Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We are just fine, thank you. Although gray skies are enveloping the Pharmalot campus, our spirits remain sunny. After all, as the Morning Mayor taught us: “Every brand new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.” So go ahead and tug on the ribbon. While you do, we will indulge with another cup of needed stimulation. Meanwhile, here are some items of interest. Hope your day goes well …
Valeant Pharmaceuticals will probably need to restate some of its earlier financial results based on an internal investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports. The potential revisions concern revenue recorded when medicines were shipped to Philidor Rx Services, a mail-order pharmacy during late 2014 and early 2015. The drug maker believes about $58 million of revenue recognized in late 2014 should have instead been booked in 2015.
Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million in damages to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on talcum powder sold by the health care giant, Bloomberg News reports. This was the first state-court case to go to trial over claims that the company knew decades ago that its talc-based products could cause cancer, but, nonetheless, failed to warn consumers.
More than two dozen state and city health directors filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to label prescription painkillers and sedatives with a black box warning because the combination of the drugs can cause fatal overdoses, STAT tells us. The move comes amid mounting concerns over growing painkiller abuse, which the Centers for Disease Control has called an epidemic.
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to end debate on whether to confirm Dr. Robert Califf as the next FDA commissioner, setting up a final confirmation vote most likely later this week, BioCentury tells us.
Seven big drug makers — including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and AstraZeneca — joined a consortium to streamline and accelerate the development of new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, Pharma Times says.
An experimental drug-infused ring that is inserted in the vagina once a month cut the risk of HIV infection by more than half among women who used the device consistently, Reuters reports, citing a new study.
The vaccine to combat human papillomavirus, or HPV, has reduced the prevalence in teenage girls by almost two-thirds, The New York Times writes, citing new research.
An ibuprofen patch capable of delivering the medicine through the skin to the site of pain, and at a consistent dose for up to 24 hours, has been developed by UK researchers, Reuters says.
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued final guidelines recommending Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo as a monotherapy for adult patients with advanced melanoma, Pharma Times reports.
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