1. Pfizer to Buy Cancer Drug Maker in
$14 Billion Deal
Pfizer has
acquired Medivation, which makes the big-selling drug Xtandi to treat prostate
cancer, with a $14 billion agreement, representing $81.50 a share in cash.
Pfizer, just as all the other pharmaceutical companies, is making a big push
into oncology. The main big reason is that cancer drugs can sell for well over
$100,000 a year and so far have been more resistant to cost-cutting efforts by
insurers than drugs for some other diseases. Xtandi has generated $2.2 billion
in global sales in the last four quarters and analysts see sales eventually
reaching $4 billion or more annually. Ian Read, chairman and chief executive of
Pfizer, expects that proposed acquisition of Medivation will immediately
accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for
Pfizer. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/business/dealbook/medivation-pfizer-14-billion-deal.
html?rref=collection%252Ftimestopic%252FPfizerInc.&action=click&contentCollection=business®ion=stream&module=stream_
unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection&mtrref=www.nytimes.com&_r=0
2. Why a Chinese Billionaire is Now
the Biggest Investor in CHS
Turnover
among top shareholders of distressed Community Health Systems has happened so
dramatically over the past eight months that management could be excused if
they need an introduction to the newcomers. The new largest shareholder of CHS
is Tianquiao Chen, a Chinese billionaire, and he has announced that he had
accumulated about 11.4 million shares of CHS, or 10% of common shares. During
the time Chen and Wellington, second largest shareholder, were buying big into
CHS this year, the company’s stock was trading for less than $20 a share
whereas it was traded for $60 a share a year ago. Neither Chen nor Wellington
likely intend to be activist investors and demand board seats to foist
operational changes on management. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160820/MAGAZINE/308209967/why-a-chinese-billionaire-is-now-thebiggest-investor-in-chs
3. U.S. Funding for Fighting Zika
Virus is Nearly Spent, C.D.C. Says
The
director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that federal
funds to fight the Zika virus were nearly exhausted, and that if Congress did not
replenish them soon, there would be no money to fight a new outbreak. The
C.D.C. had spent $194 million of the $222 million it was allocated to fight the
virus. The issue of funding is urgent because the Gulf Coast, where the Zika
mosquito mostly lives, is only about halfway through peak mosquito season and
the chances that the virus could start circulating in Houston or New Orleans
are relatively high. There is currently a record of 16 infants born in the US
with Zika-related microcephaly. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/31/health/us-funding-for-fighting-zika-virus-is-nearly-spent-cdc-says.
html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_
unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=39&pgtype=sectionfront
4. HCA Pouring $2.7 Billion into Hub
Hospitals and Markets
HCA
Holdings plans to spend $2.7 billion this year to expand patient access in its
hub markets. HCA, the nation’s largest investor-owned hospital chain, is
developing more than a dozen free-standing emergency rooms in its markets
through 2017 to go along with the 57 already open. HCA is also adding
ambulatory surgery centers, urgent-care centers, diagnostic centers, and new
hospital wings to provide convenience and the right setting for the severity of
illnesses and injuries. Healthcare demand has been up 4% and more across the
country. But that is likely to taper to a more traditional 2% rate and HCA
wants to be ready to capture those patients at any point in the continuum by
having the facilities in place when patients come. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160908/NEWS/160909906/hca-pouring-2-7-billion-into-hub-hospitals-andmarkets
5. EpiPen Price Rises Could Mean
More Riches for Mylan Executives
Mylan, the
pharmaceutical giant, has been vilified for price increases on its EpiPen
allergy treatment. Although Nina Devlin, a spokesperson stated that Mylan’s big
price increases were not intended to help propel its performance toward the
earnings and stock price targets, Brian Foley, an independent compensation
consultant argued it is impossible to separate the company’s business decisions
from its pay practice. Under the grant, Mylan executives will be rewarded if
the company’s earnings and stock price meet certain goals by the end of 2018.
Given that EpiPen accounted for $1 billion of Mylan’s $9.4 billion in revenue
in its most recent year, the allergy treatment’s price increases seem integral
to meeting those targets and generating a big payday.https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/business/at-mylan-lets-pretend-is-more-than-a-game
6. Obamacare Premiums Set to Rise,
Even for Savvy Shoppers
In the last
few years, even though premiums in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance
marketplaces were rising, most customers could avoid a big price rise by
shopping for a cheaper plan. Next year, according to a preliminary analysis,
that is going to be a lot harder. There is expected to be an average premium
increase of 11%. The plans that were least expensive this year in the popular
“silver” category are no longer price leaders in most markets. People who want
to stay in their current plan could face much larger increases.
7. A Push to Lower Drug Prices That
Hit Insurers and Employers the Hardest
Insurers
and employers say that a big financial shock has come from a largely overlooked
source: expensive anti-inflammatory medications like Humira and Enbrel, drugs
taken by millions of people for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In recent
years, the prices of these medications have doubled, making them the costliest
drug class in the country. Express Scripts, the nation’s largest drug benefits
manager, changed its recommendations to insurers and employers saying they
should cover fewer drugs for many inflammatory conditions. The idea is that the
new limits will force drug companies to lower their prices, saving insurers and
employers money.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/business/express-scripts-urges-narrower-coverage-of-anti-inflammatory-drugs.
html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_
unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront
8. Pfizer Snaps Up Gene Therapy
Group Bamboo for $645m
Pfizer has
snapped up the remaining stake in privately-held, US gene therapy group Bamboo
Therapeutics in a deal that could be worth as much $645 million. The US drug
giant already owned around 22% of the firm’s fully diluted equity and has now
acquired the remainder for an upfront payment of $150 million. Under the deal,
Bamboo’s selling shareholders will also be eligible for potential milestone
payments of up to $495 million contingent upon the progression of key assets
through development, regulatory approval and commercialization. The move
significantly ramps up Pfizer’s expertise in gene therapy. http://www.pharmatimes.com/news/pfizer_snaps_up_gene_therapy_group_bamboo_for_$645m_1087970
9. Pharma Industry Should
Self-Police Drug Prices, Allergan CEO Says
Recently, a
pharmaceutical company, which makes products such as Botox, pledged to limit
annual increases on prescription drugs and Brent Saunders, Allergan CEO
believes others can and should do the same. He says that government
intervention isn’t the answer to keeping drug prices in line. Saunders
announced that Allergan would self-police their prices and raise prices no more
than once a year. Allergan is getting a positive feedback from the drug
industry. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/08/pharma-industry-should-self-police-drug-prices-allergan-ceo-says.html
10. Why You’ve Probably Never Heard
of the Mysterious Scientist Behind One of the Greatest Advances in Neuroscience
The new lab
technique, called optogenetics, is one of the biggest breakthroughs in
neuroscience in decades and it has the potential to cure blindness, treat
Parkinson’s disease, and relieve chronic pain. Two American inventors, Karl
Deisseroth at Stanford University and Ed Boyden at the MIT have collected tens
of millions in grants and won millions in prize money in recent years for their
breakthrough invention. However, it turns out that it may be Zhuo-Hua Pan who
invented optogenetics first. Pan is a vision scientist at Wayne State
University who was driven by a desire to cure blindness and came up with the
germ of the idea of optogenics in the early 2000s. Boyden et al. and Pan worked
on channelrhodopsin during similar time frame. However, Pan couldn’t receive
much attention only because the editor at Nature Neuroscience published
Boyden’s paper first. http://www.businessinsider.com/zhuo-hua-pan-optogenetics-2016-9?from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0
11. Health Care Providers Scramble
to Meet New Disaster Readiness Rule
An
estimated 72,315 American health care providers and suppliers will have a little
over a year to meet federal disaster preparedness requirements completed early
September by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The new rule is
aimed at preventing the severe breakdown in patient care that follows natural
disasters while also strengthening the ability to provide services during other
types of emergencies, such as pandemics and terrorist attacks. The rule is
unusual in that it has provisions for 17 different provider types, including
outpatient surgery site, physical therapy offices and home health agencies.
While the vast majority of organizations have had to adhere to at least some
emergency preparedness requirements for accreditation, others were not subject
to any and it is expected to have a big impact on those facilities. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/us/medicare-requirements-disaster-readiness.html
12. Don’t Worry about Orphan Drug
Costs, Study Says. The Years of Fast Growth are Over
Researchers
at IMS Health and Celgene state that a years-long upswell in orphan drug
spending should slow down. The IMS Health and Celgene authors found that – when
limited to rare disease indications – orphan drug spending grew to $30 billion
in 2013 from $15 billion in 2007. However, the authors expect that growth to
slow down for the 2014-2018 period. http://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/rising-orphan-drug-costs-aren-t-a-cause-for-concern-study-contends
13. St. Jude Sues Short-Seller Over
Heart Device Allegations
St. Jude
Medical Inc sued short-selling firm Muddy Waters and cybersecurity company
MedSec Holdings Ltd, saying they intentionally disseminated false information
about its heart devices to manipulate its stock. Muddy waters, run by Carson
Block, said in late August that St. Jude’s pacemakers and defibrillators, which
are used to regulate heart rhythm and treat cardiac arrest, had cybersecurity
flaws that enabled them to be hacked and manipulated, with potentially fatal
consequences. These accusations based on research from start-up cybersecurity
company MedSec, knocked St. Jude’s shares back 10% on Aug.25. In the lawsuit,
St. Jude stated that Block’s statements were defamatory and false. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-st-jude-medical-cyber-idUSKCN11D1FR
14. Congressman Wants a Hearing on
Cosmetics Safety
Politicians
are putting pressure on the FDA to review and potentially revise existing
regulations that govern the cosmetic industry to make sure products are safe.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr noted that there haven’t been substantial changes to
policies regarding cosmetics since 1938, when the FDA was first charged with
overseeing cosmetic safety. He says that the committee with jurisdiction over
cosmetic regulation should examine the existing framework and determine that
improvements are necessary. With the cosmetic industry raking in hundreds of
billions of dollars per year, projected to reach $675 billion in revenue by
2020, it’s an important time for a review to ensure consumer safety. https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/congressman-wants-a-hearing-on-cosmetics-safety-232444488.html
15. FDA Warns Ovarian Cancer Tests
Not Reliable
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration warned that screening tests for ovarian cancer are
not reliable and should not be used. Despite extensive research and published
studies, currently there are no accurate screening tests for ovarian cancer. However,
numbers of companies have marketed tests that claim to screen for and detect
ovarian cancer. But these tests may lead to delays in effective preventive
treatments for high-risk women who have no symptoms or result in unnecessary
medical tests and/or surgery for those who do not have the disease. http://www.webmd.com/ovarian-cancer/news/20160909/fda-warns-ovarian-cancer-tests-not-reliable