John LaMattina

Apr 26, 2024 | shepherd.com | John LaMattina |Albert Bourla |Peter Kolchinsky |William Smith

The COVID-19 pandemic has been burned into the memory of the world. While millions died as a result of this virus, many more would have died if not for the discovery, development, and deployment of the mRNA vaccines. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla takes you behind the scenes of the race to find this breakthrough vaccine, detailing the risks undertaken, the challenges that were faced, and the crises that were ultimately overcome to save the world.

Apr 11, 2024 | forbes.com | John LaMattina

In the spring of 2020, Covid-19 essentially shut down the U.S. as well as most of the rest of the world. It was terrifying to hear the news reports of hospitals being overwhelmed with those suffering from the virus and seeing tragic pictures of refrigerator trucks filled with those who succumbed. It was hard to envision how the world was going to survive the pandemic. Millions died across the globe. Yet, we ultimately survived thanks to the efforts of the biopharmaceutical industry.

Mar 6, 2024 | forbes.com | John LaMattina

Despite the concerns of the biopharma industry, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been enacted and with it, Medicare is allowed to negotiate the prices of drugs. It is believed that the IRA will save Medicare about $300 billion in drug costs in the coming decade – considerable savings for the government but also a considerable loss in revenues for industry.

Mar 3, 2024 | forbes.com | John LaMattina

An unfortunate criticism of Big Pharma is that it really doesn’t discover drugs. Rather, it licenses drugs that originated in labs that utilized government funding and manufactures and sells these medicines for outrageous prices. Typical is this exchange between N.Y. representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Professor Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard Medical School at a Congressional hearing.

Jan 10, 2024 | forbes.com | John LaMattina

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made news last week when his plan to import prescription drugs from Canada was temporarily endorsed by the FDA. Importing drugs from Canada has been under discussion for years, the hope being that these drugs could be acquired at cheaper Canadian prices than those charged in the U.S. By allowing drug importation, Florida claims it could save millions of dollars in drug costs.