Featured Stories
Susan G. Komen and Purpose-Driven Brands Unite to Help End Deaths From Breast Cancer Through 2026 Shop for the Cure
DALLAS, Texas, Oct. 21 -- Susan G. Komen, an organization that says it addresses breast cancer on fronts such as research, community health, global outreach and public policy initiatives, posted the following news:
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Susan G. Komen(R) and Purpose-Driven Brands Unite to Help End Deaths from Breast Cancer Through 2026 Shop for the Cure
October 20, 2026
Annual program gives consumers an opportunity to fund Komen's lifesaving work by shopping with purpose
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Susan G. Komen(R), the world's leading breast cancer organization, today announced the launch of the 2026 Shop for the Cure program,
... Show Full Article
DALLAS, Texas, Oct. 21 -- Susan G. Komen, an organization that says it addresses breast cancer on fronts such as research, community health, global outreach and public policy initiatives, posted the following news:
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Susan G. Komen(R) and Purpose-Driven Brands Unite to Help End Deaths from Breast Cancer Through 2026 Shop for the Cure
October 20, 2026
Annual program gives consumers an opportunity to fund Komen's lifesaving work by shopping with purpose
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Susan G. Komen(R), the world's leading breast cancer organization, today announced the launch of the 2026 Shop for the Cure program,bringing together purpose-driven brands and consumers to help advance Komen's mission to end deaths from breast cancer. At a moment when that mission has never been more urgent, every purchase is an opportunity to stand with people affected by breast cancer and help move us closer to a future where a diagnosis does not determine a person's outcome. Through Shop for the Cure, participating brands and their customers are coming together to make a meaningful difference by supporting Komen's work across research, patient care, education and advocacy.
For millions of people facing breast cancer -- including nearly 170,000 people in the US living with incurable, metastatic breast cancer -- progress cannot come soon enough. Incidence is rising faster among women under 50. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among Hispanic/Latina women and the leading cause of cancer death in this group. Black women continue to face persistent disparities, making them, on average, about 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. More than 42,000 women in the U.S. and more than 500 men are expected to die from the disease this year. Experts estimate that up to one-third of breast cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented with equitable access to modern treatments.
Yet progress is within reach. Komen has invested more than $1.1 billion in breast cancer research and played a role in 31 of the last 32 FDA-approved breast cancer treatments. It has also invested approximately $2.7 billion in patient support and advocacy programs worldwide, helping break down the financial, social and systemic barriers that can stand between people and lifesaving care.
Programs like Shop for the Cure provide an opportunity for people to take action and turn everyday purchases into support for people and communities affected by breast cancer. Every cent counts, every action matters, and together, we can help accelerate progress and support lifesaving care. Until no one dies from breast cancer, the work is not done.
"Shop for the Cure highlights the powerful role partnerships play in advancing Komen's mission," said Greer Horne, VP Corporate Partnerships. "We are proud to partner with brands that make a meaningful difference in the lives of people and communities across the country. By choosing products from the Shop for the Cure program, every purchase is an opportunity to help someone facing breast cancer."
All products listed in this year's Shop for the Cure portfolio help fund research and essential services that support people living with breast cancer. Shop for the Cure products and services available this year include:
* Bank of America(R) Pink Ribbon Banking Products, including the Susan G, Komen Customized Cash Rewards credit card
* J.Crew and Madewell
* BedHead PJ's
* Mohawk Decorate for the Cure with SmartCushion(R) carpet padding
* Wacoal Fit for the Cure(R) and Limited Edition Power of Pink Collection
* Bowl for the Cure powered by the United States Bowling Congress
* Ready(R) Protein Bars
* See's Candies
* Solace Apple Watch/Smartwatch Bands
* Thomas Pink
* Nature's Bounty Advanced Hair, Skin, Nails Gummies
Items are currently available for purchase on the Shop for the Cure website. To learn more about Komen's Shop for the Cure program, visit komen.org/shopforthecure.
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Original text here: https://www.komen.org/news/susan-g-komen-and-purpose-driven-brands-unite-to-help-end-deaths-from-breast-cancer-through-2026-shop-for-the-cure/
[Category: Medical]
Peterson Institute for International Economics Issues Commentary: Can the EU and Canada Forge a New Partnership?
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 -- The Peterson Institute for International Economics issued the following commentary:
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Can the EU and Canada forge a new partnership?
Cecilia Malmstrom (PIIE) and Inu Manak (PIIE)
October 19, 2026
In an apparently impromptu gesture, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, welcomed Canada as an "associate member" of the European Union in her annual State of the Union speech in September. But while Europeans are nearly unanimously in favor of more cooperation with Canada on such issues as defense and climate change, making Canada an associate member
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 -- The Peterson Institute for International Economics issued the following commentary:
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Can the EU and Canada forge a new partnership?
Cecilia Malmstrom (PIIE) and Inu Manak (PIIE)
October 19, 2026
In an apparently impromptu gesture, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, welcomed Canada as an "associate member" of the European Union in her annual State of the Union speech in September. But while Europeans are nearly unanimously in favor of more cooperation with Canada on such issues as defense and climate change, making Canada an associate memberwould face many obstacles.
A summit between Canada and EU leaders at the end of October may clarify and deepen the new relationship. An anodyne draft joint statement is already circulating. But taking those ties to new heights will require addressing old objectives that remain unfulfilled.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada was in attendance as a guest of honor for von der Leyen's speech in Strasbourg, but her invitation seemed to catch him by surprise. The term "associate member" does not exist. It has no legal definition in the treaties that make up the body of EU law. The surprised reaction from EU member states and Carney himself was understandable. The idea was not mentioned in the draft circulated the day before the speech.
The term "associate member" may have been borrowed from a similar call by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany last year to offer Ukraine an "associated membership" to fast track the country's accession to the European Union, but without voting rights or access to the bloc's common budget. Ukraine and several member states rejected his offer. Ukraine seeks full membership, nothing less. But Canada is not and will not become a candidate country to the European Union, nor does it want to be. But there are still strong prospects for deepening EU-Canada ties.
Best friends forever...
Canada and the European Union have a close and trusting relationship anchored in an ambitious Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and a strategic partnership since September 2017. They share values, a belief in multilateralism, and support for Ukraine. Under economic and political pressure from the United States, Carney has sought to broaden Canada's alliances, diversify trade relations, and establish Canada as a leader of the world's middle powers playing a greater role in upholding international rules and institutions.
But the CETA trade agreement still has untapped potential. It covers all fields of trade, eliminating 99 percent of all tariff lines, increasing access to each other's markets, and facilitating worker mobility. Trade in goods and services between Canada and the European Union has increased by 81 percent since 2016, or Euros131 billion, a clear sign of the agreement's success. Total trade in goods was around Euros92 billion in 2025, only a fraction of Canada-US total trade that amounted to $880 billion in the same year--but this is to be expected, with Canada geographically linked to the United States. There is still more that Canada and the European Union can do to expand trade ties. For example, a Canada-EU digital agreement, aimed at facilitating trade in services, is now also being negotiated.
One way to further CETA's potential is to fully ratify it. As it stands, the agreement is only provisional. While the European Union negotiates trade agreements for its members, the individual countries still need to approve them through their domestic processes. To date, 10 countries have still not ratified the agreement. As a result, several agreed upon rules, on investment and investment protections, are still not applicable.
Accordingly, if von der Leyen's sentiment is shared across the continent, member states should finalize their legal commitments to CETA as a natural first step in building closer relations with Canada. But since elections loom in several of the concerned countries (France, Greece, and Poland), this finalization is not likely to happen soon. As always, concerns about agricultural competition worry some countries. For its part, Canada has not managed to fill its agreed upon quota of beef exports to the European Union because of EU regulations on hormone treated meat. Overall, the European Union has an agricultural trade surplus with Canada, though Europe's farmers are not likely to be assuaged by this fact.
CETA does not give Canada full access to the single market in Europe because it is a traditional free trade agreement. Such access is granted only to countries applying to the European Union and members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) community. Neither Canada nor the European Union has expressed ambitions in this regard, even if further trade facilitation and alignment will be considered on a sectoral basis. A major complicating factor, if Canada were ever to show such interest, is that it would have to fully align with the EU body of laws, referred to as the "acquis," on standards and regulations, which is not in the cards because of Canada's close regulatory alignment with the United States.
As proof of the close relation, however, Canadian ministers have regularly been invited to European Council meetings. Canada is the first non-European country to participate in an economic instrument supporting EU member states that seek to invest in defense industrial production through common procurement, called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE. Canada has also been invited to join the biannual meetings of the European Political Community, an intergovernmental forum established after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has 44 European countries participating.
What comes next?
The EU leaders and Carney will meet in Montreal for a summit on October 29-30, the first opportunity to touch base since the full trade war broke out between the United States and Canada this summer and since von der Leyen's promise of associate membership.
A bland preliminary joint draft statement for the meeting is circulating, and it does not contain the term associate member. Instead, it focuses on concrete steps to further deepen relations and on generalizations about a partnership rooted in trust, economic ties, shared values, and support for multilateralism and reforms at the World Trade Organization. It then goes on to cover basically every possible area of cooperation from sustainable supply chains, investment mobilization, energy, artificial intelligence (AI), carbon pricing, the Arctic, military cooperation and support to Ukraine, critical minerals, student exchange, public health, and cybersecurity.
The stated aim is to build "an alliance for the future," a phrase that Carney used in his own speech to the European Parliament. Yet while the list of action items proposes to build upon the success of CETA, it fails to mention the fact that 10 EU member states still have not ratified that agreement.
A potentially significant way for Canada and the European Union to achieve progress in their relationship would be to build on an agreement signed earlier this year to strengthen cooperation on critical raw materials and rare earths. Canada's resources can be pooled with European processing capacities, building scale and secure supply. But these efforts will require more long-term actions, such as joint risk assessments and financial investments to back them.
The draft joint statement suggests that the EU-Canada partnership "may become a model for other countries seeking friendship in a challenging world." A natural next step for the European Union would be to join Canada and other Asia-Pacific countries in the Compressive Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) signed in 2018. A few meetings on a ministerial level between the 12 CPTPP members and the EU trade commissioner have been held, but nothing concrete has happened since early summer. Canada and the European Union could take their new strengthened partnership into that venue as well, where there has already been talk of strengthening the institution by establishing a permanent body to support the implementation and updating of the agreement.
In his speech to the European Parliament, Carney wittily disavowed creation of "a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival--only with better manners." Deciding what to call the EU-Canada partnership matters less than the concrete actions that they take to create the type of international order they want to see. The European Union and Canada may just be getting started in redefining their relationship, but much can be done to strengthen and build upon their existing bonds as a first step.
Data Disclosure
This publication does not include a replication package.
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Original text here: https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/can-eu-and-canada-forge-new-partnership
[Category: Economics]
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council: From Sequencing to Automated Analysis - How Biotech's Data Revolution is Accelerating Patient Impact
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 -- The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council issued the following news:
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From Sequencing to Automated Analysis: How biotech's data revolution is accelerating patient impact
Oct 20, 2026
Guest Perspective by Christina Codden, Senior Scientist, Bioinformatics, ElevateBio
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MassBio is partnering with the ElevateBio team on November 2 to host 2026 R&D Reimagined - Techbio Solutions, the second in a series of events designed to connect biotech and pharma R&D leadership with the technology innovators and solution providers transforming the life sciences with
... Show Full Article
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 -- The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council issued the following news:
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From Sequencing to Automated Analysis: How biotech's data revolution is accelerating patient impact
Oct 20, 2026
Guest Perspective by Christina Codden, Senior Scientist, Bioinformatics, ElevateBio
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MassBio is partnering with the ElevateBio team on November 2 to host 2026 R&D Reimagined - Techbio Solutions, the second in a series of events designed to connect biotech and pharma R&D leadership with the technology innovators and solution providers transforming the life sciences withnew tools and services.
Biotech currently stands at a critical crossroads. Therapeutic modalities are increasingly complex and leverage data-rich methods with terabytes of biological insight. However, a gap remains in how to more effectively process and analyze those insights for patient benefit. Trends in biotech, particularly cell and gene therapy, find that this effective analysis gap may be filled with automation. Increasing automation, fortunately, does not require an entirely new foundation built from scratch. Instead, we can leverage expertise derived from next-generation sequencing (NGS) operations in industry that have already built automated infrastructure to process massive genomic datasets and help accelerate patient impact.
The automation principles that have helped NGS groups process massive genomic datasets offer valuable lessons for the broader biotech ecosystem including, for example, moving from a traditional infectious titer analysis that is highly manual to a fully automated one within an electronic lab notebook (ELN) to save time and reduce error. Why did sequencing require automation with increased infrastructure, and what can other areas of biotech learn from its success? The following sections explore these topics and demonstrate how the industry is beginning to apply them to enhance patient care.
The Evolution from Manual to Automated: Lessons from Sequencing
Since the inception of Sanger sequencing in the 1970s and NGS, starting in the early 2000s, we have gone from a highly manual single-strand sequence process to an automated, massively parallel one in which billions of DNA strands can be sequenced at once. This automation evolution in sequencing has fundamentally reshaped drug discovery, but the transformation was not only in the sequencing technology itself. The evolution in sequencing was also supported by automated digital infrastructure to help handle, process, and analyze exponentially growing datasets.
With sequencing, infrastructure encompasses the computational, storage, and network resources required to support the lifecycle of genomic data. Modern sequencing operations often use automated, cloud-based platforms to support sequencing including sample sheet generation before sequence runs based on ELN entries, triggered quality control reports after sequencing runs, long-term data storage solutions, and the ability to launch automated processing pipelines and data transfers. These automated systems eliminate days of manual work for scientists and bioinformaticians and can ultimately represent the difference between a patient receiving targeted therapies in weeks versus months.
The Automation Imperative Across Biotech
Currently, biotech is expanding the automation imperative well beyond sequencing. The same pressures that drove sequencing toward automation: increasing data volume and the need for faster, more reliable results, similarly manifest across other corners of biotech including in vaccine development, manufactured therapy products, infectious disease monitoring, contamination detection, and more. Fortunately, we can take the lessons learned from sequencing and apply similar infrastructure and automation principles already in place, with some adaptations, to these other corners of biotech.
Consider the challenge of infectious titer assay analysis in cell and gene therapy manufacturing. Traditional analysis for infectious titer is relatively manual but a fundamental method today. The analysis process can be long, 30 minutes per plate, and is error prone. For example, this manual analysis is prone to copy and paste errors, wrong formulas being used or inadvertently manipulated, easily missed acceptance criteria, and incorrect interpretations. By applying the automated framework principles that we've already generated in the sequencing space, like automated sample sheet generation and auto-analysis all captured within an ELN, we can reduce infectious titer analysis time drastically to just a couple of minutes while simultaneously improving consistency and reducing human error.
The Path Forward: Transforming Patient Impact
This cross-pollination of automation expertise in sequencing applied to other corners of the industry is helping create scalable, adaptable biotech infrastructure ready for the next generation of therapeutics. And, most importantly, by sharing this expertise, our cross-functional efforts can ultimately accelerate patient impact. Every day saved by automating processes, analyses, results, and product generation translates directly to patients receiving life-saving therapies sooner.
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About the Author
Christina Codden is a dynamic Bioinformatics Senior Scientist at ElevateBio with 7+ years of experience in the sequencing space leading pipeline development, cloud-based data processing, and data analysis, including driving auto-analysis initiatives. She holds a PhD from Northeastern University, where she developed novel machine learning algorithms to estimate marsh carbon fluxes. Additionally, Christina completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center focused on better understanding human heart disease through single-nuclei RNA-seq. Christina is dedicated to automating and improving analytical processes as well as mentoring the next generation of informaticians with OUTBio.
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Original text here: https://www.massbio.org/news/recent-news/from-sequencing-to-automated-analysis/
[Category: Biology]
Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to Assess Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 -- The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issued the following news release:
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Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to Assess Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Report will be subject of New England CEPAC meeting in May 2027; Draft Scoping Document open to public comment until November 10, 2026
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BOSTON, October 21, 2026 - The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) announced today that it will assess the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of synthetic psilocybin (COMPASS Pathways) for treatment-resistant depression.
... Show Full Article
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 -- The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issued the following news release:
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Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to Assess Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Report will be subject of New England CEPAC meeting in May 2027; Draft Scoping Document open to public comment until November 10, 2026
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BOSTON, October 21, 2026 - The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) announced today that it will assess the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of synthetic psilocybin (COMPASS Pathways) for treatment-resistant depression.The therapy is also referred to as COMP360.
The assessment will be publicly discussed during a meeting of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) in May 2027, where the independent evidence review panel will deliberate and vote on evidence presented in ICER's report.
ICER's website provides timelines of key posting dates and public comment periods for this assessment (https://icer.org/?post_type=assessment&p=23880).
Consistent with ICER's process for announcing new assessments, we have spent the past five weeks conducting outreach and engaging with targeted stakeholders, including the manufacturer, relevant patient groups and clinical experts. Based on this preliminary cross-stakeholder engagement, today ICER has posted a Draft Scoping Document outlining how we plan to conduct this assessment.
All interested stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments and suggested refinements to the scope to ensure all perspectives are adequately considered. Comments can be submitted by email to publiccomments@icer.org and must be received by 5 PM ET on November 10, 2026. Please submit public comments as a Word document in the following format:
* 12-point Times New Roman font
* Three-page maximum (not including references or appendices)
ICER's Patient Portal and Manufacturer Engagement Guide provide additional guidance for submitting public comments, including suggestions for what types of information may be most useful.
In addition to comments on the scope, ICER also welcomes submissions from stakeholders on examples of low-value care practices within this clinical area. These submissions will inform a report section focused on strategies to reduce waste and preserve resources for high-value, potentially higher-cost treatments.
More information is available in the scoping document.
Following the public comment period, a revised scoping document will be posted on or about November 18, 2026.
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About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent, non-profit research institute that conducts evidence-based reviews of health care interventions, including prescription drugs, other treatments, and diagnostic tests. In collaboration with patients, clinical experts, and other key stakeholders, ICER analyzes the available evidence on the benefits and risks of these interventions to measure their value and suggest fair prices. ICER also regularly reports on the barriers to care for patients and recommends solutions to ensure fair access to prescription drugs. For more information about ICER, please visit www.icer.org.
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Original text here: https://icer.org/news-insights/press-releases/institute-for-clinical-and-economic-review-to-assess-therapy-for-treatment-resistant-depression/
[Category: Economics]
ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating That Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 (TNSrpt) -- The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issued the following news release:
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ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000
Despite policy shifts, high prescription drug prices continue to create major barriers to care
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BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, October 20, 2026 - Today the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) and West Health released a new "Launch Price and Access Report," finding that the median drug launch prices continue to exceed $250,000 per year, contributing
... Show Full Article
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Oct. 21 (TNSrpt) -- The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issued the following news release:
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ICER, West Health Release New Report Indicating that Median Prices of Newly Launched Drugs Continue to Exceed $250,000
Despite policy shifts, high prescription drug prices continue to create major barriers to care
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BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, October 20, 2026 - Today the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) and West Health released a new "Launch Price and Access Report," finding that the median drug launch prices continue to exceed $250,000 per year, contributingto increases in overall healthcare costs.
This report focused on "net price," or the actual price paid after rebates and discounts, offering crucial information to policymakers, given that most previous analyses of drug pricing trends focus on the publicly available "list price," which does not always reflect the actual price paid.
Key findings from the report include:
- The median net launch price of drugs rose sharply, by 35%, from $190,000/* in 2022 to $257,000 in 2025 (adjusted for inflation). Although this price decreased slightly, by 2%, between 2024 and 2025, it remained at historically high levels, creating challenges across the health care system.
- About one in four drugs introduced in 2025 had an annual net price exceeding $500,000, while an additional 34% were launched at prices between $200,000 and $500,000.
- Only about one in three newly approved drugs previously reviewed by ICER are priced at or below ICER's recommended price benchmark, with the remainder exceeding their estimated value.
- The data showed the complexity of patient access during the first year post-approval, with only one-third of outpatient prescriptions ultimately filled within 30 days of attempting to fill them. A significant proportion of prescriptions were rejected due to non-coverage, likely due to new-to-market blocks.
"This independent analysis shows that we are facing a critical moment in the US health care system," stated ICER's President and CEO Sarah K. Emond, MPP. "Overpayment for drugs beyond their value to patients is contributing to decreased patient access. While the US has produced some of the world's most incredible innovations, patients are still experiencing significant barriers to care. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we start working towards the goal of pairing fair pricing with fair access - leading to a more affordable health system for us all."
"Many Americans are struggling to access the prescription medications they need," said Timothy Lash, President and Chair of the West Health Policy Center. "This year's Launch Price and Access report reveals just how serious the problem is becoming. The data shows the struggle with high launch prices is even more stark for Medicare recipients who face higher rates of coverage rejections than all other payer types. Even when Medicare beneficiaries can get access, paying more for drugs means hard tradeoffs for American seniors living on a fixed income."
These barriers come as millions of Americans are finding healthcare less and less affordable. The West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare regularly collects data on the cost of care. In July 2026, Americans were asked if they are concerned that their household will be unable to pay for needed prescription drugs in the next 12 months:
- Nearly 40% of Americans were "concerned" or "very concerned" (compared to 25% in July 2022);
- Among those aged 65+, 36% were "concerned" or "very concerned";
- Among those with 3 or more chronic conditions, 49% were "concerned" or "very concerned."
Methodology and Partners
ICER followed the protocol it announced in May 2026 to create this report.
ICER's data partners included IPD Analytics and IQVIA. ICER also collaborated with the National Health Council on patient engagement.
Public Webinar
ICER will host a public webinar at 12:00 PM ET on October 27, 2026 to discuss rising launch prices, and the implications for affordability and patient access. Key takeaways from ICER's inaugural Launch Price and Access report will be presented by Foluso Agboola, SVP of Research at ICER, to set the stage for a panel discussion moderated by Sarah Emond, President and CEO of ICER, highlighting opportunities for enhancing patient affordability and access to new therapies.
Panelists include:
- Rebecca Kirch, JD, EVP of Policy and Programs, National Patient Advocate Foundation
- Magda Rusinowski, MS, Vice President, Business Group on Health
- Namrata Kaur Uberoi, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of Health Care Cost and Affordability, West Health
Register here for the webinar (https://events.zoom.us/ev/Asv-bJSL0Lr6uONz8vPVrjnqwPzjRl74XAO2mzfujA7IYUP6FrRb~AtgGJFjBYF_eTgQhpTaP3aQ5LY4HymaHL55y3atOApaVByzepla7bhd7X8dFvJn1B3UVHLjuR612D9VRa__DXcDhRQ).
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About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent, non-profit research institute that conducts evidence-based reviews of health care interventions, including prescription drugs, other treatments, and diagnostic tests. In collaboration with patients, clinical experts, and other key stakeholders, ICER analyzes the available evidence on the benefits and risks of these interventions to measure their value and suggest fair prices. ICER also regularly reports on the barriers to care for patients and recommends solutions to ensure fair access to prescription drugs. For more information about ICER, please visit www.icer.org.
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About West Health
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations that include the Gary and Mary West Foundation and Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality and affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org.
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*/ CORRECTION: A previous version of this release misstated the median net launch price for 2022 adjusted for inflation as $173,000. It should have been reported as $190,000.
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REPORT: https://icer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ICER_2026_Launch-Price-and-Access-Final-Report_ForPublication-1.pdf
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Original text here: https://icer.org/news-insights/press-releases/icer-west-health-release-new-report-indicating-that-median-prices-of-newly-launched-drugs-continue-to-exceed-250000/
[Category: Economics]
Consumer Reports Paper Outlines What AI Data Centers Should Do to "pay Their Own Way" and Protect American Households From Unfair Costs
YONKERS, New York, Oct. 21 (TNSrpt) -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release:
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New Consumer Reports paper outlines what AI data centers should do to "pay their own way" and protect American households from unfair costs
October 20, 2026
Washington, DC - A new paper released today by Consumer Reports and Telemark Energy Consulting outlines what it truly means for AI data centers to "pay their own way" and provides tools to help advocates, regulators, and policymakers evaluate individual projects.
The paper takes a deep dive into the various ways that large data center projects
... Show Full Article
YONKERS, New York, Oct. 21 (TNSrpt) -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release:
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New Consumer Reports paper outlines what AI data centers should do to "pay their own way" and protect American households from unfair costs
October 20, 2026
Washington, DC - A new paper released today by Consumer Reports and Telemark Energy Consulting outlines what it truly means for AI data centers to "pay their own way" and provides tools to help advocates, regulators, and policymakers evaluate individual projects.
The paper takes a deep dive into the various ways that large data center projectscan impose or shift costs and risks on to regular residential ratepayers. It identified a total of a dozen different, direct, indirect, and risk based mechanisms that could increase costs for other grid users now or in the future.
Chris Harto, manager for sustainability advocacy at Consumer Reports said, "Even if data center projects pay for all the direct infrastructure costs for new transmission and generation, or even build their own generation on site, these projects can still impose costs on other ratepayers through indirect or risk based mechanisms. Regulators and legislators must account for all of these potential cost drivers when developing policies to ensure that large data center projects don't leave hardworking Americans footing the bill."
The report also lays out a framework for evaluating the potential cost impacts from individual data center projects and defines what "paying their own way" should look like in six key areas outlined below:
* Power Generation: Data center customers cover the full cost of dependable energy and capacity to serve their demand, without increasing costs or reducing reliability for existing customers. Projects should also make efficient use of existing resources and strengthen the broader power system.
* Transmission Infrastructure: Data centers pay for the local and regional grid upgrades they trigger, while maximizing available capacity through efficient siting and support for advanced grid technologies.
* Stranded Asset Protections: Binding contracts protect other customers if a project is delayed, is downsized, relocates, or closes. Financial commitments and credit support should match the scale and useful life of the investments made on the project's behalf.
* Flexibility and Grid Integration: Data centers provide dependable demand flexibility that utilities can plan around--including reducing consumption during grid emergencies before residential service is disrupted.
* Clean Energy: Data centers procure new, regionally located clean energy that closely matches the amount and timing of their electricity demand, while supporting technologies that expand future clean-energy options that lock in long-term savings.
* Community Benefits: Host communities help shape legally enforceable agreements that provide recurring benefits proportionate to the project's size and local impacts. Benefits complement strong electricity affordability protections.
"At a minimum, projects should leave existing customers unharmed. The higher standard, and the opportunity, is to leave them better off," said Sara Enright, senior director of safety and sustainability at Consumer Reports. "Well-structured projects can improve use of existing infrastructure, strengthen reliability and resilience, accelerate valuable new technologies, support host communities, and reduce long-term cost pressures."
Despite the potential for positive outcomes, Americans are concerned that data centers may drive up their electric bills. According to a November 2025 nationally representative CR survey of 2,146 US adults, 78 percent of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that new data centers could increase their household energy bills.
In response to this growing concern, a number of major artificial intelligence companies, data center builders, and utilities signed a pledge at the White House called the Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The pledge stated that data center companies would pay the full cost of energy and infrastructure needed to supply their facilities "no matter what." However, a May 2026 nationally representative CR survey of 2,082 US adults found that Americans are skeptical of these pledges, with only 4 percent of Americans "very confident" that these companies will follow through on that commitment.
"Trust in big tech and data center developers is very low right now," said Harto. "Rebuilding trust will require radical transparency, enforceable commitments, and independent verification to ensure the costs of powering data centers are borne by the companies driving demand--not by hardworking American families already struggling with rising utility bills."
This report is part of a broader initiative to address the energy affordability crisis, which is mobilizing consumers nationwide to advocate for fair utility policies as electricity costs continue to rise. Through petitions, consumer storytelling, research, and policy advocacy, CR is working to ensure that households--not just utilities and the technology industry--have a meaningful voice in decisions that determine who pays for America's rapidly expanding electric grid.
CR looks forward to working with advocates, policymakers, utilities, and project developers to help ensure that the buildout of AI data centers does not contribute to rising consumer energy costs.
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REPORT: https://innovation.consumerreports.org/Consumer-Reports-Paying-Their-Own-Way-compressed.pdf
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Original text here: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/new-consumer-reports-paper-outlines-what-ai-data-centers-should-do-to-pay-their-own-way-and-protect-american-households-from-unfair-costs/
[Category: Business]
Better Wisconsin Together: ICYMI - Congressman Tiffany Asked About Who He'd Put First - Billionaire Donors or Wisconsinites? The Answer Is Clear
MONONA, Wisconsin, Oct. 21 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release:
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October 20, 2026
ICYMI: Congressman Tiffany Asked About Who He'd Put First - Billionaire Donors or Wisconsinites? The Answer Is Clear.
Congressman Tiffany's campaign has benefitted from over $40 million in MAGA billionaire cash
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MADISON, Wis. - In a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board, GOP Congressman and candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany was asked about concerns that he would listen
... Show Full Article
MONONA, Wisconsin, Oct. 21 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release:
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October 20, 2026
ICYMI: Congressman Tiffany Asked About Who He'd Put First - Billionaire Donors or Wisconsinites? The Answer Is Clear.
Congressman Tiffany's campaign has benefitted from over $40 million in MAGA billionaire cash
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MADISON, Wis. - In a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board, GOP Congressman and candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany was asked about concerns that he would listento his MAGA billionaire campaign donors over the people of Wisconsin. Based on his public record, the answer is clear.
Since January 2025, Congressman Tiffany's campaign has benefitted from over $40 million in MAGA billionaire cash, which lines up conveniently with his vote last summer to give a massive tax giveaway to billionaires paid for by cuts to healthcare and food assistance for the senior citizens, working people, and children Congressman Tiffany is supposed to represent.
A look back at Congressman Tiffany's years-long career in politics shows this was not the only time he sold out the people of Wisconsin to cash in on support from the wealthy and special interests, even rigging the system to make it easier for billionaires to elect politicians that will do their bidding:
* In the state legislature, Tiffany voted for the largest cut to public education in state history, including slashing over $20 million from schools in the district he was elected to represent. He also voted for a $30 million tuition tax break for wealthy people already sending their children to private schools. When campaign time came around, the special interest private school voucher industry spent big money to keep Tiffany in office with big individual donations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in television ads.
* When mining special interests wanted to change state laws to loosen regulations and the state's big business lobby wanted another tax giveaway, Tom Tiffany was there for them. Tiffany authored the bill that would have given it to them, and stuck local property taxpayers with the $270 million tab. Tiffany then got elected to the state senate thanks in part to the largesse of these same special interests.
* As a member of the state senate, Tiffany then voted to change Wisconsin's campaign finance laws to allow the wealthy and corporations to make unlimited donations to political parties and campaign committees. He also took it a step further, authoring the law to exempt politicians like himself from certain investigations of corruption.
* As a member of Congress, Tiffany worked with election deniers to try to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss in court and by voting against certifying the votes of millions of Americans. More recently he refused to acknowledge the 2020 election result, and even backed paying off January 6 insurrectionists with our tax dollars. Illinois billionaire and underwriter of MAGA election denialism, Dick Uihlein, then personally doled out the maximum allowable donation to support Tiffany's campaign for governor.
"Tom Tiffany has repeatedly sold out the working people and middle class in Wisconsin for the benefit of the billionaires and special interests that fund his campaigns. It's not an accident or a coincidence. It's a years-long pattern of behavior," A Better Wisconsin Together said in a statement.
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A Better Wisconsin Together is a state-based research and communications hub for progressives and is an affiliate of ProgressNow.
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Original text here: https://abetterwisconsin.org/icymi-congressman-tiffany-asked-about-who-hed-put-first-billionaire-donors-or-wisconsinites-the-answer-is-clear/
[Category: Economics]
