Pharmalot, Pharmalittle: Immunomedics abstract booted from cancer conference

And so, another weekend will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. As of now, our agenda is unsettled. We have some reading to do and plan to tidy up around the castle. Oh yes, a few naps are in order. And what about you? You might take in a moving picture show or drive through quaint and serene places. Perhaps this a good time to connect with someone special. Or simply meditate. Whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy and see you soon …

Immunomedics was caught trying to sneak previously presented clinical data on a breast cancer drug into the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting starting Friday in Chicago, TheStreet confides. “Since the confidentiality of this abstract was violated, the abstract and presentation have been removed from the meeting and will no longer be featured in our press program,” an ASCO official told the site.

Pfizer chief executive Ian Read is giving up on tax inversions, but remains interested in big mergers, Bloomberg News says. “If you believe you can reorganize your research into productive smaller units, there is a logic to consolidation of the industry by taking out duplicative expenses,” particularly if big savings can be had, Read tells the news service. “The biggest pressure for that, if it comes, will come from constrained budgets on health care.”

Generic drug makers hope to ring registers by launching copies of GlaxoSmithKline’s best-selling Advair inhaler in the US, but without a race to the bottom on price, Reuters reports. “Nobody wants to kill the market,” Mylan president Rajiv Malik tells the news service. Besides Glaxo, there will be one generic for some months and then two more for maybe 12 to 18 months. “We believe it is not going to be a commoditized product.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified more than 200 counties in the US that are vulnerable to HIV outbreaks stemming from poverty and the opioid crisis, the Wall Street Journal writes.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation plans to create a multinational company with shared ownership across its 57 member states to produce vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and other products.

ViiV Healthcare will supply Botswana with its dolutegravir HIV drug, the first time the medicine will be made available as part of a national health program in sub-Saharan Africa, Pharma Times tells us.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals received another notice of default from bondholders for the delay in filing its first-quarter report, according to Reuters.

India’s Delhi High Court reserved a verdict in over 450 petitions filed by drug makers challenging a decision to ban 344 fixed-dose combination medicines, the Economic Times informs us

Speculation is mounting that GlaxoSmithKline is interested in acquiring Pacific Biosciences, amid plans to seek US approval for an inhaler to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by the end of the year, the Guardian says.