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Biogen Alzheimer’s drug coverage threatens minorities’ access

Biogen Alzheimer’s drug coverage threatens minorities’ access

Holly Fernandez Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the obstacles preventing less-privileged people from participating in clinical trials. “You typically have to live near the trial site or have the resources to travel. You have to be able to take time away from work and your caregivers need to do the same. You have to have reliable transportation,” she said.

The ethics of a second chance: Pig heart transplant recipient stabbed a man seven times years ago

The ethics of a second chance: Pig heart transplant recipient stabbed a man seven times years ago

Scott Halpern of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the importance of maintaining separation between legal and medical systems. “We have a legal system designed to determine just redress for crimes,” he said. “And we have a health-care system that aims to provide care without regard to people’s personal character or history.”

Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably
Doctor wearing a mask checks the blood pressure of a patient also wearing a mask.

Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably

The medication GLP-1 RA treats diabetes and is linked to positive outcomes for heart disease patients, yet a Penn Medicine study has found inequities in its use along racial, ethnic, and economic lines

From Penn Medicine News

Improving diversity in cancer clinical trials
Medical worker in a face mask holds a clipboard for an African American person to sign.

Improving diversity in cancer clinical trials

The Cancer Clinical Trials Community Ambassador Training Program at the Abramson Cancer Center was established in August 2021 to create spokespersons and resources to increase awareness and access to cancer clinical trials in the diverse Philadelphia communities. 

From Penn Medicine News

Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Holly Fernandez Lynch, Quayshawn Spencer, and Connie Ulrich.

Holly Fernandez Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine, Quayshawn Spencer of the School of Arts & Sciences, and Connie Ulrich of the School of Nursing.

Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows

Holly Fernandez Lynch, Quayshawn Spencer, and Connie Ulrich have been named Hastings Center Fellows for deepening public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology.
Learning to listen in troubled times
People in masks talk about an exercise in listening

Ernesto Pujol leads a workshop on “Listening in Troubled Times,” part of a lecture on the topic organized by the SNF Paideia Program. (Image: Lisa Marie Patzer)

Learning to listen in troubled times

The SNF Paideia Program and partners featured Ernesto Pujol and Aaron Levy, an artist and an interdisciplinary scholar who have transformed both what it means to listen and what the act of listening can achieve as part of a lecture and workshops.

Kristen de Groot

Debate: Should we waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries?

Debate: Should we waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries?

Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine argued that we should waive COVID-19 vaccine patents for low-income countries. “We simply can’t bring an end to the pandemic—here in the U.S. or elsewhere—without rapidly closing the global vaccine gap,” he wrote. “And we can’t close that gap without waivers of patent protections that are keeping lower-income countries from manufacturing vaccines themselves.”

Philly vaccine pioneer: Was the human cost of doing fewer COVID-19 trials on kids worth it?

Philly vaccine pioneer: Was the human cost of doing fewer COVID-19 trials on kids worth it?

Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an opinion piece about the human cost of conducting child vaccine trials. While some may be concerned that the Pfizer trial was too small or too brief, Offit argued that a larger or longer trial would have resulted in more sick children in the placebo group, as occurred during the polio vaccine’s development.