sarah Owermohle reports that Arnold Ventures hired the economist Jennifer Doleac to lead its criminal justice portfolio starting in July. Doleac is a researcher with controversial theories on naloxone access, including research suggesting that making the opioid overdose treatment more accessible sparked a rise in opioid use.

The news of Doleac’s hire is raising alarms among public health advocates who worry it marks a shift in major donors’ approach to addiction treatment.

Startups and big tech in health tech

Staff shortages for hospitals and nursing homes have prompted strikes across the country but also pushed startups to use technology to solve the crisis. Ambar C. writes about 5 that are making an impact in unique ways from giving nurses more flexibility to matching participants to students based on language and physical proximity.?

In the world of health tech, #Google is caught in the race to deploy AI in healthcare. The company is going to begin testing its generative language model’s ability to perform specific tasks in medical and research settings. Med-Palm 2 is being released to a select group of customers and will test the limits of #AI in health care, but some experts are worried about how effective analysis can take place without accountability instruments or references.?

Testing wireless pacemakers has shown promising results for children with heart diseases, but also highlighted a deeper issue within the medical device industry – the lack of innovations tailored towards children. Experts are pushing for manufacturers to make devices that accommodate children’s growth and activity levels. Lizzy Lawrence reports.?

A top FDA official intervenes to get gene therapy approval

A gene therapy by #Sarepta Therapeutics for Duchenne muscular dystrophy was set to be rejected during the FDA approval process – until one top FDA official intervened to change course. Adam Feuerstein and Jason Mast talked to people who had direct knowledge of agency deliberations and report on the ways in which Sarepta’s therapy did not meet criteria but got approvals anyway.??

That’s all we have for today! Join us next Thursday for another edition of “Weekly Update.”?

As always, if you enjoyed this news roundup, we suggest you subscribe to our flagship newsletter,?Morning Rounds, which arrives in inboxes every weekday at 6 a.m. ET. You can also sign up for any and all of STAT’s other free newsletters here:?https://www.statnews.com/signup/