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Johnson & Johnson shares jumped this morning after it announced it planned to break up. Meg Tirrell has the details. Pfizer is asking the FDA to expand the number of adults eligible for boosters. Details below. Bertha Coombs reports on tension at Kaiser Permanente.
| | J&J to split into two companies | The healthcare conglomerate plans to separate its $15 billion consumer healthcare business, home to brands like Tylenol, Johnson's Baby, Band-Aid and Listerine. J&J will be left with its $77 billion combined pharmaceuticals and medical devices businesses, with CEO Alex Gorsky telling CNBC's Squawk Box that the split will enable each business to focus on its specific customer set. The announcement comes as J&J is locked in a legal battle over liabilities for its talc baby powder products, although Gorsky told the Wall Street Journal that didn't play a role. J&J expects to complete the plan within two years; the pharmaceuticals and medical device side will keep the J&J name.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Pfizer asks FDA to authorize booster shots for all adults | Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize booster shots of its Covid vaccine for all Americans age 18 and older, a move that would significantly increase the number of people eligible to get the extra shots. A third dose of the vaccine, which was developed with German partner BioNTech, has already been authorized for elderly people and at-risk adults. The FDA could grant Pfizer's request before Thanksgiving, the New York Times reported.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Biden picks Dr. Robert Califf to run the FDA | As expected, Biden picked Dr. Robert Califf to reprise his role running the agency. A cardiologist at the Duke University School of Medicine and senior advisor to Google parent Alphabet's life sciences organization, Califf was briefly the agency's commissioner under the Obama administration beginning in 2016. He also served as deputy commissioner of the FDA's medical products and tobacco office. His nomination came under fire from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia who said the decision made "no sense" as Califf has "significant ties" to the industry he'll now regulate. Calif has also worked as a consultant to J&J, Merck and other big drugmakers.
-Berkeley Lovelace | | | | NIH director urges vaccinated Americans to get boosters | NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins is advising fully vaccinated Americans to get their Covid booster shots to prevent breakthrough cases over the holidays, citing data from Israel that showed the waning effectiveness of Pfizer's Covid vaccine against the delta variant. Though Collins noted that the chances for breakthrough cases are "relatively uncommon," the Israeli researchers found higher rates of infection across all age groups among individuals who received their second dose in mid-January than those who completed their shots in February and March
-Robert Towey | | | | Kaiser Permanente could see massive strike | Kaiser Permanente-- one of the nation's largest union health systems-- could face a major strike across four western states next week. Talks continue round the clock, but unions representing 32,000 Kaiser workers, including nurses and pharmacists say they'll walk November 15th if no deal is reached. Thousands more are set to strike in sympathy. The biggest issue in contention: a two-tiered wage proposal.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | Germany seeing 50K cases a day, prompting a dramatic warning | Germany was once seen as a prime example of how to deal with the coronavirus. Now, it's recording close to 50,000 new Covid cases a day, prompting a dire warning of a dramatic rise in fatalities from one expert. Leading German virologist Christian Drosten called for urgent action earlier this week, warning that the country could witness as many as 100,000 more deaths from the virus if nothing was done to tackle the spread. Germany is not alone in experiencing a dramatic rise in cases, with France also seeing a surge in Covid.
-Holly Ellyatt | |
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