乌鸦传媒

Welcome to the latest edition of Investigative Roundup, highlighting some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare each week.

Texas Surgeon Accused of Making Transplant Patients Ineligible for Care

Officials are investigating allegations that a renowned transplant surgeon in Texas manipulated a government database to make some of his own patients ineligible to receive livers, .

J. Steve Bynon Jr., MD, oversaw both the liver and kidney transplant programs at Houston's Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, which recently and suddenly shut down the programs while looking into the allegations, the Times reported.

The medical center, which is affiliated with the University of Texas, "said in a statement that a doctor in its liver transplant program had admitted to changing patient records," the Times wrote. "That effectively denied the transplants, the hospital said."

An official with knowledge of the investigation identified the doctor as Bynon, according to the Times.

Bynon referred questions to UTHealth Houston, and did not confirm he had admitted to altering records, the Times reported.

UTHealth Houston released a statement defending Bynon as "an exceptionally talented and caring physician, and a pioneer in abdominal organ transplantation," the Times reported. The statement added the following: "Our faculty and staff members, including Dr. Bynon, are assisting with the inquiry into Memorial Hermann's liver transplant program and are committed to addressing and resolving any findings identified by this process."

HHS and the United Network for Organ Sharing, the federal contractor that oversees the country's organ transplant system, are also investigating the allegations, the Times reported.

Conservative Anti-Vaccine Activists Have Sights Set on Florida Hospital Board

In Florida, conservative anti-vax activists are running for the board of Sarasota Memorial Hospital, .

"If they win, they'll hold a majority over Sarasota's award-winning facility where one of their allies -- elected in 2022 with two other 'health freedom candidates' to the nine-member panel -- is already trying to peddle vaccine misinformation," the Daily Beast reported.

Over the last couple of years, "agitators" have "bashed the hospital," including for following CDC guidelines and for previously using the antiviral drug remdesivir for COVID patients "while failing to treat patients with controversial drugs like ivermectin, an anti-parasitic, and hydroxychloroquine," the Daily Beast reported.

"Under pressure from the detractors, the hospital agreed to conduct an internal study on its COVID protocols," the Daily Beast wrote. "After it unveiled its review last February, which showed the facility outperformed others nationwide in preventing deaths, the right-wing contingent demanded it commission a new third-party investigation."

Of those now running for board seats, a retired doctor that, "what is considered a very good hospital will be guided by a bunch of conspiracy theorists who do not believe that COVID-19 was dangerous," the Daily Beast reported.

Chinese Company That Makes Key U.S. Drugs Faces Congressional Scrutiny

A Chinese company that makes key U.S. drugs for the treatment of conditions including cancer, HIV, and cystic fibrosis is being targeted by members of Congress over its potential ties to the Chinese government, .

WuXi AppTec is among a number of companies that lawmakers have identified as potential threats to the security of Americans' genetic information and U.S. intellectual property, the Times reported. Last month, a Senate committee approved a bill that is intended to push U.S. entities away from doing business with these companies.

"But lawmakers discussing the bill in the Senate and the House have said almost nothing in hearings about the vast scope of work that WuXi does for the U.S. biotech and pharmaceutical industries -- and patients," the Times wrote.

WuXi companies have "developed a reputation for low-cost and reliable work by thousands of chemists who could create new molecules and operate complex equipment to make them in bulk," the Times reported. According to one estimate, WuXi has been involved in developing one-fourth of the drugs used in the U.S.

WuXi Biologics did not respond to requests for comment, the Times reported.

"It is unclear whether a bill targeting WuXi will advance at all this year," the Times wrote. "The Senate version has been amended to protect existing contracts and limit supply disruptions. Still, the scrutiny has prompted some drug and biotechnology companies to begin making backup plans."

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