Briefs for Tuesday

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·3 min read

Jan. 30—Concord Board of Governors to meet

The Concord University Board of Governors (BOG) has announced several upcoming meetings.

Four committees will meet by tele/videoconference on Tuesday, Feb. 13 : Academic Affairs, at noon; External Affairs, 1 p.m.; Student Affairs, 2 p.m., and Finance & Infrastructure, 3 p.m.

The BOG Executive Committee will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m., with the full board meeting to follow at 6 p.m., by videoconference.

Members of the public wishing to join a BOG tele/videoconference meeting need to contact lwoolwine@concord.edu for login instructions.

An agenda will be available prior to the board meeting. Board agendas and minutes may be accessed on the University's website: https://www.concord.edu/about/administration/board-of-governors/meeting-dates-minutes-and-agendas

WVU gets nearly $1 million in grants for two studies

The National Science Foundation has appropriated $972,973 for two research projects at West Virginia University.

The funding will support creating a web portal for artificial intelligence (AI)-based development of cancer drugs as well as research on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) design.

The individual awards were:

—$697,973 to study the impact of MRI contrast agent design on nanoscale interactions with neutrophils and platelets. The project will generate new knowledge on how the physical characteristics of metal oxide nanoparticles (their metal content, surface coating, and size) impact interactions with neutrophils and platelets.

—$275,000 to support a web portal for AI-based comprehensive discovery of repositioning drugs. The project accelerates the development of potential new drug options for improved survival outcomes of cancer patients with greatly reduced time and costs. It uses AI technology to discover repositioning drugs for treating refractory non-small cell lung cancer patients after exhausting all therapeutic options.

Senators seek results of 18-month federal investigation into Rx middlemen

Last week, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined 13 of her Senate colleagues in urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to complete its investigation into the health care industry's powerful prescription drug middlemen: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

This bipartisan effort, led by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., includes requesting a status update on the investigation, which has been open for over 18 months.

"We support the [FTC's] issuance of a Section 6(b) order and conducting a timely study of pharmacy benefits managers' (PBM) business practices," the senators wrote in their letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan. "With the FTC's inquiry reaching its year-and-a-half mark, we urge the FTC to complete the study without delay. In the interim, we believe it is important to know the status of the study and therefore ask the FTC to issue a progress report."

PBMs manage every aspect of the prescription drugs benefit process — from setting prescription prices to deciding which drugs insurance plans cover and how they are dispensed. Of the six companies under FTC investigation, three control nearly 80 percent of the market. Despite PBMs' sweeping influence, neither Congress nor the taxpayer has adequate visibility into their operations.

— West Virginia Press Association

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com