Key molecule that may lead to new treatments for COVID IDd

 Many treatments for COVID-19 focus on the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to human cells. While those treatments work well on the original variant, they may not be as effective on future ones. The Omicron variant, for example, has several spike mutations.

Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Prof. Juan de Pablo and his group have used advanced computational simulations to examine another protein that's crucial to the virus's replication and remains relatively consistent across different coronaviruses. This protein, called Nsp13, belongs to a class of enzymes known as helicases, which play a role in how the virus replicates.

Through this work, the scientists have also uncovered three different compounds that can bind to Nsp13 and inhibit virus replication. Given the consistency of helicase sequences across coronavirus variants, these inhibitors could serve as a valuable starting point for designing drugs that target helicases in order to treat COVID-19.

"We currently only have one treatment for COVID-19, and as the virus mutates, we absolutely need to be targeting different building blocks besides the spike protein," de Pablo said. "Our work has revealed how small molecules are able to modulate the behavior of an attractive target in virus replication, and has shown that existing molecular scaffolds are promising candidates for COVID treatment."

The results were published in the journal Science Advances.

Disrupting a communication network

For the past two years, de Pablo and his group have used advanced computational simulations to study proteins that allow the virus that causes COVID-19 to replicate or infect cells. The simulations, which require months of extremely demanding computations with powerful algorithms, ultimately reveal how the virus works at the molecular level.

In this project, the collaborators examined the protein Nsp13, which unwinds double-stranded DNA into two single strands—a critical step in replication. Previously, researchers knew that Nsp13 performed this unwinding, but did not have a good understanding of the complicated dynamics of the process. The simulations revealed how multiple domains within the protein communicate with each other and act in concert to exert the right forces for the unwinding.

They also found that the moment an outside molecule binds to certain sites of the protein, it disrupts this communication network. That means the protein can no longer unwind the DNA efficiently and it becomes more difficult for the virus to replicate.

Several compounds had already been reported as Nsp13 inhibitors, but the researchers selected three compounds to test within their simulations: bananin, SSYA10-001, and chromone-4c.

The researchers found that all three appeared to disrupt the Nsp13 protein effectively by binding to certain sites and disrupting the protein's network. Now, de Pablo and his collaborators are working with experimentalists to test their results in the lab.

A series of candidates to treat COVID-19

Previously, the group used computational analysis to reveal how the drug Ebselen binds to the virus's main protease, or MPro. In a different study, they also revealed how the antiviral drug remdesivir binds to and interferes with the virus. They also showed how the compound luteolin inhibits the virus's ability to replicate.

The researchers have even used the information from their simulations to design a new drug to treat COVID-19, which they hope to publish within the next few months.

"We continue to look at drugs that affect different parts of the virus, different proteins, then use experimental data to confirm their efficacy," de Pablo said. "We now have a series of candidates, and our newly designed drugs could be game changers for treating COVID-19 and novel coronaviruses in the future."

Other authors on the paper include Gustavo R. Perez-Lemus, Cintia A. Menéndez, Walter Alvarado and Fabian Byléhn.

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Explore further

Remdesivir disrupts COVID-19 virus better than other similar drugs: study

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More information: Gustavo R. Perez-Lemus et al, Toward wide-spectrum antivirals against coronaviruses: Molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 helicase inhibitors, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj4526

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-key-molecule-treatments-covid.html

‘Killer’ immune cells still recognize Omicron variant

 When immunologists Wendy Burgers and Catherine Riou heard about the Omicron coronavirus variant last November, they knew they would need to find the answers to some important questions. Omicron’s genome is loaded with mutations — more than 30 in the region that codes for the spike protein, used in COVID-19 vaccines — meaning that the efficacy of antibodies raised against previous variants could be compromised.

Burgers and Riou, who both work at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, had studied previous variants and found that, although the emerging coronaviruses weakened people’s antibody defences, another arm of the immune system — mediated by specialized cells called T cells — could still recognize the pathogens. But Omicron was more heavily mutated than any variant they’d studied before. How might this affect the immunity, hard won through vaccinations and previous infections, that populations were counting on to lessen the blow of COVID-19 surges? “With two to three times the amount of mutations, that made us think, ‘Hmmm, we need to answer this question pretty quickly,’” says Burgers.

Since then, answers are beginning to come from a handful of laboratories around the world, and all converge on the same message. “The picture that’s emerging is that [new] variants remain highly susceptible to T-cell responses,” says Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. “That includes Omicron.”

Lasting immunity

When it comes to coronavirus immunity, antibodies have stolen the limelight. Researchers are monitoring people’s levels of antibodies — particularly ‘neutralizing antibodies’ that directly prevent the virus from replicating — with bated breath. A drop in neutralizing-antibody levels correlates with an increased risk of symptomatic infection. Antibodies are also easier to study than T cells, making it easier to analyse them in large, international vaccine trials.

But the rise of coronavirus variants has shown how fragile antibody-based immunity can be in the face of a changing virus. Neutralizing antibodies bind to a handful of regions on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, used as a template for many COVID-19 vaccines. Mutate those sites, and antibody protection fades.

T cells, however, are more resilient. These cells perform a variety of immune functions, including acting as ‘killer’ cells that destroy virus-infected cells. By killing infected cells, T cells can limit the spread of infection — and potentially reduce the chance of serious illness.

T-cell levels do not tend to fade as quickly as antibodies after an infection or vaccination. And because T cells can recognize many more sites along the spike protein than can antibodies, they are better able to recognize mutated variants. “What sounds like a lot of mutations doesn’t dent the T-cell response,” says Burgers.

So far, computer and lab analyses suggest that this is the case for Omicron. Several research groups have cross-referenced the mutations in Omicron with sites in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are known targets of T cells. They have found that the majority of sites that T cells recognize are present in Omicron1.

Other studies have analysed T cells taken from people who have either received a COVID-19 vaccine or been infected with a previous variant, and found that these T cells can respond to Omicron2–4. “The T-cell responses remain quite intact, that’s good news,” says Corine Geurts van Kessel, a clinical virologist at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “The next step will be: what will it do in real life?”

Antibody focus

T-cell responses have been correlated with increased protection against severe COVID-19 in animal models and clinical studies in people. And Barouch suspects that T cells are responsible for the effectiveness of vaccines made by Pfizer–BioNTech5 and Janssen6 at preventing hospitalization due to an Omicron infection. “Neither of these vaccines raised high levels of Omicron-neutralizing antibodies,” he says. “The efficacy data that we’re seeing coming out of South Africa, in my view, are likely due to T cells.”

That sometimes makes researchers’ heavy focus on antibody levels frustrating, says Harlan Robins, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies, a company based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in developing methods for studying T cells.

Last month, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their COVID-19 vaccine failed to rouse a sufficient antibody response in children between two and five years old. As a result, the vaccine hasn’t been authorized in the United States for children under five. “They didn’t even look at T-cell response,” points out Robins.

And the large, initial vaccine trials in adults didn’t collect enough of the necessary samples to analyse whether T-cell responses can be correlated with vaccine efficacy. “It wasn’t scalable,” says Robins. “You can’t conduct a worldwide vaccine study and expect every group to viably preserve cells.” New, easier assays for studying T cells might make this more feasible in the future, he adds.

T cells might also get more attention as more variants emerge — and if the world begins to shift its focus from the number of infections to the severity of disease, says Geurts van Kessel. “Are you interested in infectivity? Then antibodies might be the more important measurement to do,” she says. “Whereas if you are interested in severe disease — which may be the case for the disease we are looking into now — T cells become much more important.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00063-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00063-0

US Army's 'super vaccine' could protect against all COVID variants. What do we know?

 The Army's vaccine, SpFN, shows promise against all COVID-19 strains, including omicron, and could shield patients against any infection in the coronavirus family.

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday underscored the government's investment in a universal COVID-19 vaccine that could successfully combat all variants.

Testifying before the Senate Health Committee on the federal response to new COVID-19 strains, Fauci said there was a concerted effort to develop "the next generation of vaccines, particularly universal coronavirus vaccines -- or at least universal SARS COVID-2 vaccines -- so we won't be chasing after the next variant [and] we'll be able to have a vaccine with the capability of responding to every iteration of a variant."

In December, the US Army announced that a "pan-coronavirus vaccine," the spike ferritin nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, aka SpFN, had completed Phase 1 of human trials with positive results. 

Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and co-inventor of SpFN, told Defense One, "We're testing our vaccine against all the different variants, including omicron," the strain causing breakthrough infections, even in people who have received booster shots. 

SpFN still needs to undergo Phase 2 and 3 human trials, though, to test its efficacy and safety in comparison to current treatments, Modjarrad said. 

The Army isn't only gunning for COVID-19: Scientists at Walter Reed are designing the vaccine to be adaptable for all viruses in the coronavirus family, including SARS, a potentially deadly illness that infected more than 8,000 people during its last big outbreak in 2003. 

We'll share what we know about the Army's COVID-19 vaccine, including how it works and when it could become available.

For more, here's what we know about the omicron variant today and the evolving definition of what it means to be "fully vaccinated" against COVID-19.

What is the US Army COVID-19 vaccine?

The three vaccines authorized right now for use in the US take two approaches to preventing COVID-19 infection: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA to build up immunity, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a harmless rhinovirus to train the body's immune system to respond to COVID.

The Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, or SpFN, takes a third approach, using a harmless portion of the COVID-19 virus to spur the body's defenses against COVID.

SpFN also has less restrictive storage and handling requirements than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, allowing it to be used in a wider variety of situations. It can be stored between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months and at room temperature for up to one month, according to military scientists. Pfizer's vaccine requires an ultracold freezer (between minus 112 and minus 76 degrees F) for shipment and storage and is only stable for 31 days when stored in a refrigerator.

The Army's vaccine has been tested with two shots, 28 days apart, and also with a third shot after six months.

Will the Army vaccine work against different strains of COVID-19 like omicron and other coronaviruses?

SpFN is being tested in humans against the omicron variant, according to Modjarrad, and has shown positive results.

The vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson all target the specific virus -- SARS-CoV-2 -- that causes COVID-19. But Army scientists designed their vaccine to be "pan-coronavirus," meaning it could protect against future strains of COVID as well as other coronaviruses.

"The accelerating emergence of human coronaviruses throughout the past two decades and the rise of SARS-CoV-2 variants, including most recently omicron, underscore the continued need for next-generation preemptive vaccines that confer broad protection against coronavirus diseases," Modjarrad said in a statement last month. "Our strategy has been to develop a 'pan-coronavirus' vaccine technology that could potentially offer safe, effective and durable protection against multiple coronavirus strains and species."

When will the Army's COVID vaccine be available?

No date has been set. SpFN successfully completed animal testing and wrapped Phase 1 of human trials in December, but it must still complete Phases 2 and 3 of human testing, when its safety and efficacy is compared to current vaccine options. 

Normally, completing all three phases can take up to five years, but the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic is speeding up the process. The Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, for example, were tested, reviewed and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration over the course of one year.

What happens next with the Army SpFN vaccine?

After data from the Phase 1 human trials is collected, analyzed and published, Phase 2 and 3 trials will begin. There is very little information so far on when or how those trials will proceed or if the phases will overlap.

To follow the progress of the Army vaccine trials, visit the SpFN COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker provided by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command.

For more on COVID-19, here's what we know about how the CDC defines being fully vaccinated, how to store your vaccine card on your phone, and what we still don't know about the virus after two years.

https://www.cnet.com/health/army-super-vaccine-spfn-shows-promise-all-covid-variants-including-omicron/?utm_source=reddit.com

Yale researchers develop a wearable air sampler to monitor your personal exposure to Covid-19

 A new wearable air sampler that you clip onto your clothing can monitor your personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Of course, masks, social distancing, and ventilation all help reduce your risk of getting infected with COVID-19.

But even with these measures, airborne SARS-CoV-2 is still present in many indoor settings.

That’s why researchers at Yale have developed a passive air sampler clip that can help assess your personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

They published their findings on January 11 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

This new clip could be especially helpful for workers in high-risk settings, such as restaurants or healthcare facilities.

The Fresh Air Clip: a cheap and portable Covid monitor for individuals

COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through the inhalation of virus-laden aerosols and respiratory droplets that infected individuals expel by coughing, sneezing, speaking, or breathing.

Researchers have used active air sampling devices to detect airborne SARS-CoV-2 in indoor settings.

But these monitors are typically large, expensive, non-portable, and require electricity.

To better understand personal exposures to the virus, Krystal Pollitt and colleagues wanted to develop a small, lightweight, inexpensive, and wearable device that doesn’t require a power source.

The researchers developed a wearable passive air sampler, known as the Fresh Air Clip, that continually adsorbs virus-laden aerosols on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface.

The team tested the air sampler in a rotating drum in which they generated aerosols containing a surrogate virus, a bacteriophage with similar properties to SARS-CoV-2.

They detected the virus on the PDMS sampler using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), showing that the device could be used to reliably estimate airborne virus concentrations.

Then, the researchers distributed Fresh Air Clips to 62 volunteers, who wore the monitors for five days.

Restaurant workers at the highest risk

PCR analysis of the clips detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in five of the clips: four were worn by restaurant servers and one by a homeless shelter staff person.

The highest viral loads (more than 100 RNA copies per clip) were detected in two badges from restaurant servers.

Although the Fresh Air Clip has not yet been commercialized, these results indicate that it could serve as a semiquantitative screening tool for assessing personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as help identify high-risk areas for indoor exposure, the researchers say.

“Our findings,” they write, “demonstrate that PDMS-based passive samplers may serve as a useful exposure assessment tool for airborne viral exposure in real-world high-risk settings and provide avenues for early detection of potential cases and guidance on site-specific infection control protocols that preempt community transmission.”

Study: “Development and Application of a Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Passive Air Sampler to Assess Personal Exposure to SARS-CoV-2”
Authors: Darryl M. Angel, Dong Gao, Kayley DeLay, Elizabeth Z. Lin, Jacob Eldred, Wyatt Arnold, Romero Santiago, Carrie Redlich, Richard A. Martinello, Jodi D. Sherman, Jordan Peccia, and Krystal J. Godri Pollitt
Published in: Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Publication date: January 11, 2022
DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00877

https://suchwow.net/wearable-air-sampler-to-monitor-exposure-to-covid/

JPM22, Day 2: One Medical touts membership model, Tenet says full steam ahead on ASCs and more

 Welcome to Day 2 of the annual J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Here's your need to know, as primary care enablement company Aledade announces its first tuck-in acquisition. We're expecting news from CVS Health, Cigna, Walgreens, One Medical and many other companies today.

Want more? Catch the latest news from Fierce Biotech, and follow Fierce Pharma's coverage here.

And check out tomorrow's Day 3 roundup covering the latest news and developments on the ground from Wednesday's action.

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 5:35 p.m.

Much of the success of One Medical’s membership model lies in the long-term relationships providers form with their patients, CEO Amir Rubin said.

“Whether it’s in the commercial side or the senior side, the fact that we have this longitudinal relationship with members is very different,” he said.

Members engaged an average 19 times digitally and in-person with One Medical providers last year. Those relationships can be supported by the primary care network’s virtual or in-office team, all connected by a single platform.

The company’s concierge model now supports all ages, too. In September, One Medical closed its acquisition of Medicare-focused Iora Health, opening the San Francisco-based provider to reach 40% of Americans.

Existing One Medical providers are now taking on risk to serve senior patients, backed by the Iora integration, which gives the company “a really unique opportunity to age people in,” Rubin said.

The company previously projected full-year 2021 revenue at $606 million to $615 million and membership between 728,000 and 736,000 members, but did not offer updated numbers on Tuesday. Shares of One Medical declined nearly 59% last year. — Rebecca Torrence

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 4:35 p.m.

Tenet Healthcare CEO Saum Sutaria, M.D., used today's virtual conference as a direct line to investors looking for a progress report on the chain's ongoing restructure.

The executive said the company has divested from five hospital markets since 2017 for roughly $1.75 billion of proceeds (annual revenues of about $2.5 billion) and increased its investments in high acuity services.

Still, the company is on track to increase its adjusted net revenue for 2021 by 3% compared to 2017 and has increased same-hospital adjusted EBITDA more than 25% as of the third fiscal quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile USPI—Tenet’s “gem for the future”—hit 438 centers by the end of 2021 and is now well ahead of competitors Amsurg and Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA) in terms of locations due in no small part to last year’s deal with SurgCenter Development.

“Tenet is an attractive and investable growth company. We are more capital-efficient, we produce greater free cash flow, we are committed to debt reduction and our business is aligned with the highest growth areas of the future,” Sutaria said. “We are energized by the opportunities ahead and I am confident in our ability to continue our positive trajectory.”

Alongside the presentation, the company submitted a filing stating that it believes it will meet Wall Street's consensus earnings estimate for 2021. — Dave Muoio

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 4:15 p.m.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall healthcare market, the fertility market has been resilient, driving strong financial results for fertility benefits company Progyny, according to Pete Anevski, the company's CEO.

Progyny signed on 85 new clients, representing 1.2 million covered lives during the 2022 selling season, Anevski told Fierce Healthcare on the virtual sidelines of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Tuesday.

New York-based Progyny manages fertility benefits for employees at large firms. When the company went public in 2019, it had 80 clients with 1.4 million covered lives. Today, Progyny has 265 clients, representing 4 million covered lives.

The company is projecting full-year 2021 revenue to be between $507 million to $514 million, reflecting growth of 47% to 49%, according to its third-quarter 2021 earnings results. Progyny is now profitable and expects to bring in net income between $51.5 million to $54.1 million for 2021. The company also projects adjusted EBITDA to be $69 million to $70.5 million for 2021.

Progyny also is forecasting 50% revenue growth in 2022, Anevski said.

That growth is driven by upselling activity with one-third of Progyny's clients added services for 2022 along with organic growth as the corporations Progyny works with continue to expand their workforces. And the company sees a significant runway for organic growth as it eyes opportunities to offer fertility benefit services to government and union employers and university and school system employers.

"All of these employers have populations of people who have fertility challenges. We are beginning to invest in our go-to-market strategy around other addressable markets," Anevski said.

Fertility medical services continue to be an under-penetrated market, as about 2% of all births in the United States result from the use of assisted reproductive technology, according to the company. One in eight couples face infertility issues and benefits offered by companies like Progyny are essential to help employees build their families, Anevski said.

The company also is eyeing M&A opportunities to expand its services and capabilities, with women's health services top of mind, he said.

"If we can do it organically, or if it makes more sense to pilot and partner with someone first before we buy, we’ll do that. If it makes more sense to get to market faster with a solution, we’ll buy," he said. 

He added, "We spent the last two years, give or take, focusing and managing through the pandemic. Now we're researching other opportunities that make sense for us. We’re already addressing women’s health issues with infertility and we'll look at how we can expand to other areas of women’s healthcare, looking at pre- and post-maternity care." — Heather Landi

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m.

As it looks to continue investing in its Walgreens Health business, the Walgreens Boots Alliance has launched a strategic review of its United Kingdom-based Boots business.

CEO Roz Brewer said during the pharmacy giant's JPM session on Tuesday afternoon that the effort is in its early stages, but updates are likely to come soon.

"While the process is in an exploratory stage, we do expect to move quickly," Brewer said.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, British outlet Sky News reported that firms Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners were working on a joint bid for Boots, which operates more than 2,000 stores and employs more than 50,000 people. Boots also manages multiple global beauty brands, such as No7 and Soap & Glory.

Brewer did not specify in the presentation if Walgreens was considering a sale as the next step for the Boots business, and did not name any potential buyers for the segment.

During the company's first-quarter earnings call last week, WBA executives touted strong performance at Boots, which included an 8.8% increase year over year in pharmacy sales and a 16.3% increase in retail sales.

Online sales are growing, WBA said, and are nearly two times pre-COVID levels. Online sales now account for 15% of Boots' total retail sales, according to the earnings report.

Walgreens also said that it is increasing its stateside goals on its joint facilities with VillageMD. The company had initially planned for about 160 new co-located clinics to open in 2022, and is now upping that to more than 200 such clinics.

"We are connecting the care journey across the continuum," Brewer said. — Paige Minemyer

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 12:50 p.m.

Executives from Mass General Brigham say that the integrated health system is viewing the bulk of its growth investments in two buckets separate from the traditional approach of horizontal acquisitions or integration.

The first focuses on virtual care, digital tools and novel care models such as hospital at home that are “filling in the components of the care continuum” and revamping patients’ end-to-end care, Niyum Gandhi, chief financial officer and treasurer, said.

“We are transforming our core operations, we’re making them more efficient but also more effective,” Gandhi said during the system’s J.P. Morgan presentation. “This is going to improve the quality, comprehensiveness, efficiency and the value, importantly, of the care that we deliver to the communities we serve.”

The other growth bucket, said President and CEO Anne Klibanski, is the system’s cutting-edge research into “big bet” areas like gene and cell therapy that can translate into commercial revenues. Already, Mass General Brigham has about $500 million in venture capital assets under management and an 18.2% net internal rate of return on these projects since inception, she said.

Both areas of investment are part of a long-term strategy that lean on the system’s strengths as an integrated academic provider, Gandhi said, and will ultimately help the system diversify its margin and extend the reach of its care. — Dave Muoio

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 12:30 p.m.

Cigna CEO David Cordani echoed CVS Health executives Tuesday morning at the insurer's conference session, saying that the company needs time to evaluate the impact of the feds' new requirement that insurers cover COVID-19 home tests.

On one hand, Cordani said, over-the-counter tests cost far less than laboratory tests. However, if demand stays high — as it has skyrocketed under the spread of omicron — those savings may be less than one might expect.

He said that Cigna saw the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in December thanks to the omicron variant. However, he said that the insurer saw the lowest number of those cases converting into hospitalizations.

Expect talk of the COVID-19 testing requirements to be a continuing theme throughout payer sessions for the rest of the week. Story — Paige Minemyer

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 11:26 a.m.

Cano Health is entering the new year with significant market expansion, now operating 130 medical centers across eight states plus Puerto Rico.

While the value-based primary care provider previously directed its focus on its growth in Florida, CEO Marlow Hernandez says the company expects most of its 2022 growth to occur outside the Sunshine State.

“In the ten years since I founded Cano, I have never been more enthusiastic about what we’re going to accomplish this year and beyond,” he said.

Founded in 2009 and backed by billionaire Barry Sternlicht, Cano Health runs primary care centers and supports specialized primary care practices for seniors. The company went public last June in a $4.4 billion SPAC deal with Jaws Acquisition Corp.

As of Jan. 1, 2022, Cano’s membership has soared to 253,000, including 152,000 Medicare members. The primary care group previously projected 218,000 members through 2021.

Hernandez said the company expects to report more figures that exceed previous full-year guidance in its upcoming fourth-quarter earnings call.

The Miami-biased provider still operates most of its centers in Florida. Last year, Cano Health acquired Doctor’s Medical Center for $300 million and University Health Care for $600 million, adding 31 total facilities to its South Florida network. — Rebecca Torrence

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 11:24 a.m.

A byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it helped the Jefferson Health hospital chain integrate with newly acquired sites, system executives said.

Bruce Meyer, the system’s senior executive vice president, said that the pandemic has accelerated integration “by several degrees.”

“We have been able to move layers and respiratory therapists and support staff from site to site based on the need and able to do that with six hours of notice, two hours of notice, 24 hours of notice,” he said, adding that staff can be credentialed at any site in 24 hours.

Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health also was able to implement the EPIC electronic health record system across seven hospitals during the pandemic, with complete virtual instruction for all of its staff. — Robert King

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 10:45 a.m.

Spectrum Health leaders told attendees that their organization’s integrated approach to care and coverage came with clear advantages when preparing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were able to understand what the dynamics were going against care delivery or going against coverage and hedge some of what we needed to do,” President and CEO Tina Freese Decker said during a presentation. “We also heard from various stakeholders throughout our communities about what was going on and that allowed us to better prepare and better communicate to our communities about what they could do for prevention, how they could find certain services. [We also benefitted from] the data that we could collect to understand and then anticipate and take action moving forward.”

In a more general sense, Decker also noted that an integrated care organization is in a better position to discover and test innovative product offerings that focus on returning value, as well as to share best practices across business lines and to the community.

Praveen Thadani, president of Priority Health, the system’s health plan, doubled down on the data and decision-making advantages of the organization’s two-pronged approach.

“[We have] an ability to really think hard about what’s the right site of service for a specific individual—should we do more care at home, as an example, and is a member going to recovery best in a different setting or in a different operation. I think that’s the power of an integrated system and we’re leveraging data and analytics in a very deep capacity to ensure that we’re thinking about our members—not only thinking about the best outcomes but how do we best impact the cost of care.”

Priority Health has developed into a key part of Spectrum’s bottom line, with coverage contributing 61% of the organization’s revenue. The executives said they hope to bring the care delivery side of the business up in the coming years for a more even 50-50 split.

Coverage revenue percentage would certainly dip down should Spectrum complete its proposed merger with Beaumont Health. Decker said that the potential partners are still waiting to hear from regulators on their $13 billion revenue arrangement and are hoping to receive their review before the end of the first quarter. — Dave Muoio

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 10:28 a.m.

Bon Secours Mercy Health's CEO John Starcher admitted that one thing has been keeping him up at night: rising labor expenses. 

The non-profit system's leader said that Bon Secours is expecting additional labor expenses to add $200 million to the balance sheet and has caused the system to be more disciplined in the investments it makes in alternative revenue sources. 

The comments come as Bon Secours has made strides to invest in and create new companies such as the employer solutions provider Harness Health Partners. Story — Robert King

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 9:20 a.m. ET

CVS Health executives said early Tuesday that the company would boost its guidance for the year following better than expected performance in its retail segment.

CFO Shawn Guertin said that 80% of the boost in performance for the fourth quarter is attributable to its retail business, as demand for COVID-19 vaccines outpaced expectations in November and December. In addition, sales for COVID-19 tests, particularly over-the-counter options, also surged in Q4.

Guertin said that the company is also taking a close look at new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that requires insurers to cover such tests beginning Jan. 15. He said that the company's unique position as both a major retail chain and a major insurer means that requirement could have both positive and negative effects.

Executives said to stay tuned to the company's upcoming earnings call, slated for Feb. 9, for more. Story — Paige Minemyer

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 8:50 a.m. ET

Universal Health Services Chief Financial Officer Steve Filton said that his company’s hopes for COVID-19 recovery have been put on pause for at least three months due to the unexpected omicron surge.

“As we think about 2022, we feel like our overall view of the businesses have not changed dramatically but the timeline has been elongated and the recovery we thought was going to occur throughout the fourth quarter has now been postponed to sometime in the first quarter,” he said.

The company’s acute care operations are being challenged, but not quite to the extent they were one year prior, Filton said.

The high transmissibility but relatively less severe nature of omicron infections means that acute volumes are high but proportional ICU utilization is lower during the current surge, he said.

Although patients are healthier this time around, Filton noted that length of stay has remained long at UHS hospitals due to challenges discharging patients into downstream care settings such as nursing homes or rehab facilities.

Labor challenges have also persisted during the last few months across UHS’ acute and behavioral care segments alike, with the added wrinkle of more workers than ever being sidelined by their own infections, he said. The company is continuing to eat the increased costs of contract workers, he said, and is working under the assumption that the labor market will restabilize during the months after national COVID-19 cases have finally wound down. Story — Dave Muoio

UPDATED: Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 7:50 a.m. ET

Aledade announced its first tuck-in acquisition by scooping up Iris Healthcare, the company announced Tuesday.

Austin, Texas-based Iris Healthcare provides advance care planning technology solutions, and Aledade will fold the company's technology into its new health services unit, called Aledade Care Solutions, the company said.

Aledade did not disclose financial details of the transaction. Story — Heather Landi

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/jpm22-day-2-primary-care-startup-aledade-inks-tuck-acquisition-and-more

Adagio Summarizes ADG20 Neutralizing Activity Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Outlines Initiatives to Address Omicron

 Recent Publications by Several Independent Laboratories Show ADG20 Has Neutralizing Activity with Potency Comparable to Other Antibodies that Retain Activity Against Omicron

Multiple Efforts Underway to Address Omicron and Potential Future SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Adagio Therapeutics, Inc., (Nasdaq: ADGI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based solutions for infectious diseases with pandemic potential, today summarized recent findings reported in three separate publications that show ADG20, its lead monoclonal antibody (mAb), has neutralization activity against the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2, and outlined initiatives to address current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Adagio is evaluating ADG20 in its global Phase 2/3 clinical trials for both the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Adagio is engaging with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding potential protocol updates to its global Phase 2/3 clinical trials, including an increased dose of ADG20 for the potential prevention and treatment of COVID-19 resulting from the Omicron variant.

ADG20 Neutralizing Activity Against Omicron
Recently published in vitro studies examined the neutralization potencies of large panels of mAbs against the Omicron variant in both authentic and pseudovirus assays. Findings across all three studies show that among mAbs in late-stage clinical development or with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), ADG20 is one of only a few mAbs that demonstrated neutralizing activity against Omicron. Across two distinct authentic neutralization assays against Omicron, the data show that ADG20 had an IC50, a measurement of neutralization potency, of approximately 0.4 to 1.1 µg/mL, which is comparable with the two other active mAbs, sotrovimab and AZD7742.

“What is critical to assessing potential clinical effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 mAbs is the neutralization potency by the mAb against a specific variant. While findings may show that ADG20 has reduced potency against Omicron when compared to its high potency against all other variants of concern, including Delta, the data support that ADG20 is among the few mAbs to demonstrate neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant and warrants its continued development,” said Laura Walker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and co-founder of Adagio.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adagio-therapeutics-summarizes-adg20-neutralizing-215700229.html