New US leadership has a more comprehensive COVID-19 strategy, but that doesn’t mean all the plans are fully fleshed out yet. While Biden team declines to provide any details on what new vaccine dosing strategies they plan to examine, CDC quietly updates its recommendations to allow six weeks between shots.

Proposal, which could be formally endorsed by MedPac this spring, would lower the payment rates for vaccines while simultaneously moving all preventative vaccine coverage to Medicare Part B. Commission signals further cuts to payment rate, through an average sales priced-based methodology that might eventually be recommended.

Pink Sheet reporters and editor discuss President-Elect Joe Biden’s decision to name the CDER director as acting FDA commissioner and other staffing changes, as well as changes to industry trade groups’ political donations.

Agency has been prepping Woodcock for the temporary task but what will happen to her role on Operation Warp Speed remains unclear. The move should give Biden team cushion to confirm a permanent leader of whom a top contender is former senior FDA staffer Joshua Sharfstein, a proponent of drug reforms that may irk manufacturers.

US hopes more publicity will boost use of Lilly and Regeneron COVID-19 antibodies, once anticipated to be in short supply, but federal officials lack any other clear strategy to help overwhelmed health systems. Meanwhile Operation Warp Speed is testing the treatments against new virus variants and working on developing antibody cocktails that could avoid escape mutants as FDA issues guidance on potency assays for sponsors.

Report released as soon-to-be committee chair Ron Wyden, D-OR, assembles plans for drug pricing legislation in the new Democratic-controlled Senate.