Recon: Accent Therapeutics Launches with $40M, J&J Drops Alzheimer’s Candidate

• Accent Therapeutics Launches with $40 Million: Focus on RNA-Modifying Proteins (BioSpace) (Fierce) (Endpoints) (Boston Business Journal-$) (C&EN)
• Johnson & Johnson scraps Alzheimer's trials on safety concerns (Reuters) (Endpoints) (The Pharma Letter) (PharmaTimes) (Scrip-$) (Fierce)
• AstraZeneca sales hit by generic competitors to Crestor statin (Financial Times) (PharmaTimes) (Reuters) (Fierce)
• AstraZeneca drops Amgen-partnered solid tumor drug (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• David Tepper gets US approval to take activist stance on Allergan, if he wants it (CNBC) (Fierce)
• Trump Administration to Tie Health Facilities’ Funding to Abortion Restrictions (NYT) (The Guardian) (WSJ) (NPR) (Washington Post)
• Ryan: 'Compromise' in the works for controversial drug pricing bill (The Hill) (STAT)
• Right-to-try bill headed for vote puts bigger burden on FDA to protect patients, Gottlieb says (STAT) (Washington Examiner) (The Hill)
• VA joins military in fraught multibillion-dollar health IT contract (Politico) (Healthcare IT News) (Axios)
• DHS warns of cybersecurity weakness in Medtronic N’Vision neurostim programmer (MassDevice) (Fierce)

• Pharma and biotech leaders back ’no deal’ Brexit warning (PMLiVE) (pharmaphorum)
• WHO Raises Ebola Health Risk to 'Very High' in DR Congo, but Says Conditions for International Emergency not yet Met (CNN) (Fox) (WHO)
• CDC prepares to join Ebola fight in Africa (The Hill) (VOA)
• EU releases emergency aid and starts humanitarian flight service to contain Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (EC)
• Experimental drugs poised for use in Ebola outbreak (Nature)
• WHO prioritizes diagnostic tests for global health threats (Axios) (The Conversation)
• Stempeutics partners with Cipla for its stem cell drug (Economic Times) (Pharmabiz)
• MTaI urges govt to separate medical device cost from package rates under Ayushman Bharat (Pharmabiz)
• US opioid crisis hits Indian pharma companies (Economic Times)
• No, raising drug prices in Canada will not help the U.S. (The Conversation)

• AstraZeneca pay report rejected by 35 percent of shareholders (Reuters)
• Pulse Check: Azar to drug plan critics: Bring on the fight (Politico)
• Shorter breast cancer treatment could hurt providers' pockets (Modern Healthcare)
• FDA looking at ways to include price info in drug ads, Gottlieb says, as questions loom (STAT)
• LISTEN: Inside the Theranos collapse, Valeant’s latest legal lumps, and a bunch of biotech hot takes (STAT)
• Here’s how Sanofi separates true innovation from all the hype in digital health (Drug Delivery Business News)
• $9.7M Valeant Payment Was Legal, Ex-Execs Argue In Closing (Law360-$)
• GSK, Zofran Users To Pick 16 Potential MDL Bellwether Cases (Law360-$)
• Agile bristles after FDA’s third snub, promising a fight for its contraceptive (Endpoints)

• Trials show benefit of ‘on demand’ use of AZ’ asthma inhaler (PharmaTimes)
• Encouraging trial results for Daiichi anti-stroke therapy (The Pharma Letter) (Press)
• ICER to review biologic treatments for asthma (The Pharma Letter)
• Pierre Fabre and Roche extend pact on companion diagnostic for cancer (Fierce)
• Syndax is hit with a setback during the ASCO preview round as lead drug flops in mid-stage study (Endpoints)
• Experimental MERS treatments enter clinical trial (NIH)
• Homology Medicines Presents Data from PKU Gene Therapy Program Demonstrating Long-Term Durability of Treatment in IND-Enabling Studies (Press)
• RXi Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results from Phase 2 Trial with Samcyprone for the Treatment of Common Warts (Press)

• Medical Device QMS Harmonization: US Considers Aligning to ISO 13485 (Emergo Group)
• Valeritas touts new data for insulin delivery device (Drug Delivery Business News)
• MIT develops cheap, build-your-own paper diagnostic tests (Fierce)
• FDA clears Additive Ortho’s patient specific 3D printed bone segments (MassDevice)
• Market Intel: Insulin Pumps Dominate $7bn-Plus Global Infusion Devices Market (Medtech Insight-$)
• FDA Approves Industry’s First Off-the-Ear Audio Processor with Wireless Charging: MED-EL’s RONDO 2 (Press)
• NeoTract Announces American Urological Association (AUA) Recommendation of UroLift System as a Standard of Care Option for the Treatment of Enlarged Prostate (Press)
• KARL STORZ Announces New Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Detection System: Photodynamic Diagnosis (PDD) Blue Light Flexible Video Cystoscopy (Press)

• Trump to nominate Acting VA Secretary Wilkie to lead the agency (Fierce)
• FDA Issues Report on Medical Device Servicing, Declining to Impose New Regulatory Requirements For Now (FDA Law Blog)
• The health care industry is awash in cash (Axios)
• How Cigna and Express Scripts decided to merge amid Anthem drama (Modern Healthcare)
• Bill Gates: Trump asked me the difference between HIV and HPV (CNBC)
• 'Outrageous' drug prices are a fair trade issue: Mt. Sinai CEO (CNBC)
• Verily Advisory Board series: Linda Avey discusses health data sharing & ownership (Verily)
• House Committees Advance Slate of HITN Opioid Safety Alliance-Endorsed Bills (HITN)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• Concerns Rise For Notified Bodies Over Potential Reopening Of PIP Case (Medtech Insight-$)
• Government proposal leaves markets gasping -- and Italians vaping (Reuters)
• Diabetes test strips recalled in new alert (MHRA)
• How digital is your country? Europe needs Digital Single Market to boost its digital performance (EC)

• Notice of the Office of the State Drug Administration on the Project Amendment of the Medical Device Industry in 2018 (CFDA)
• Ucare.ai is using AI to make healthcare more efficient in Southeast Asia (TechCrunch)
• Does The Growing Global Sextech Industry Have A Place In Asia? (Forbes)
• Japan Seeks Private Sector's Help With Blowout Health Costs  (Bloomberg)
• South Asian pharmaceutical companies to see a growth spurt amid high demand (Baltimore Post Examiner)
• Chinese insurtech startup CareVoice launches voice-based virtual assistant (MobiHealthNews)
• China Approves $18B Sale Of Toshiba's Memory Unit (Law360-$)
• Profectus and MediSun launch Asian joint venture (BioPharma Dive)

• India’s health spending a dismal $63 (The Tribune)
• How the WHO List for Essential Diagnostics Could Boost India's Primary Health Care (News18)

• Philips, Emory Healthcare team on telehealth ICU in Australia (Health Data Management)

• Canada Post halts deliveries to 220 senior and disabled residents due to 'health and safety concerns' (CBC News)
• This 12-year-old leukemia survivor is fighting for equal access to medicine for all Canadians (The Globe and Mail)

• Parents' mental health issues may spoil children's friendships (Reuters)
• App helps doctors screen for opioid dependency (pharmaphorum)
• More patients are taking home recordings of their doctor visits. But who else could listen?  (STAT)
• US birth rates hit record low and diaper, baby bottle companies are feeling the pinch (CNBC)
• Vecna, Imprivata partner on biometric palm vein scanning for secure patient check-in (MobiHealthNews)