U.K. government to invest £100M in artificial intelligence-focused Ph.D.s

April 30, 2019 During his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the head of Her Majesty’s Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, described the move as a way to help future-proof the U.K. economy going forward.  The money is part of the country’s Industrial Strategy and will fund research into technology for … Read more

Insulin prices nearly doubled in 5 years, report says

April 25, 2019 Looking at health insurance claims from 13,800 to 16,200 people with Type 1 diabetes who use employer-sponsored health insurance, researchers found insulin spending per person in the U.S. was $5,700 in 2016, a 97% increase from $2,900 in 2012.  The average annual cost for individuals to manage their diabetes reached $18,500 in 2016, … Read more

UnitedHealthcare, fueled by federal probes, sues generics makers for price fixing

April 23, 2019 In a 355-page lawsuit, UnitedHealthcare sued the companies for collusion, naming a group of “core conspirators” that includes Teva and Mylan, as well as dozens of other drugmakers.  UnitedHealthcare, the largest insurer in the U.S., aims to claw back financial losses it says it suffered because of the inflated prices. Filed in Minnesota … Read more

Sackler family directed – and covered up – Purdue Pharma’s opioid sales tactis. Now it should pay the price says the Attorney General

April 18, 2019 The Sackler family, composed of former Purdue CEO Richard Sackler plus other family members Beverly, David, Ilene, Lefcourt, Jonathan, Kathe, Mortimer, and Theresa, controlled the Purdue board and should be held accountable for Massachusetts’ opioid epidemic, Healey said in an amended lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court.  Along the way, they avoided leaving … Read more

Congo approves 4 more experimental Ebola drugs to fight outbreak

April 16, 2019 Congolese health authorities started administering mAb114, a monoclonal antibody developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), on Aug. 11, 2018 Reuters reported.  The treatment is based on an antibody found in the blood of a patient who had survived an earlier Ebola epidemic in Congo.  The 10 patients … Read more

FDA creating innovation office to speed drug development

April 09, 2019 FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., was due to reveal the new office in early January 2019 via videolink at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.  In creating the office, Gottlieb thinks the FDA can leverage improved understanding of biomarkers and other advances to build tools that take some of the risks and costs … Read more

Never mind the January 2019 hikes…Pharma sill puts pricing at the top of its worry list

April 06, 2019 Slightly more than half of respondents to a GlobalData survey tagged pricing and reimbursement as their biggest worry this year, the analytics firm said.  As that pricing pressure rolls on, GlobalData analysts also expect “aggressive negotiation tactics to drive down drug prices.” The survey results come as the biopharma industry flocked to … Read more

Bose wins FDA green light for direct-to-consumer hearing aid

April 02, 2019 The de novo clearance makes it the first hearing aid authorized by the Agency that allows users to fit, program and control the device on their own, without help from a healthcare provider.  The Bose Hearing Aid is a wireless amplifier placed in the ear canal that can be adjusted by the … Read more