From the U.S. healthcare business front, the Wall Street Journal reports

Amazon.com Inc. will be able to close its purchase of 1Life Healthcare Inc., the operator of the One Medical line of primary-care clinics, without a legal challenge by antitrust enforcers.

The Federal Trade Commission won’t sue in time to block the $3.9 billion deal, including debt, but will continue its investigation of the merger, an agency spokesman said. The decision clears a path for Amazon to substantially expand its healthcare offerings and operate physical medical clinics. Amazon has invested in the healthcare space for years, including with an online pharmacy and other health ventures.

“The FTC’s investigation of Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical continues,” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar said. “The commission will continue to look at possible harms to competition created by this merger as well as possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.”

Becker’s Hospital Review offers two articles on Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Co.

• In one article, BHR observes
  • As news outlets, celebrities, swingers on Reddit and people on Twitter praise Cost Plus Drug for its low prices on hundreds of generics, some of its products are more expensive than options at local pharmacies, KHN reported using GoodRx data. 
  • For example, one presentation of amoxicillin-clavulanate, an antibiotic currently in shortage, is $267.60 at Cost Plus Drug Co. and $109.44 at the average community pharmacy. 
  • Mr. Cuban told the outlet that its analysis was not comprehensive because of the company’s pricing model, which is a 15 percent markup, $3 for labor per drug and $5 for shipping. Because the shipping cost is overall and not for each medication, Mr. Cuban said his pharmacy can still offer a cheaper sale. 
• In the other article, BHR informs us that the Cost Plus Drug Co., which already has business arrangements with three prescription drug managers, is contacting independent pharmacies for business.

From the public health front, February is Low Vision Awareness Month.

• The CDC calls attention to its Tips to Prevent Vision Loss.

• The BrightFocus Foundation proclaimed
  • Global vision and brain research non-profit BrightFocus Foundation celebrates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection), the first-ever treatment to slow the progression of vision loss from geographic atrophy, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration and a leading cause of blindness. 
  • “Today’s FDA approval of Syfovre provides hope to the more than five million people worldwide who are at risk of permanent vision loss from geographic atrophy,” said BrightFocus President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller. “This first-of-its-kind treatment is a momentous step forward in vision research and will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of people.” 
  • An estimated one million people in the U.S. have geographic atrophy, an advanced and severe form of age-related macular degeneration in which regions of cells in the retina waste away and die (atrophy). This progressive and irreversible disease can lead to permanent vision loss. Nearly 20 million adults in the U.S. have some form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), almost double the previous estimate of 11 million people, according to a new report.    
  • People living with geographic atrophy often experience emotional hardships including anxiety, feeling powerless, and frustration. Approximately one in three have recently withdrawn from their social lives because of their disease, and BrightFocus offers a free AMD community group and educational audio chats for affected individuals.
  • Syfovre is expected to be available by the beginning of March through select specialty distributors and specialty pharmacies nationwide.

The New York Times Morning column criticizes the public health system for undertreating people with opioid use disorder, obesity and mental health issues, among other problems.

Similarly, HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality calls attention to the underuse of cardiac rehabilitation in our country.

From the Rx coverage front —

• BioPharma Dive explains that while the last decade’s lapse of patents impacted blockbuster small-molecule drugs, this decade’s lapse impacts specialty drugs such as Humira and Keytruda. Time will tell whether patients will convert to biosimilar drugs as quickly as they converted to generic drugs when patents lapse.

• STAT News reports on “A battle between Vertex and insurers [over copay assistance accumulators] is leaving cystic fibrosis patients with crushing drug costs. Copay assistance accumulators prevent co-pay assistance from accumulating toward the plan’s out-of-pocket payments maximum required by the Affordable Care Act.

• The Institute for Clinical and Economic Research related a final evidence report on treatments for multiple sclerosis.

From the medical research front, STAT News reports

An experimental antibody that delivers lethal radiation directly to the bone marrow improved the outcomes of stem cell transplants for older patients with relapsed leukemia — and may change the way transplant medicine is practiced.

The antibody-radiation treatment, called Iomab-B, is being developed by Actinium Pharmaceuticals, a small drugmaker based in New York.

In the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial presented Saturday, 22% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia who were administered Iomab-B to prepare their bone marrow for transplants had durable remissions lasting six months or more. None of the patients in the study who received conventional care prior to transplant achieved durable remissions.

Amazing.

From the miscellany / tidbits department

• The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force proposes to renew the following Grade A recommendation:
  • The USPSTF recommends that all persons planning to or who could become pregnant take a daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 μg) of folic acid.
  • The public comment period on this renewal is open until March 20, 2023/

• Beckers Payer Issues reports
  • Anthem BCBS Colorado, Indiana, Missouri and Nevada are rolling out virtual primary care to more members.
  • Eligible commercial members will gain access to a virtual care team that conducts an initial health screening, creates a personalized care plan, and then provides care services, according to a Feb. 7 news release.
  • The virtual care services will take place through Anthem’s app, Sydney Health. The app offers 24/7 medical text chat, preventive wellness visits, support services, including new prescriptions and refills, and in-network referrals.
  • Virtual primary care is now available to eligible individuals enrolled in Anthem’s fully insured plans and certain large group administrative services clients.