Recon: Biogen Strikes $1B Deal With Ionis for Neurology Drug Development

• Biogen To Pay Ionis $1B To Develop Brain Drugs (Forbes) (Reuters) (The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Endpoints)
• FDA Panel Votes To Approve Marijuana-Based Drug For Epilepsy (Forbes) (NYT) (NBC) (CNN)
• Google all in on AI, disease management (Healthcare Dive) (Modern Healthcare)
• FDA commissioner to drug middlemen: You're part of the problem (CNBC) (Speech) 

• Takeda weighs raising Shire bid (Reuters) (WSJ) (Endpoints)
• Allergan kills talk of mega takeover bid for Shire (CNN) (Reuters) (Fierce) (Endpoints) (BioPharma Dive) (CNBC)
• Greek parliament ends probe into Novartis bribery allegations (Financial Times-$)
• US Government Finds 'Make in India' for Medical Devices Discriminatory (The Wire)
• UN health agency: Dengue vaccine shouldn’t be used widely (AP News)

• Dems Blame Drug Companies for Opioid Crisis (MedPage Today)
• Pace of drug price growth slows in US (Financial Times-$)
• Opinion: The problem with miracle cures (NY Times-$)
• For the first CAR-T therapy, early sales are weak but hopes are still sky high (STAT-$)
• A stunning breakthrough in the fight against a devastating blood disease (The New Yorker)
• Cosentyx woes, generics weakness cast cloud on otherwise solid Q1 for Novartis (Fierce)
• Arcturus Therapeutics Files Lawsuit Against Joseph Payne and His Associates for Violations of Federal Securities Laws (Press)

• Sollis lands $50m for extended-release pain-relief drug (Drug Delivery Business News)
• NEJM editorial slams design of GSK’s pivotal trial of 3-in-1 COPD drug Trelegy (Fierce)
• Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan is raising the bar on second-gen cancer drug studies (Endpoints)
• Startup unwinds the role of chromatin to target epigenetic changes in cancer (STAT-$)
• With Gilenya generics looming, Novartis’ siponimod team buffs up the MS data package being prepped for the FDA (Endpoints)
• FDA ‘conflicted’ on Lilly and Incyte’s refiled baricitinib (Fierce)
• Observing the cell in its native state: Imaging subcellular dynamics in multicellular organisms (Science Magazine)
• What can we learn when a clinical trial is stopped? (Mosaic)
• ICER Weekly View 04-20-18 (ICER)
• New Novartis analyses at AAN show siponimod's efficacy on disability and cognition in secondary progressive MS patients (Press)
• Synteract Repositions Itself with Centers of Therapeutic Development and Unveils Updated Brand Platform (Press)
• Neurotechnology Innovations Translator (NIT) Announces Funding of up to $50 Million in Portfolio Company, Sollis Therapeutics (Press)
• Summit Presents New 24-Week Analyses from PhaseOut DMD at the 2018 AAN Conference (Press)

• Johnson & Johnson is betting on vision care and expanding beyond contacts (CNBC)
• New Microscope Captures Detailed 3-D Movies of Cells Deep Within Living Systems (HHMI)
• Behind the Scenes, America’s Medical Technology Companies Are Fighting the Cybersecurity Battle (AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker)
• Trayt debuts mobile app to track and help treat autism, ADHD (Fierce)
• FDA approves heart monitor unanimously rejected by expert panel in 2016 (Fierce)
• FDA Action Plan Promotes Innovation to Make Medical Devices Safer (AAMI)
• Valeritas taps Glooko’s data management platform for next-gen insulin delivery device (MassDevice) (Press)
• FDA OKs Opus breast implant line from Sientra (MassDevice) (Press)
• Abbott releases firmware patch to fix cybersecurity flaws in 350,000 medical devices (Healthcare IT News)
• AdvaMed Applauds Summit of the Americas' Focus On Importance of Business Ethics and Good Regulatory Practices (AdvaMed)
• QIAGEN Announces FDA Approval of PartoSureTM (Press)
• Women Treated with Hologic's NovaSure Endometrial Ablation System in New Study Reported Higher Amenorrhea Rates than Those Treated with Minerva (Press)
• New Study Investigates the Utility of Masimo SpHb in Post-operative Red Blood Cell (RBC) Transfusion Best Practices (Press)
• BD Unveils Suite of Diagnostic Informatics and Automation Innovations (Press)

• U.S. appeals court blocks Indiana 'selective' abortion law (Reuters)
• Spectrum of Diseases by Therapeutic Area found in Written Requests as of March 31, 2018 (FDA)
• Pediatric Exclusivity Statistics (FDA)
• Hedge Fund Titans Pull Money From Funds for Huge Tax Bills (Bloomberg)
• CEO of Botox competitor: 'With scale,' we think we'll have the… (CNBC)
• The VA Pharmacy Benefit Manager Should Take Over The Operation Of Medicare Part D (Health Affairs)
• HSCA Releases Extensive Cybersecurity Considerations (MedTech Intelligence)
• Federal judge enters consent decree against Cantrell Drug Company (FDA)
• FDA/OCE Public Meeting on Relevant Molecular Targets in Pediatric Cancers: Applicability to Therapeutic Investigation FDARA 2017 (FDA)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• Germany's Merck seeks partners for cancer and immune system drugs (Reuters)
• NHS Gaps Stall Benefits of Genomic Data for U.K. Health Care (Bloomberg)
• Bone Cement: Optipac 40 Refobacin Revision and Optipac 80 Refobacin Revision – Risk of revision (MHRA)
• Class 4 medicines defect information: Inhixa solution for injection in pre-filled syringe (EL (18)A/07) (MHRA)
• Field Safety Notice - 16 to 20 April 2018 (MHRA)
• Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) meeting of 17-19 April 2018: CVMP adopts new guideline on user safety of topically applied veterinary medicines (EMA)
• Eye injuries in people and dogs when using Osurnia ear gel for dogs: Caution is advised when applying the medicine (EMA)
• Civil Society representatives: Call for expressions of interest is open for the EMA Management Board (EC)
• QIAGEN announces European launch of QIAstat-Dx, a next generation platform for syndromic insights (Press)

• Large spleen helps explain deep-diving skills of Southeast Asian 'sea nomads' (Reuters)
• Chinese investor group acquires Esaote (MassDevice)
• Hong Kong clears way for pre-revenue biotech IPOs, plans to accept listing applications by May (Endpoints)
• Glaxo has to face lawsuit by Armenians who couldn’t decipher Avandia warnings (STAT-$)
• MHLW Sees Solid Inquiry Numbers for Conditional Early Approval System: Official (Pharma Japan)
• Vaxart Announces $5 Million Inavir Revenue Milestone (Press)
• Q3 Medical Devices Ltd. and the Boill Group Continue Expansion Plans in China (Press)

• India can lead the way to deliver health for all (Hindustan Times)
• Analysis  Why prosecuting Indian pharma patents could be even more difficult than it appears (IAM-$)

• Pharmacovigilance in Australia (Lexology)

• Health Canada should stop approving homeopathic remedies — period: Robyn Urback (CBC News)
• Good economics and good health: How Canada’s pharmaceutical companies make an impact (National Post)
• Sunovion Announces Health Canada Approval of Latuda (lurasidone HCl) to Treat Adolescents (13 to 17 years of age) with Bipolar Depression (Press)
• Indivior Announces New Drug Submission to Health Canada for SUBLOCADE (Buprenorphine Extended-Release) Injection for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Opioid Use Disorder (Press)

• Concussion raises Parkinson's disease risk in large U.S. study (Reuters)
• Early Skin Cancer is More Accurately Diagnosed by a Dermatologist Than Other Providers, New Research Shows (UPMC) (JAMA)
• Barbara Bush Leaves A Legacy: Champion For End-Of-Life Care (Forbes)
• Trayt's new app to help people with neurodevelopmental disorders track symptoms (Mobihealthnews)
• Treating pain without addiction: inside the lab fighting the opioid crisis (The Guardian)
• Consumers Are Getting Conflicting Advice on Romaine Lettuce Safety Amid the Mysterious E. Coli Outbreak (Fortune)
• The next generation of doctors may be learning bad habits at teaching hospitals with many safety violations (STAT)
• 3 ways to expand access to mental health care beyond adding more psychiatrists (STAT)