Pharma

Walgreens Pharmacist Refused To Give A Woman Her Prescription To End A Pregnancy

A Walgreens pharmacist refused to give a woman her prescription because of “ethical beliefs”<p>Today in truly repulsive news, a Walgreens pharmacist …

Walgreens

Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Lilly named in patients' price fixing suit | Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three of the biggest makers of diabetes treatments, Sanofi SA, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Co, were named in a class action lawsuit about price fixing filed by a group of patients.<p>The logo of French drugmaker Sanofi is seen in front of the company's headquarters in Paris, …

Eli Lilly

Ontario Promotes Free Use of Opioid Antidote

Harm-reduction program saves lives, say advocates who want to see naloxone provided to U.S. addicts<p>TORONTO—By his own account, Leon “Pops” Alward should be dead. The 47-year-old Toronto resident has overdosed five times in the past four years after injecting the synthetic opioid fentanyl. He is …

Naloxone

Rare diseases, expensive drugs - Health Canada showdown coming

When Canada’s health ministers sit down together on Thursday and Friday in Winnipeg, talks are expected to revolve around Ottawa’s development of a national pharmacare plan. B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix wants that plan to include a mechanism to grapple with expensive drugs for rare diseases – a …

Canadian News

Lupin to launch nearly 30 products in US market this fiscal

With rapid approvals from US health regulator anticipated, Lupin sees opportunity to launch around 30 generic products in the world’s largest pharma

Business (India)

A Drug Costs $272,000 a Year. Not So Fast, Says New York State.

A wave of breakthrough drugs is transforming the medical world, offering hope for people with deadly diseases despite their dizzying price tags.<p>But what if it turns out that some of these expensive new drugs don’t work that well?<p>That’s the quandary over Orkambi, a drug that was approved in 2015 for …

Business

NICE reconsiders and agrees to back Roche’s Ocrevus in relapsing multiple sclerosis—with strings attached

In April, England’s cost watchdog decided Roche’s multiple sclerosis star Ocrevus wasn’t cost-effective enough to win reimbursement backing in …

Multiple Sclerosis

Pharmacy middlemen made $223.7M from Ohio Medicaid

For the first time, the state of Ohio on Friday released data showing how private companies manage $2.5 billion in public money for pharmacy benefits …

Health Care

Side Effects series on prescription drugs

The Dispatch has spent the past four months uncovering how PBMs operate in Ohio. The stories have detailed some of the hidden costs PBMs create that …

Pharma

FDA slaps new bladder cancer limits on Merck's Keytruda, Roche's Tecentriq

Last month, the FDA warned that immuno-oncology stars from Merck and Roche might actually be hurting some previously untreated bladder cancer …

Immunotherapy

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Lilly's Alimta patent

June 22 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Friday a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of its patent on Alimta vitamin regimen and prevented …

Judiciary

Government accelerates approvals for imported medicines

China's State Drug Administration has accelerated the approval of imported drugs that have already been tested and approved for use in overseas …

News (China)

Opioid shortages leave US hospitals scrambling

Even as opioids flood American communities and fuel widespread addiction, hospitals are facing a dangerous shortage of the powerful painkillers for patients in acute pain, according to doctors, pharmacists and a coalition of health groups.<p>The shortage, though more significant in some places than …

Medicine

Drug shortages again on the rise after 5 years of improvements, FDA says

After 5 years of declines in the number of new drug shortages in the U.S., they jumped to 39 last year from 26 in the two preceding years. And while …

Pharma

Shire scores new FDA thumbs-up for HAE drug Cinryze in latest bid to fend off rival CSL

When CSL launched its hereditary angioedema drug Haegarda last year, it played up one big advantage the drug has over Shire’s Cinryze: Haegarda can …

Pharma

American Medical Association urges regulators to block CVS-Aetna deal

The American Medical Association has weighed in against the $69 billion acquisition of Aetna Inc. by CVS Health Corp., saying it will leave consumers …

Health Care

Why is AbbVie’s tax rate so low? Humira patents cached in Bermuda

Humira is the world's bestselling drug, marketed by the Big Pharma company that’s expecting to chalk up the lowest tax rate in the industry this …

Eli Lilly

Drug Pricing Turns to Insulin As Politicians, AMA And Docs Look to Pharma

Eli Lilly & Co. (ELY) , Sanofi Inc. (SNY) , Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Merck & Co. (MRK) are being put on the defensive.<p>Those huge pharma companies …

Eli Lilly

Drug spoon sculpture placed outside drugmaker headquarters

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — An 800-pound, nearly 11-foot-long steel sculpture of a bent and burned drug spoon was placed Friday in front of the Connecticut headquarters of drugmaker Purdue Pharma as part of an art protest against the opioid crisis.<p>Artist Domenic Esposito and art gallery owner Fernando …

Purdue Pharma

CVS tool finds cheaper drug options - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

HEALTH CARE<p>CVS Health is rolling out a new tool to alert its 30,000 pharmacists to cheaper drug options when they fill patients’ prescriptions.<p>For …

CVS Pharmacy

2,000 Iowans could get free Narcan spray to revive opioid overdose victims

CLOSE<p>Opioid abuse is at an all-time high, say experts, and the medication naloxone, if administered in time, could prevent a fatal overdose. This …

Des Moines

Express Scripts says Anthem negotiated in bad faith: court filing | Reuters

(Reuters) - Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co has accused Anthem Inc of negotiating their contract in bad faith and is seeking a court order that the health insurer has no right to demand lower drug prices.<p>The office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, …

Express Scripts

Former Sale’s Rep Accuses OxyContin Maker Of ‘Disturbing’ Marketing Practices Used To Push Pills After $635 Million Settlement

7:27 PM 06/22/2018<p>A former sale’s representative for Purdue Pharma is accusing the drug maker of continuing to misrepresent its opioid medication …

Conservative View

The woman behind 'female Viagra' sold her company for $1 billion — then got it back for free

In 2015, Cindy Eckert (then Whitehead) made headlines after landing a billion-dollar deal for the company she co-founded, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, …

Pharma

CVS Pharmacies Now Delivers Prescriptions Nationwide

CVS Pharmacy is the nation’s first retail chain to deliver prescriptions. Next-day home delivery is now available from all of its 9,800 locations …

CVS Pharmacy

374 Californians took their lives in 2017 under physician-assisted suicide law

A total of 374 people in California took their lives in 2017 using lethal medications prescribed by their doctors under the state’s physician-assisted suicide law, according to state data released Friday.<p>The End of Life Option Act, which went into effect in June 2016, made the state the fifth to …

Pharma

CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo: Confident Aetna deal will close later this year

CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo told CNBC on Thursday he's "excited" and confident about the drugstore chain's deal to merge with Aetna.<p>The $69 billion …

CVS Health

16+ Terms Entrepreneurs Should Know for Navigating the Healthcare Industry

The U.S. spends over $3 trillion annually and healthcare accounts approaches 20% of our GDP — this is clearly an industry that is ripe with …

Ben Horowitz

First Female Dean ‘A Sea Of Change’ At USC’s Scandal-Plagued Medical School

The University of Southern California veered sharply and deliberately from tradition in naming the first woman — and the first geriatrician — to lead its 133-year-old medical school.<p>Dr. Laura Mosqueda, who took over the position on May 1, said she’ll work hard to steer more young doctors toward …

Pharma

Express Scripts shares languish as Anthem dispute weighs | Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As a pharmacy benefits manager geared toward holding down prescription costs, Express Scripts would appear to be in a sweet spot with rising political and public pressure on drug prices, but its stock has struggled this year.<p>The main culprit: a contract dispute with a major …

Express Scripts