Recon: 21 States Reject Drug Wholesalers’ $18B Opioid Settlement; China NMPA Approves Roche’s Tecentriq for Lung Cancer

• 21 States Reject $18 Billion Offer From Drug Wholesalers to Settle Opioid Litigation (WSJ) (Reuters)
• Americans with employer coverage saw growth in drug spending outpace other medical costs (STAT)
• As opioid crisis intensified, many family doctors found promotional pitches were very good (STAT)
• The list of the 11 blockbusters-to-be in line for a 2020 launch highlight agony and ecstasy of drug R&D (Endpoints)
• Grassley aims for 25 GOP co-sponsors on drug bill (Politico)
• The cancer genes Wall Street is flooding with cash (BioPharmaDive)
• Georgia bill seeks lower drug prices by focusing on middlemen (AJC)
• US healthcare stocks have bigger forces at play than politics (Financial Times)
• Democratic senators ask FDA to ban device used to shock disabled students (The Hill)

• Roche's Tecentriq wins first approval in China for lung cancer (Reuters) (Press)
• Four countries in the African region license vaccine in milestone for Ebola prevention (WHO)
• AstraZeneca braces for coronavirus hit, but no impact so far (Reuters) (Endpoints) (PMLive)
• Indivior shares plunge as it warns of loss this year (Financial Times)
• AstraZeneca's Chinese investment bank partner raises $229M for its own new fund — and it's all about the coronavirus (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• 400 Novartis workers prepare for job losses at UK manufacturing site (Fierce)
• Lenders cheered as Kenya binged on medical equipment. Did patients get help? (Reuters)
• WHO says joint China mission to start coronavirus investigations this weekend (Reuters)
• Biotech firm Novacyt to launch coronavirus test next week (Reuters)
• Coronavirus Drug Shows Global Hurdles To Patent Protection (Law360-$)

• Carl June on CRISPR, CAR–T and how the Vietnam War dropped him into medicine (Endpoints)
• The Americans forced into bankruptcy to pay for prescriptions (The Guardian)
• Balancing Drug Prices and Innovation: An Interview with Stacie Dusetzina (The Incidental Economist)
• New entries, price hikes spur changes among the 20 most expensive drugs — though not the kind politicians like to see (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• If you were a cancer patient, where would you rather be — the United States or Europe? (Endpoints)
• Novimmune unit nabs Takeda milestone payment for hemophilia work (Fierce)
• Melinta seeks buyout bids to secure escape from bankruptcy (Fierce)
• Major Strides in HER2 Blockade for Metastatic Breast Cancer (NEJM)
• ‘Nobody talks about it because everyone is on it’: Adderall presents esports with an enigma (Washington Post)
• Does Your Unapproved Device, Drug or Biologic Qualify for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)? (FDA Law Blog)
• PhRMA report reveals nearly 600 drugs in US paediatric pipeline (EPR) (Report)
• A longtime health care investor recalls the insulin bong, praises discipline in valuations, and looks to South America (STAT)
• Palleon's first CSO explains how they (and she) got here; Enterprise taps Roche and Novartis vet David Morris as CMO (Endpoints)
• AstraZeneca sweeps two cancer drugs to the scrap heap; Epizyme nabs priority review for second rare cancer NDA (Endpoints) (Press)
• Wockhardt Limited, et al.; Withdrawal of Approval of 28 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (FDA)

• Interim data shows Stelara promise in Crohn’s (PharmaTimes) (Press)
• Verona unveils Phase II COPD results (PharmaTimes)
• Polatuzumab vedotin meets endpoint in Japanese study (PharmaLetter-$) (Press)
• Enrollment Begins for Latiglutenase (IMGX003) Phase 2b Trial for Treatment of Celiac Disease (Press)

• Medtronic buys British surgical AI company, adding to Hugo robot effort (MedtechDive)
• Insulet warns of defect with Dash personal diabetes manager (MedtechDive)
• Baxter probe finds $276 million in overstated income (MassDevice)
• FDA approves Orthofix’s mobile app for bone growth stimulators (MassDevice)
• Lucid Diagnostics EsoGuard DNA Test Gets FDA Breakthrough Device Status (GenomeWeb)
• Pulse Biosciences Provides Update on FDA 510(k) Submission for the CellFX System in Dermatology (Press)

• Pharma Enforcement Remains 'Priority Area' In FTC's 2021 Budget Request (Pink Sheet-$)
• Litigation Update: Genentech’s Motion to Dismiss Amgen’s Counterclaims Denied in Avastin Biosimilar Litigation (Big Molecule Watch)
• Oklahoma Botched 2 Executions. It Says It’s Ready to Try Again. (NYTimes)
• Bipartisan bill would cap insulin costs in Connecticut (AP)
• J&J Unit Settles Noncompete Dispute With Texas-Based Rival (Law360-$)
• 6th Circ. Halts Nationwide Discovery In Opioid MDL (Law360-$)
• Chancery Drops Suit Over Biopharma Firm's Cholesterol Drug (Law360-$)
• Acetris Case – Federal Circuit Rules that a Drug Tableted in the U.S. is Manufactured in the U.S. and Eligible for Government Procurement (FDA Law Blog)
• D.Utah Rejects Personal Jurisdiction over Parent Company; Trims Claims Against Subsidiary (Drug & Device Law)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar
• Public Workshop - Towards Good Simulation Practices in Health Technologies – 13-15 April 2020
• Patient-Focused Drug Development for Stimulant Use Disorder; Public Meeting – 10 March 2020

• NICE recommends wireless device for overactive bladder (PharmaTimes)

• Genetron Health Obtains Regulatory Approval in China for NGS Instrument, Lung Cancer Panel (GenomeWeb)

• Drug marketers to be held responsible for quality (Economic Times)
• As Belviq Goes Off India Market, Patent Case May Fizzle (Scrip-$)

• Application to reduce the deferral period for some blood donors under consideration (TGA)

• China Expands Chaotic Dragnet in Coronavirus Crackdown (NYTimes)
• China’s capital Beijing imposes 14-day quarantine on arrivals (Reuters)
• China reports 5,090 new coronavirus cases in mainland, 121 new deaths (Reuters)
• China says 1,716 health workers infected by coronavirus, six dead (Reuters)
• Biotech firms consider contingency plans as the coronavirus outbreak hits CROs (C&EN)
• Coronavirus/vaccines: the jab tab (Financial Times)
• Gilead drug prevents type of coronavirus in monkeys; raises hope for China trials (Reuters)
• The lessons of West Africa’s Ebola’s crisis will save the continent from the worst of coronavirus (Quartz)
• US Supports Aid to North Korea for Fighting the Coronavirus (NYTimes)