Rise and shine, everyone, another busy day is on the way. In fact, we have an early speaking engagement, but managed to squirrel away a couple of items for you, which will appear shortly. Meanwhile, the time has come to reach for a cup of stimulation and make our way for the nearest locomotive. As for you, here are some tidbits. Have a smashing day and do keep in touch…
The New Hampshire attorney general accused Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, of stonewalling demands for information the company collects about suspected criminal trafficking of its painkiller, the Los Angeles Times reports. In refusing to comply with the subpoena, Purdue cited longstanding objections to the state’s use of a private law firm in an ongoing investigation of the company and other opioid makers.
An important clinical trial of the most promising new treatment for Parkinson’s disease in decades might be delayed because of a feud between a key scientist and the Michael J. Fox Foundation, STAT reports. The influential organization had a falling out with a prominent Georgetown University researcher, and it remains unclear whether Georgetown will be able to obtain the medicine from its manufacturer so that the study can proceed.
A decade ago, Mylan Pharmaceuticals decried so-called authorized generics as a threat to the conventional generic drug industry, Bloomberg News writes. There is irony in this, of course, because this is the very same tactic that Mylan is now using to sell a lower-cost version of its own EpiPen device, which is causing an outcry over its price tag and continual price hikes taken by the drug maker.
Walgreens Boots Alliance formed a partnership with Prime Therapeutics in hopes of capturing a greater share of the prescription-drug market and better compete with CVS Health, the Wall Street Journal tells us. Prime is a pharmacy benefits manager that is owned by 14 Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans. The companies will combine specialty and mail-service businesses, and Walgreens will become the preferred pharmacy for Prime to fill their prescriptions.
Chinese drug sales to the US are growing despite safety concerns, Bloomberg News tells us. Chinese exports of pharmaceutical products and health supplements worldwide jumped 3 percent to $56 billion last year. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 drug factories in China are supplying the domestic market, and more than 500 facilities are registered to sell to the US.
A study found that the Praluent med sold by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals reduced the need for apheresis treatment in patients with very high cholesterol by 75 percent versus a placebo, Pharma Times reports. The late-stage study assessed the injectable drug in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, who require regular weekly or biweekly apheresis, an invasive procedure designed to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood.
A proposed class action lawsuit filed by New York City police detectives and hotel workers accuses Valeant Pharmaceuticals of racketeering by forcing them to pay exorbitant prices for medicines, Reuters says.
Martin Shkreli sold his remaining stake in KaloBios, severing his ties with the drug maker he once led as the company seeks to distance itself from its former chief executive, the Wall Street Journal writes.
India’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority is trying to speed the process used to recover money that drug makers overcharged some companies, the Hindu Business Line reports.
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