Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social) @mellabarb Twitter profile

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

11 months

Thursday I testified at @HouseCommerce @EnergyCommerce on 'Legislative Proposals to Prevent and Respond to Generic Drug Shortages'. A 🧵on drug shortages, proposed legislation, and why this is a critical time in health and industrial policy. 1/n

Health Hearing: "Legislative Proposals to Prevent and Respond to...

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee (established 1795) in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with ...

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I wrote an analysis plan for a really great paper idea. The plan was circulated, as is standard for a PhD student. You can imagine how I felt seeing it now published in an top journal! Except that paper was published w/o me. No email. No invitation to co-author🙃 1/3

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Tired of knocking on doors but them never opening. Tired of working 10x harder than men w/equivalent or less experience & it still not being enough. Tired of knowing this has happened to others. Tired of folks not understanding that widening the table does not harm them (3/3)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

To sum up today's @Europarl_EN hearing w/ @Pfizer on #COVID19 vaccines: 1) member states are furious by the lack of transparency & #SMSgate 2) @AlbertBourla miscalculated that this was something he could skip. 3) The committee is ready to recommend consequences Summary in 🧵1/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

This is a subtweet bc I can't have a career and speak about it any more openly. Even for this veiled account I am likely to have folks pull me aside and say don't blow up your future. But I am tired of having my work stolen. (2/3)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

10 months

*taps the sign* 1) Paxlovid costs $13 to make. Increasing prices to $2500/course = 19,100% markup. 2) We still don't know how well Paxlovid works in many pops. Pfizer is still blocking independent trials (+ dodgily using secondary endpoints/changed pops)

Meg Tirrell

@megtirrell

10 months

The price of Covid-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid is expected to rise by as much as 5x, to $2500/course, as US transitions to a commercial market. While it will still be free through an access program for govt-insured and uninsured, others will have a copay:

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

Deeply concerned to learn today there is a campaign to remove @seyeabimbola as Editor-in-chief of @GlobalHealthBMJ for publishing work on Palestine. It's hard to overstate his impact on global health scholarship, both in his writing and in the space he creates for new voices. 1/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

I know I should keep my peace until I graduate, but Harvard has got me feeling all sorts of ways in its email today congratulating itself on blocking access to independent arbitration for gender harassment. V redacted 🧵of being a woman trying to do a PhD in global health 1/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @AndersonAfDMdEP : "The fact Bourla had the audacity to refuse to appear in front of this committee constitutes a gross disregard for the ppl whose tax money he took. If we cannot compel a crucial player to appear in front of this committee, then this committee is useless." 5/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***First: Where is @AlbertBourla ?*** . @SincicMEP sums up the general mood in the room: "I must say that it is a disgrace that @AlbertBourla is not with us today and an even greater disgrace that he doesn't have any real intention of showing up." 3/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Wow! @MicheleRivasi proposes real consequences for the failure to account: "I think we ought to invite him once again to get an explanation… otherwise, we can do what we did w/Monsanto & not give [ @pfizer ] access to @Europarl_EN anymore." Context: 9/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

@Kunkakom Ofc more than one person can have the same good idea- I would have given the benefit of the doubt if there was even a 5% chance of a coincidence. I can't go into details but there is 0 doubt here. It would have been easy to at least email me, if not invite me to join forces.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @Rob_Roos : "I’d also like to know where Mr Bourla is...the @EUombudsman and @EUauditors have spoken on the consequences of the [SMSgate] scandal, and these are very damning... So I really think that Mr Bourla would need to be present." 7/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

A number of MEPs connect the ongoing scandal and inquire if that is why Bourla didn't show. (Context: ) @sara_saracerdas : "The CEO shd have been present. He was confirmed until a few weeks ago. Does the absence have to do with the @EUauditors report?" 6/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

This sentiment was expressed by many: @v_joron : "It’s v important to have the facts. Why is Bourla not here? He hasn’t got 10 minutes to give the committee? That doesn’t give us a great deal of confidence. He prefers SMS & tweets? You don't want to talk abt prices. " 4/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***1) SMSgate and concerns abt contract transparency.*** In case you missed it, tldr: @pfizer contract negotiations occurred outside normal processes (eg SMS) & @EU_Commission refuses to provide docs. You can read more here: 11/

Ombudsman takes aim at Ursula von der Leyen’s texts with Pfizer CEO

EU watchdog is already looking into how officials use texts and instant messages.

www.politico.eu

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I don't usually do full 🧵 detailing hearings (apologies in advance), but what happened yesterday was pretty extraordinary and I think will be important in setting the course for ongoing future pandemic planning. You can watch the full hearing here: 2/

Special Committee on COVID-19 pandemic - Multimedia Centre

No description

multimedia.europarl.europa.eu

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @SincicMEP talks local @Pfizer history: "I must say that we in Croatia know how Pfizer works. Pfizer was penalized in 2012 in Croatia for bribing doctors responsible for registration of medicines, & also doctors in bioethics commission who were evaluating clinical trials." 29/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @ladyonorato : In the EU there are certain standards for transparency...through official channels... there must be documents that can be released & consulted by all citizens and the EU Parliament. We see that [ @pfizer ] do not want to reveal the content of these comms. 13/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

This is absurd bc the q is not "did Pfizer negotiate 100% of the contract by SMS w/ @vonderleyen ," but rather was there a departure from negotiating procedure (yes) & why were requests for these records refused. @BotengaM tries to cut thru the evasion w/point by point qs. 16/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

MEPs want to know: -if + how many messages were sent b/w @vonderleyen & @AlbertBourla - @Pfizer 's general position on parallel negotiations outside of normal processes -Why these comms aren't in the public record -When can we see contracts that haven't been redacted to death 12/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***So, what were the committee's questions other than where is @AlbertBourla ?*** Broadly five domains: 1) qs abt #SMSgate and contract transparency 2) demands for price transparency 3) specific clinical trials qs 4) intellectual property 5) access + equity 10/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Notably, @pfizer has only given "he must decline for secret reasons" to explain why @AlbertBourla suddenly backed out. Pfizer identified Janine Smalls "as best placed to support the committee in meeting their objectives." Here's her answer re why. 8/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

Much is redacted bc, well, you know why. I never know how to pay forward the kindness of the warning given to me. Do I tell future students to hope, to try, maybe things can change? Or am I honest that generations tried w/little to show but closed doors & deepening hopelessness?

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

Academic freedom is important. If folks disagree w/the article, ok, write a reply and explain why. It's grimly ironic - or maybe just prescient - that so much of @seyeabimbola 's scholarship addresses issues of who can speak in global health and what they are allowed to say. 2/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @VTrillet_Lenoir : "Expertise cannot justify a lack of transparency... Just to remind us all, clear procedures do exist & joint procurement is the responsibility of a team of negotiations that are appointed so they cannot be subject to bilateral negotiations by SMS." 14/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Pharma is really good at creating narratives with half-truths (or just outright lies) that narrow the policy space to their desired outcome. So good that even @jacobin - a rare US socialist magazine-has accidentally repeated a few of their greatest hits. A (gentle) correction 🧵1

Jacobin

@jacobin

2 years

In the US, the egregious cost of insulin forces many to ration their supply every month. As momentum for a public option builds across the country, states like California are looking into manufacturing their own insulin to address the crisis.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

We analyzed @pfizer 's #Paxlovid 🧵: -Cost of production w/active ingredients currently sold in global markets (5 day course): $64.91 -Adding profit margin to estimate sustainable generic price: $73.15 -US purchase price: $530 (7x production cost) 1/8

Estimated cost-based generic prices for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) (working paper)

Melissa J Barber and Dzintars Gotham. 2021. “Estimated cost-based generic prices for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) (working paper)”.

scholar.harvard.edu

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

4 months

1 in 4 people with diabetes in the US ration their insulin because it is unaffordable. GLP-1s could cost Medicare > $100bn. In a study out today in @JAMANetworkOpen , we analyze how much #diabetes medicines actually cost to manufacture. 🧵1/

Estimated Sustainable Cost-Based Prices for Diabetes Medicines

This economic evaluation examines the health expenditures related to medicines used for treatment of diabetes worldwide.

jamanetwork.com

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

I'm defending my dissertation! 🥳🥳 Not posting the link here so I don't get zoom-crashed, but friends & anyone interested in access to medicines research is welcome. DM if you want zoom details (on the condition you save your spiciest questions for *after* the formal defense.)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2018: Another career advice talk. This prof says there are no women "because women won't go to poor countries bc of their children". He tells war stories of manly travels in global health that a woman with a child presumably could not do, like navigating... Lagos Airport 6/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @CristianTerhes notes the obvious hole in the logic of an "ongoing discussions" excuse. "I’m not asking abt ongoing discussions. I’m asking for my colleagues, European citizens, journalists, media, ppl in this room who are asking for the contracts that are *already* signed."/21

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

More evasion from @pfizer : "It’s important to stress..the process for awarding the contract was following a very robust process from both @Pfizer ’s side & the @EU_Commission side." "Robust" is not a legal standard, or not one that the @EUombudsman & @EUauditors wd recognize. 17/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

On contract transparency, Pfizer uses a classic PR tactic of giving an illogical explanation w/such conviction that you start to doubt yourself that 1+1 does continue to = 2. @pfizer is forcing countries to negotiate blind bc it's in everyone's best interest (they promise!) 19/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***2) demands for price transparency.*** @MetzTilly is writing my dissertation intro chapter for me: "When public money is spent there is accountability attached… Can you offer clarity on the prices of the vaccine? What % goes to R&D, production, delivery, and profit?" 22/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2017: I am accepted into the program. I am so happy. It is the only funded program and thus my only shot to do this 2 women pull me aside and warn me that conditions are not.. ideal..in the dept I am about to join. In retrospect this was wildly brave & kind (thank you) 2/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2018: We have a "how to have an academic career" seminar When asked why there were fewer (ie 0) women profs in our dept than ANY OTHER at Harvard, the prof giving us career advice says the absence of women is the result of differences in ability, not discrimination 5/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Let's move on to transparency concerns abt the contracts themselves. The contracts remain a secret, but here's an explainer from @Public_Citizen that gives you an idea of why MEPs believe the contracts must be made available for public scrutiny. 18/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I'm frustrated, you're frustrated, @mmatias_ is frustrated & isn't letting @pfizer evade: "This is maybe the 3rd time we’ve asked… how is your price broken down?… I have to say it’s been very difficult..for us to have to insist on this bc it’s hard for us to get an answer."27/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 month

In 1999, @MSF used @NobelPrize money to found @MSF_access bc they knew humanitarians needed to tackle drug inaccess at the source. Last week, @MSF announced its closure. 108 orgs & 208 folks explain 🔽 why #WeStandWithAC and ask @MSF to reconsider. 🧵1/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

6 months

And my soul has left my body - very glad to hear my research used in @SenSanders ' questioning of pharma CEOs on why Eliquis costs Americans $7100/year, while costing $18 to make and sold for <$1000 in Europe. (Also 😳that pharma didn't dispute my estimates when directly asked)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

Deeply disappointing @ChathamHouse . @WHO , @UNICEF , @UNFPA , @ICRC , @MSF have come out forcefully to say that 1) hospitals are being used as hospitals and 2) hospitals, health workers, and civilians are being massacred. The legal analysis also gets it wrong. 1/🧵

Chatham House

@ChathamHouse

9 months

Protection for medical facilities is not absolute. It can be lost if protections are abused by basing a command post or logistic base within or near a hospital, writes @LLillywhite ( @CHGlobalHealth ).

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

2 mistakes in executing the run down the clock strategy: 1) Small has a tell: nervous pen clicking when things get tense 2) The 1st rule of avoiding qs abt prices is *don't acknowledge* your evasion. Usually the move here is to gaslight the audience that you already have. 25/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

V. important exchange re: future EU directions: @pfizer : You’re going to be v. frustrated w/my answer, but.. I'm not able to have a conversation w/you [abt pricing] @kvanbrempt : I think at a certain moment in time, we will need to take legislative action w/regard to that. 26/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Pfizer, trying to remember which rights are human rights. "At a recent hearing in the Dominican Republic Pfizer argued its Paxlovid patent application is akin to a human right."

pharmalot

@pharmalot

2 years

Pfizer faces criticism for arguing that intellectual property for its Covid-19 pill is a human right.. #pharma #COVID19 #patents #DominicanRepublic $PFE

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @Pfizer 's responses are in bad faith & risky given known #SMSgate receipts. Note the careful wording: Small doesn't say contracts *weren't* negotiated by SMS as a matter of fact, but that they *couldn't have been* bc her personal experience is that it wouldn't be feasible. 15/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @sara_saracerdas : "Transparency is key when using public money… @EUauditors report [found that the] biggest contract ...was concluded outside of normal negotiating procedure. I wd like to also understand why the price per dose increase from 15.5 €/dose to 19.5 €." 23/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

We analyzed costs of production for @Merck #molnupiravir : -Cost of production using active ingredients currently sold in global markets: $17.74/course. -Adding a profit margin to estimate a sustainable generic price: $19.99/course. 1/4

Estimated cost-based generic prices for molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 infection...

Melissa J Barber and Dzintars Gotham. 2021. Estimated cost-based generic prices for molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 infection (working paper).

scholar.harvard.edu

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2018: We now have 1 woman professor in the dept. In response, someone with a lot of power over me gives a bizarre talk about how science really says that there aren't as many very smart women and that's just science and people who complain just can't handle the data. 7/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

PhD defended - grateful for folks who attended and cheered me along, and also the many folks who have encouraged me and read drafts these last few years. Today I start the job hunt in earnest - please keep me in mind if you know of good ppl hiring in policy or research. Thanks!

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

In a reasonable world, a Title IX office would do what it was established to do - attend to sexual harassment & assault cases. Instead, 3 women have had to set aside months of their lives to take Harvard to court, & the undergrads said to hell w/this, we're doing it ourselves.

Lilia Kilburn

@LiliaKilburn

2 years

When I saw what Harvard undergrads did today, I wept. Because no one should have to go through what I went through with John Comaroff to get an education. Because Harvard was warned about Comaroff and did nothing, but these students are making sure warnings reach everyone.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 month

Personally, if I were @MSF leadership and now even *industry* was responding to the announcement of the @MSF_access campaign's closure by saying "that's too far, bruh", I would pause, reflect, and reassess whether this is a wise decision.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

10 months

Fun/not-fun fact for drug pricing nerds: If you're asking "wow, is a 19,100% mark-up the most scandalous we've seen?", you're off by an order of magnitude. Sofosbuvir is still sitting near (or at the top?) of the hall of mark-up shame with its 191,000% markup.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I wrote about the future of #COVID19 antiviral access in LMICs for @PLOSGPH

A strategy that gives half of the world a discount on COVID-19 antivirals, but keeps a firm grip on...

More than two years into a pandemic that has killed 15 million people, it seems we have learned nothing. When COVID-19 vaccines…

speakingofmedicine.plos.org

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

More up is down: "We have from the beginning engaged in an unprecedented level of transparency throughout the process." I actually give this only 5/10 Pinocchios bc the pre-COVID bar on transparency was so abysmal, it doesn't take much to clear it to declare 'unprecedented' 20/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2017: I start my PhD. There are 0 women faculty. I submit one of my first psets-we had to (uncritically) measure how women wear red to increase attractiveness to men. I am annoyed & get in an elevator in a red coat. A sr prof leches on this theme to/at me for 11 floors 3/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Pfizer's strategy seems to be run down the ⏰. We get lengthy descriptions of Small's cv, the precise # of product components, details on a program no one asked abt, & 💐of filler words. @kvanbrempt : You didn’t answer the pricing q @pfizer : I’m sorry time goes so quickly /24

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 month

. @TheLancet interviewed @MSF on its closure of the Access Campaign. The full article is worth a read, but I was struck by how @MSF 's response to criticism 1) misrepresents history, 2) distorts current plans, & 3) is woefully out of touch w/communities @MSF claims to serve. 🧵1/.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

new day, new edition of Modern Epidemiology out will the fifth edition keep up the perfect 1:1 correlation?

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

I, erm, think @POTUS is citing my paper?👀🙏 We made v. conservative assumptions, so $10 is a generous estimate. Please don't stop halfway by 'capping' costs. We can get fair prices for everyone w/negotiation, antitrust enforcement, or public production.

Production costs and potential prices for biosimilars of human insulin and insulin analogues

Introduction High prices for insulin pose a barrier to treatment for people living with diabetes, with an estimated 50% of 100 million patients needing insulin lacking reliable access. As insulin...

gh.bmj.com

President Biden

@POTUS

1 year

Insulin costs $10 a vial to make. Big Pharma charges people hundreds for it. Not anymore. We capped insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare. Now, let's finish the job and cap it for every American.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

Always feels strange to update these things via twitter but I am over the moon to start a postdoc @YaleLawSch @YaleMed @Yale_CRRIT . I'll be continuing work on access to medicines research and policy with @akapczynski , @reshmagar , @jsross119 , and many other incredible folks. 1/2

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2021: Harvard releases an external review of sexual harassment in the wake of J Dominguez and half of the anthropology department's scandals. In response to Dominguez, at the water cooler a prof talks tells me women will say anything to get ahead. 9/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2019 and 2021: Grad workers go on strike. One of Harvard's red lines in negotiations is allowing gender harassment to also be addressed through independent grievance processes (which they agreed to for all other categories of harassment). 10/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2018: Things are weird+bad. Someone finally lets me in on the v open secret that a recently gone pillar of the dept was notoriously Not Good to Women. Realizing his close network still ran my field wasn't great but at least I understood why so much misogyny was tolerated 4/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 months

The news is out, and well, it's pretty demoralizing. My first job was working for @MSF_access . My colleagues were the sharpest and most principled people I had ever met - I've spent the last decade striving to be even half as wise and effective. 1/3

Balasubramaniam

@ThiruGeneva

2 months

Doctors Without Borders is closing its widely regarded access-to-medicines campaign

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2021: I tried to sound upbeat about this at the time because I was hoping to encourage more faculty to sign, but honestly it was heartbreaking to have 91% of folks say no. Someone later told me that (some) faculty were sympathetic but it was "risky". 11/12

Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

▶️21/26 PhD students wrote a joint letter asking ▶️46 faculty members of our dept to consider joining a statement by ▶️70+ fellow faculty members supporting expedient, transparent, equitable, and independent processes for addressing sex & gender-based misconduct ▶️4/46 signed

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

2020: Years of organizing leads to a formal letter by grad students about challenges in the dept, with a lengthy section on gender and harassment. Nothing changes. We are assured that faculty undergo Title IX training. 8/12

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

I suppose a dissertation is never finished but for now - it's done enough - and off to external review. I'm hibernating this week, but after that catching up on a mountain of email / other projects. If I've rudely not replied to something lately, 1) sorry 2) please follow up.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

For folks not familiar w/grad student dorms, they are 1) grim 2) kitchen-less, and 3) force you to buy an expensive meal plan. They're also the only housing option available to int'l and/or working class students who don't have a guarantor & therefore can't get a lease in Boston

doctor drake

@profpookie

3 years

farvard just posted record returns on its endowment, and a few hours ago, it sends an email to students living in GSAS housing about policing how much food students take from the dining hall during dinner.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @JerkovicRomana : "Vax costs were financed w/down payments from the EU budget. Some companies at the beginning of the pandemic provided its COVID-19 vaccine to countries on a non-profit basis. They gave up their financial gains aiming at ending this global crisis. 31/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***4) intellectual property + (relatedly) 5) access + equity*** We see a sharp awareness from MEPs that vaccines were a) developed on a bedrock of public R&D & b) @BioNTech_Group benefited from serious investments by the EU. 30/

Investment Plan for Europe: European Investment Bank to provide BioNTech with up to €100 million in...

The EIB and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, BioNTech) today concluded a EUR 100 million debt financing agreement to support the development of BNT162, the company’s COVID-19 vaccine program.

www.eib.org

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Pfizer's 2023 projection of $67-71bn may be down 30% from 2022's bananas numbers, but it's 50% higher than any pre-pandemic year. And still - Pfizer is raising vax prices from $30/dose to $130/dose for no other reason than they can. How much profit is enough in a pandemic?

Balasubramaniam

@ThiruGeneva

2 years

@peoplesvaccine "The US drugmaker said on Tuesday it expects to generate revenues of between $67 and $71bn in 2023, down from a record $100.3bn in the previous year."

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

new day, new wild email from Harvard abt spring teaching planning with **zero** mention of clinically vulnerable people and their needs. Instead (actual text from email): "The hardest shift may be one of mindset." 🤯 I was born w/crap lungs. The problem here is not my mindset.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Good explainer on monkeypox vax market failure It's not an invisible hand but rather states that set the terms for pharma markets. Patents aren't natural rights; they are a tool for economic policy. States create market terms, & they can change them, too

Exclusive: Closure Of World's Only Manufacturing Plant For Monkeypox Vaccine Raises Questions About...

Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer of the world’s only vaccine approved against Monkeypox, MVA-BN, has issued a third party license to the Shanghai based...

healthpolicy-watch.news

Health Policy Watch - Global Health News Reporting

@HealthPolicyW

2 years

Exclusive: China May Hold Keys to Rapid Monkeypox Vaccine Scale Up in Light of Bavarian Nordic’s European Plant Closure

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 month

Very surprised & impressed that @UNITAID has come out *publicly* against @MSF closing the Access Campaign. UNITAID knows this is *really* bad, otherwise they wouldn't break the taboo of UN-backed agencies not commenting on the internal biz of other orgs.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

In a spectacular Freudian slip, Small talks up @Pfizer 's "Accord for a Wealthier World" program (I assume she meant to say "Accord for a Healthier World"). That program is... complicated. Linked is a 🧵I wrote a while back on it. 36/

Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Big if true! Pfizer, from the press release: "Patient incomes shouldn't affect health outcomes. And geography shouldn't impact quality of care" Unfortunately, unless I missed a press release, this epiphany isn't substantially affecting business practices. 7 thoughts 🧵

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

***3) specific clinical trials qs.*** For the other topic areas, I've tried to highlight qs that were representative of the majority. I'm not going to cover clinical trials in depth bc the qs here had a wider range. If there was 1 theme, it was a demand for transparency. 28/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

Harvard's version of negotiating in good faith apparently means meeting student workers halfway by offering a smaller instead of larger effective pay cut this year. The endowment grew by $11.3bn last year. @hgsuuaw strike tomorrow.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

On epistemic injustice in academic global health: 4/

Epistemic injustice in academic global health

This Viewpoint calls attention to the pervasive wrongs related to knowledge production, use, and circulation in global health, many of which are taken for granted. We argue that common practices in...

www.thelancet.com

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

24 days

You might expect there to be a plan in place if @novonordisk decided to stop selling insulin. You'd be wrong. Today in @Health_Affairs , we discuss the consequences of Novo's pullout in the US & South Africa, and what govts can do to protect patients. 🧵1/

Counting On Insulin Manufacturers To Do The Right Thing Is Not A Good Policy Prescription To Avert...

Recent policy reforms addressing drug shortages have focused on shortages resulting from unexpected emergencies, including manufacturing issues or supply chain disruptions. The continued policy...

www.healthaffairs.org

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

On whether or not global health will survive its decolonization It's not looking good folks, but @seyeabimbola & @paimadhu wrote the definitive essay on why we shouldn't be rooting for its survival in any form recognizable to today, & what comes next. 5/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

On respecting the dignity of marginalized knowers: (It feels weird to link myself here but I was so moved I wrote a full 🧵 on it. And I stand by my prediction in Feb 2023 that it would be one of the best essays of 2023). 3/

Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

It's only February, but I'm still calling it early - best essay of 2023. Take a moment to read. 'As James Baldwin said: “ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” Epistemic dignity is a precondition for health justice.' Excerpts in 🧵1/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

6 months

Thrilled that @Yale_CRRIT is an inaugural grantee of @EconomicSecProj ’s #PublicOptions for America Fund! 🎉 @akapczynski , @reshmagar , a rad team of law students and I are thrilled to work on a project exploring the legal complexities of public pharmaceutical manufacturing. 1/3

Economic Security Project

@EconomicSecProj

6 months

In medicine, @Yale_CRRIT is exploring legal roadblocks to the public manufacturing of medicine like insulin, hoping to provide the government with the knowledge it needs to fight back against any potential challenges posed by big pharma. 7/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Big if true! Pfizer, from the press release: "Patient incomes shouldn't affect health outcomes. And geography shouldn't impact quality of care" Unfortunately, unless I missed a press release, this epiphany isn't substantially affecting business practices. 7 thoughts 🧵

Jonathan Rockoff

@jonathanrockoff

2 years

Pfizer will sell nearly two dozen of its patent-protected drugs and vaccines at not-for-profit prices to some of the world’s poorest countries, ⁦ @JaredSHopkins ⁩ reports

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I have gotten through some seriously shitty situations while doing this phd, but this week takes the biscuit. Lowering aspirations from "if I ever get out of here & have power, I will never allow grad students to be treated like this" to a more modest "plz just let me get out".

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

First, generic insulin markets are 100% financially viable. I hate to be that academic that says "I have a paper on that" but We assume a 10% profit margin (which is more than average) & estimate costs at ~$3/vial for NPH + $5 for glargine. V. viable! 3

Production costs and potential prices for biosimilars of human insulin and insulin analogues

Introduction High prices for insulin pose a barrier to treatment for people living with diabetes, with an estimated 50% of 100 million patients needing insulin lacking reliable access. As insulin...

gh.bmj.com

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 years

I believe JDRF when they say that they are "mission-oriented." But I believe Laura Marston when she tells us exactly what that mission is — using the *idea* of helping people as a fundraising + pharma PR vehicle, with no qualms about exploiting actual people in the process.

Laura Marston

@Kidfears99

3 years

My JDRF story: In 2010, I lost my first big law firm job bc, and I quote from the named partner of the firm, Don Clark, I “refused to get my diabetes under control and come to work.” The firm fired me and took away my health insurance the same day.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I spend a lot of time reading lit on drug pricing globally. One unique (grim) feature of US-focused papers is they ask: "Does pricing affect access among insured ppl?" instead of "Does pricing affect access?" as tho drug pricing barriers only count if they affect insured ppl

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Finally, there is apparently no need to reflect on what went wrong, or to dream of how we can build a more equitable world bc @pfizer is *checks notes* clairvoyant 🤯🪄: "We do not believe that IP is & WILL EVER BE an obstacle to manufacturing scale-up or even equitable access."

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Interesting q from @MetzTilly : "During the negotiation of the contract did you discuss w/the commission a mandatory participation to a patent pool be it the EU level or WHO level?" (I didn't realize this was on the table - does anyone know more?) 33/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

5 years

. @Harvard Provost email today: “the HGSU-UAW strike is unwarranted” @hgsuuaw #hgsustrike picket line, strike day 17: let us remind you, in festive song, the ~very~ reasonable things we are asking for 🎄🎅❄️☃️ #makemychristmasdreamscometrue #contractnow

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

4 months

Call me old-fashioned, but it is a bit unseemly that the core evidence in an op-ed arguing the US shouldn't negotiate prices like every other country is the authors' study on Why Unreasonable GLP-1 Prices Are Actually Good (funded by checks notes @novonordisk .) Buckle up. 🧵1/

STAT

@statnews

4 months

Opinion: The latest weight loss drugs could remake American health. But the U.S. is stuck on a political conversation about price controls.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

I sat on a webinar today where Pfizer waxed poetic about equity and access because they were donating 100,000 courses to poor countries. That's the same number of courses used in the US between Monday and Thursday last week.

Zach Brennan

@ZacharyBrennan

2 years

Glass half full: Number of courses administered per week is now down by about 30% from early June (when courses administered were ~275k per week).

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Impressive investigation by @politico @welt into the inner workings of the Gates Foundation, GAVI, Wellcome, CEPI, COVAX, & ACT-A + their relationships w/WHO & governments. One key revelation is Gates' high-level lobbying against the #TRIPSWaiver . (1/4)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

Congratulations to @JesseBump + @AnkurFactorial for the Sastry & Nichols award, respectively, for excellence in teaching at @HarvardChanSPH 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Good teaching is rare, & a special miracle in big lectures (surprise! their courses are *really* popular) 1/6

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

Wednesday!

Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

1 year

I'm defending my dissertation! 🥳🥳 Not posting the link here so I don't get zoom-crashed, but friends & anyone interested in access to medicines research is welcome. DM if you want zoom details (on the condition you save your spiciest questions for *after* the formal defense.)

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

5 years

THIS IS PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT: Thanks to the 24 @Harvard @HarvardChanSPH faculty members who signed a letter asking the administration to bargain in good faith with @hgsuuaw . To the other 441 faculty 👀👀👀 — it’s not too late to support.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

"Your patents were based on existing knowledge using publicly funded research. Why did you initially launch 280 patent requests knowing you were running the risk of penalizing other candidates? To @curevac : is it bc of this IP legal battle that you had to abandon your vax?" 34/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

2 years

. @JerkovicRomana (continued): "...I don’t remember your company showing solidarity with those in need. My question Ms Small is, am I wrong? And if I’m not, what is your justification for this lack of social responsibility?" 32/

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

3 months

The glitz and glamour of a Davos-style event with vague promises of 'advancing science' distracts from the elephant in the room which is @novonordiskfond is unlikely to (voluntarily) solve problems @novonordisk caused. I have a dayjob so will keep it to just the last year. 1/🧵

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

@DrTedros

3 months

Met with Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, @novonordiskfond CEO, to discuss the huge need for science and innovation driven solutions to #BeatNCDs , tackle #AntimicrobialResistance and the #ClimateCrisis . Thanked him for their support to @WHO and congratulated on their 100th anniversary.

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Melissa Barber (@mbarber.bsky.social)

@mellabarb

9 months

This thread could get very long but I'll stop here with "Where is knowledge from the global South?" "Platforms for knowledge exchange, circulation, cultivation and curation... are neither physically nor epistemically neutral. They are situated." 6/

Ṣẹ̀yẹ Abímbọ́lá

@seyeabimbola

1 year

I wrote a short response to a timely article in @JME_BMJ on epistemic justice in bioethics—"Where is knowledge from the global South?" My response, inspired by the words of Toni Morrison, is titled—"Knowledge from the global South is in the global South"

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