The FDA's expert panel backs Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines for younger kids

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, back at the helm of the newsletter for the day. Today in healthcare news:

• An expert panel recommended the FDA authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11 years old;
• A serial biotech entrepreneur explains why he's taking on his own industry;
• A group of companies got fed up with drug-industry middlemen, so it came up with its own solution.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Find me at lramsey@insider.com or @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it...

The FDA's expert panel just gave a thumbs-up for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in younger children, clearing the path for authorization in a matter of days

• An FDA panel voted Tuesday in support of using Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in younger kids.
• Five- to 11-year-old children could get the shot in early November, if the FDA and CDC sign off.
• Pfizer is applying to use a lower-strength dose in this younger age group.

Here's what you need to know>>

Why serial biotech entrepreneur Alexis Borisy wants to stop the 'great big party' on drug pricing and take on his own industry

• Alexis Borisy has helped launch more than a dozen biotechs, but EQRx might be his most ambitious.
• Borisy told Insider why he's now challenging the industry's "great big party" of drug pricing.
• EQRx plans to raise up to $1.8 billion by going public through a SPAC before the end of 2021.

Read more from the interview>>

A group backed by huge employers like Boeing and Walmart is fed up with the ways drug-industry middlemen drum up profits. So it created its own alternative to lower drug costs.

• Employers are fed up with the secretive ways drug-industry middlemen drum up profits.
• So one employer group created a pharmacy-benefit manager that promises a clear view into drug costs.
• The new PBM will have to compete in an industry dominated by three massive companies.

Find out more>>

More stories we're reading:

• Amazon is putting Alexa next to hospital beds throughout the US. It says it will boost productivity because staff can go into patients' rooms less. (Insider)
• Competition is heating up around psilocybin patents (Stat)
• The best candy to eat before and after your workout to boost performance and support recovery (Insider)
• Lilly has started asking the FDA to approve its Alzheimer's treatment (The Wall Street Journal)

- Lydia