United States
Journalist with experience covering health, science, medical research, pharma, business, advertising, and health policy news.
Precision Medicine Online reporter, previously at MM&M, PRWeek, and Climate Central, and alumna of CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Health and science writing
Ahead of the full data release and FDA regulatory decision, doctors and researchers parse the limitations of clinical trials and debate whether the MCED test is ready for wider implementation.
A study evaluated agreement between 10 AI digital pathology tools in assessing IHC-based HER2 expression and found the most variability in identifying HER2-low samples.
Two studies presented at the meeting showed the potential of D3 Bio's next-gen KRAS (OFF) inhibitor and Revolution Medicine's novel KRAS (ON) inhibitor.
The panel of four proteins, developed by Penn and Mayo researchers within an NCI project, is currently undergoing prospective testing to see if it can ID pancreatic cancer in patients at increased risk.
A study using IHC reference slides found variability among labs in the lower limit of HER2 expression they can detect, even when the labs used the same test and reagents.
The meeting taking place in San Diego April 5 to 10 will feature early-phase research that may yield new diagnostics and more precise drugs against cancer.
Conservationists are taking action to help protect "stressed out" oceans.
Fossil fuels are altering the ratio of carbon in the atmosphere, skewing the age of carbon dated objects.
Health policy and regulatory news
The group has already helped pass bills in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and is supporting bills introduced in Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Researchers have been "making great inroads" in precision medicine, and a 15 percent cap on indirect costs could quash the momentum, experts worry.
At its annual meeting, the society discussed progress it has made in pushing ahead the Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act and other policy priorities.
The FDA may not withdraw Lumakras' accelerated approval, but will surely weigh the reliability of the CodeBreaK 200 data as it considers granting full approval.
President Trump is putting pressure on the pharma industry ahead of the presidential election.
The government has relaxed telehealth rules as most people stay home to help flatten the curve, but patients still face barriers for virtual visits.
Health data is governed by laws nearly 25 years old, and as more types of health data are created, from fitness to biometric to genetic data, Washington can't keep up.
MM&M presents its first annotated guide to the most essential DTC regulations and requirements.
Business news
The firm is planning registrational studies for daraxonrasib in earlier lines of therapy and for its KRAS G12D inhibitor zoldonrasib.
Company executives were tight-lipped about details of the cofounders' new company but assured investors it will double down on advancing immunomodulators, ADCs, and mRNA assets.
Despite another quarter of declining sales for Ibrance, its top-selling oncology drug, revenue for Pfizer's overall oncology portfolio increased 9 percent year over year.
Crisis communications initiatives surged and marketing teams cut back on media spend, paid advertising and contractors, according to a survey from Binary Fountain.
Black advertisers wrote in a letter that agencies' Black Lives Matter statements "ring hollow."
Precision Medicine Online selected clips
Ahead of the full data release and FDA regulatory decision, doctors and researchers parse the limitations of clinical trials and debate whether the MCED test is ready for wider implementation.
Two studies presented at the meeting showed the potential of D3 Bio's next-gen KRAS (OFF) inhibitor and Revolution Medicine's novel KRAS (ON) inhibitor.
The group has already helped pass bills in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and is supporting bills introduced in Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
A study evaluated agreement between 10 AI digital pathology tools in assessing IHC-based HER2 expression and found the most variability in identifying HER2-low samples.
Results presented at ASCO from early phase trials of three different combination strategies involving a KRAS G12C inhibitor showed improvement over monotherapy approaches.
The meeting taking place in San Diego April 5 to 10 will feature early-phase research that may yield new diagnostics and more precise drugs against cancer.
The virtual clinic helped community oncologists interpret genomic testing results and led a third of cases to be enrolled in precision medicine drug trials.
The Pink Eraser Project aims to provide funding for trials, raise awareness, and support the cancer vaccine research community.
The FDA may not withdraw Lumakras' accelerated approval, but will surely weigh the reliability of the CodeBreaK 200 data as it considers granting full approval.
Although traditional biomarker-targeted therapies haven't benefitted patients with this aggressive form of lung cancer, pharma firms and researchers are trying out new biomarkers and ctDNA monitoring.
Bolstered by the success of KRAS G12C inhibitors in lung cancer, smaller firms are developing drugs for a range of other KRAS-mutated cancers and trying to anticipate resistance.
Researchers from Princess Margaret Cancer Center demonstrated that a decrease in ctDNA within four weeks after immunotherapy treatment was associated with response and survival.
After interviews showed Black women are more likely to seek cancer risk information from PCPs, Ohio State researchers are delving deeper into disparities research.
The project is focused on building a workflow to improve guideline-concordant molecular testing, which researchers hope will reduce insurance denials and improve community access.
A recent $4 million grant will help double the size of the database, which is already helping researchers study links between genetic ancestry and cancer treatment outcomes.
Through Wamberg Genomic Advisors, SCOR life insurance policyholders can access genetic testing to better understand their own cancer risk and therapy options.
MM&M selected clips
Vaccines need to work for everyone. It's not a controversial idea, but it has proven historically difficult to achieve because of a lack of diversity in clinical research. As clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments enroll this fall, some organizations have upped their efforts to ensure all populations are represented in those trials.
FCB has partnered with Sermo, Haymarket Media Group and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The campaign, My Health Can't Wait, is being spearheaded by J&J's medical devices unit.
The drug pricing conversation never stops, but that doesn't mean there will be action behind those words. Although pharmaceutical companies are more in the spotlight than ever due to COVID-19 and many policymakers are calling for affordable prices for coronavirus drugs and vaccines, the odds of seeing moves to regulate drug prices are slim.
After a rare few months of positive press owing to their work on coronavirus treatments, pharma companies are nearing a fork in the road. On the left, there's the windfall and prestige that will come with a first-to-market vaccine. On the right, there's the furor that will ensue should these drugs be priced at a level perceived to be excessive.
The coronavirus outbreak has sparked more virtual experiences, from video conference happy hours to online concerts. The move to online experiences has also been reflected in medicine, but the uptake is a bit more complex.
Pharma companies are making tough decisions as the coronavirus pandemic becomes the sole focus for nearly every major drugmaker and government regulator.
Pharma companies are rushing to be the first to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. No sooner did they begin than officials and the public began wondering, "how will we pay for these treatments?"
Until the Food and Drug Administration decides how to regulate the cannabis-derived compound, most CBD added to coffee or put into creams is not permitted. Meanwhile, the brands making the products are caught in the middle.
The ruling is in. After months of speculation, the Trump administration will require pharma companies to include the list price of a drug in direct-to-consumer TV ads — and sooner than most experts believed.
Health insurers and their customers have the biggest stake in the future of the Affordable Care Act, but the effects of the Supreme Court once again weighing in on the law could reverberate across the entire healthcare industry, including pharma.
MM&M presents its first annotated guide to the most essential DTC regulations and requirements.
A doctor who had been paid speaking and consulting fees by opioid manufacturers testified on Wednesday.
MM&M examines two behavioral marketing campaigns that go beyond outlining a series of preventative actions and into the realm of addressing ingrained habits and biases.
A former Navicor employee is suing the agency and its leaders, saying it has a Mad Men-like atmosphere of sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
PRWeek selected clips
Robots have infiltrated the news and are automating the journalistic process, but it's not quite time to start planning a human revolution just yet. In a time of shrinking editorial staffs and an increasing amount of things to cover, newsrooms have turned to artificial intelligence and robo-journalists to shoulder some of the burden.
A non-confrontational person by nature who works for one of the boldest, most aggressive advocacy organizations in the world, Tracy Reiman has dedicated her life to animal rights. "I don't like confrontation personally," Reiman says, "which is funny because I've made a career out of being confrontational.
CEO Q&A: Toby Cosgrove on running the Cleveland Clinic and community comms. From PR Week
With Amazon, JPMorgan, and Berkshire Hathaway knocking on the healthcare door, communicators must broaden their scope.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services puts $900m IDIQ up for bid. From PR Week
How Adapt Pharma tackled the opioid crisis head on. From PR Week
Here is the advice former White House comms directors have for Hope Hicks. From PR Week
Screaming protests, political attacks, and occasional violence. There is perhaps no other organization as politically embattled as Planned Parenthood...
Reconnect and pick the right battles: Campaign vets outline the DNC's to-do list. From PR Week
Climate Central selected clips
A combination of climate-driven sea level rise and stronger tropical cyclones is putting New York City at risk for more and higher floods like those seen during Hurricane Sandy, a group of researchers has found.
Radiocarbon dating has been helping put the planet's history in the right order since it was first invented in the 1940s, giving scientists a key way to determine the age of artifacts like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shroud of Turin.
The swollen rivers only dropped back to normal water levels last week, but flood-weary Charleston, S.C. is already seeing water in the streets again. This time it's not a 1,000-year deluge from the sky, it's high tide. The so-called "king tides" are a natural occurrence.
Shark Week, the annual television extravaganza featuring the most terrifying and toothiest fish in the sea, will wind down over the weekend. But even though sharks may disappear from the collective consciousness for another year, that doesn't mean they'll cease to exist. Like many species, sharks face a looming threat: a changing climate.
Beaches are facing off against a changing climate, and they're losing ground. Literally. Waves, currents, storms and people all move the sand that make beaches, well, beaches. But a combination of rising sea levels, stronger coastal storms and coastal development means that sandy shorelines are increasingly disappearing, leaving the millions who live there facing major challenges in a warming world.
The ocean may be seriously stressed out by climate change, but instead of throwing in the beach towel, some conservationists are taking action to protect it. Today, only 2 percent of the ocean is protected in reserves, parks, sanctuaries or no-fishing zones compared to 15 percent of the world's land mass.
Other copywriting (event promotion, social media, podcasts, and corporate announcements)
This Thursday, June 25, join MM&M for a webcast: MM&M Convene Crisis Control: What's Next for Healthcare?
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MM+M's Hall of Femme cover contest winner @PorettaOrr has made a donation to the @AWISNational in honor of all the MM&M Hall of Femme and Women to Watch nominees. Thanks, Poretta & Orr! #MMMHallofFemme pic.twitter.com/ZW1Ek70IZ4
Our response to United Flight 3411 and the award given to Munoz last month here: https://t.co/1NrEQaNZfB pic.twitter.com/RAXTmAGx5J
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Court upholds New York law requiring drugmakers to fund opioid programs; More Black and Hispanic children are dying from coronavirus; Eli Lilly's rheumatoid arthritis drug helps speed recovery in COVID-19 patients.
PRWeek's Frank Washkuch, Diana Bradley, and Alison Kanski discuss the communications news of the week.
HMN will join other companies donating digital inventory to support COVID-19 public service efforts.
The deal will help physicians identify the best specialists for referrals and consults.