View the full post Updated: New hospital to be Mount Sinai International affiliate on NOW Grenada.

Matulonis, MD, discusses results from the phase 3 MIRASOL trial of mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx for patients with folate receptor alpha-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.Results of the trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere, AbbVie), were presented at Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.“The median overall survival for patients receiving mirvetuximab was 16.85 months vs. 13.34 months for investigator’s choice chemotherapy, with a hazard ratio of 0.68,”

Fifty new beds have been delivered to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and are being installed across wards as part of efforts to reduce bottlenecks in the Accident and Emergency Department, CEO Neil Clark confirmed Monday.

He said the beds, which replace broken or outdated ones, will also allow for better patient movement from A&E, which saw another weekend of overcrowding.

“Some of the beds on the wards are quite old and broken and needed replacing,” Clark said during the final episode of Pulse radio show. “Hopefully it will create some additional capacity for A&E.”

The bed upgrades forms part of what Clark described as a “delivery phase” at the QEH, following months of reviews and groundwork aimed at improving patient care, modernising operations, and addressing longstanding frustrations with wait times and staff conduct.

Among the changes being implemented are a new electronic bed management system, a revised discharge policy with estimated dates for patients, and the recruitment of additional nurses and doctors. 

He further shared that a full review of patient flow through A&E has also been completed, with recommendations now being acted on.

Clark did not mince words in addressing ongoing complaints from patients about poor treatment, stating, “If a staff member is not providing support to a patient or a family member, they really have to think about what kind of organisation they’re working in.

“And if a supervisor or manager doesn’t tackle the individuals, that’s equally unacceptable.”

He also acknowledged that hospital staff sometimes face abuse from patients, but said QEH workers must remain professional and compassionate.

The hospital CEO further noted that delivery in 2025 also includes major steps in digitising hospital systems. 

Digitisation of medical records has started, and the QEH has completed evaluations for a new health information system. 

Tenders are also out for a new HR system to replace the current paper-based setup used for its nearly 3 000 staff.

Clark said over 450 pieces of medical equipment are being procured with funds from the hospital’s capital programme and that key projects such as the linear accelerator for cancer care, the Lions Eye Care Centre upgrades, and the multi-storey infectious disease centre at Enmore are moving ahead.

“We’ve been super busy, but what people really want to see is delivery,” he said. “That’s what we’re focusing on now — not talk.” (SM)

The post 50 new beds to ease QEH A&E pressure appeared first on Barbados Today.

In the past year alone, 13 CARPHA Member States reported over 2,569 suspected and 1,295 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases — a 16% increase over the previous year

View the full post Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week 2025 on NOW Grenada.

Throughout the continental United States, the first full week of May each year is observed as Peripheral Neuropathy Week. This year it ran from May 4-11. The goal is to bring public awareness to a condition that is estimated to affect about 2.4 per...

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s Monday announcement of an executive order that will slash prescription drug prices in the U.S., the spotlight is on current costs and how much Americans could save.

The president’s order calls for "most favored nations drug pricing" — which means "the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay," he said.

"Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%," Trump said. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES ON 'BIG PHARMA' BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LOWER DRUG PRICES

Katy Dubinsky, a New York pharmacist and founder and CEO of Vitalize, applauded the move to reduce prescription prices, noting that Trump’s order tackles a long-standing problem.

"But this will not be simple to accomplish," she told Fox News Digital. 

"The executive order doesn't reduce costs immediately," she said. "It directs government agencies to start drafting the rules, which may take months."

Here are the five most expensive prescription drugs in the U.S. by price — followed by five by volume.

Dubinsky detailed some of the most expensive prescription drugs in the country today and what conditions they treat.

1.  Lenmeldy (atidarsagene autotemcel) by Orchard Therapeutics – $4.25 million

This medication is used to treat metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare genetic disorder that damages the nervous system, Dubinsky said. 

"It is given once and is supposed to stop or slow down the disease in young kids," she noted.

TOP 10 'ALLERGY CAPITALS' OF THE US, PLUS 4 TIPS TO MANAGE SYMPTOMS

2. Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) by CSL Behring – $3.5 million

This medication is prescribed for people with hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder. 

"This one-time treatment helps the body make its own clotting factor, so patients don’t need regular infusions," said Dubinsky.

3. Elevidys (delandistrogene moxeparvovec-rokl) by Sarepta Therapeutics – $3.2 million

This prescription medication, intended for young boys, treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a condition that weakens muscles over time. 

"It aims to slow down how fast the disease progresses," Dubinsky said. 

4. Skysona (elivaldogene autotemcel) by Bluebird Bio – $3 million

"This medication is used for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD), a serious brain disease in boys," said Dubinsky. "This therapy tries to slow the damage before symptoms get worse."

5. Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel) by Bluebird Bio – $2.8 million

Zynteglo is for beta-thalassemia, a blood condition that usually requires regular transfusions. 

"This gene therapy can help patients make healthy red blood cells on their own and reduce how often they need treatment," said Dubinsky.

John Stanford, executive director of Incubate, a Washington-based coalition of early-stage life-science investors, shared his thoughts on the top five most expensive drugs by sales volume.

"Typically, when the government is focused on the most expensive drugs, they're focused on the metric based on sales volume rather than, for instance, a rare disease therapy with a high list price but smaller patient pool," he told Fox News Digital.

"Often, officials are focused on total drug spending by Medicare or other government programs."

1. Keytruda (pembrolizumab) by Merck — $25 billion revenue (2023)

Keytruda is an immunotherapy medication used to treat a variety of cancers, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, liver cancer and others.

"Keytruda has become Merck's crown jewel, helping the company expand its cancer treatment portfolio with more than 1,000 active clinical trials," Stanford told Fox News Digital.

TERMINAL COLON CANCER PATIENT SAVED BY BREAKTHROUGH TREATMENT

2. Eliquis (apixaban) by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer — $18.95 billion

Eliquis (apixaban) is an "anchor drug" for both BMS and Pfizer, according to Stanford.

Apixaban is prescribed to prevent the formation of blood clots and to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs). 

3. Ozempic (semaglutide) by Novo Nordisk — $13.93 billion

Prescribed for type 2 diabetes, the semaglutide medication Ozempic has become widely popular for its weight-loss effects and other health benefits.

"Ozempic's sales are powering Novo Nordisk's broader foray into GLP-1s for obesity, heart disease and liver conditions — all areas with high development costs and uncertain scientific outcomes," Stanford told Fox News Digital. 

"The money has gone toward scaling up production to meet demand for GLP-1s and avoid supply shortages."

4. Humira (AbbVie) — $14.4 billion (U.S. 2023 revenue)

"Humira has been one of the highest-grossing drugs in history, generating over $200 billion during its exclusivity period," Stanford said.

The injectable medication, which contains the active ingredient adalimumab, is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

5. Biktarvy by Gilead — $11.85 billion

Biktarvy is an HIV treatment that includes the three ingredients bictegravir, emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide.

"Biktarvy isn't just a leading HIV treatment — it's the financial backbone for Gilead's move into cancer research," Stanford said.

Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, said vaccines and most generic drugs would not likely be changed by the executive order.

"Most vaccines that Americans take cost less than a hundred dollars, while generic drugs are often less than a dollar a pill," he told Fox News Digital.

What would be affected, Glanville predicted, are newer brand-name drugs still under IP exclusivity, antibody therapies, cellular therapies, gene therapies and personalized cancer vaccines.

"Some of these are excruciatingly expensive — $100,000 to $500,000 for a treatment course for a patient. However, they are also often the most effective treatments for certain cancers, autoimmune disorders or rare diseases."

The pharmaceutical industry might argue that lowering the prices on these medicines will result in a "dramatic reduction of investment" in creating such breakthroughs, said Glanville.

The industry may also argue that these medicines eventually become generic — at which point the prices drop, according to the expert.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

"From a patient’s perspective, the price of medical care in the United States is unsustainable, and extremely expensive medicine is part of that," he said. But "the insurance system and the hospital business also contribute."

"If the prices of new medicines are capped, then effort should be made to reduce the cost of clinical trials and drug GMP manufacturing. Otherwise, we will lose a lot of innovation."

Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.

The GFNC congratulates winners Carona Mitchell, Roselyn Thomas and Roxanne Thomas, and all participants for showing that healthy shopping can be both strategic and fun

View the full post GFNC’s Supermarket Sweep winners on NOW Grenada.