Recon: J&J forecasts $2.5B in 2021 COVID vaccine sales; South Africa’s Biovac to make Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in 2022

• Anthem still determining coverage policy for Biogen Alzheimer's drug (Reuters)
• Biogen Alzheimer's drug slow to take off as US Medicare wrestles with coverage (Reuters)
• Drugmakers, pharmacies next targets for US opioid settlements (Reuters)
• Former FDA adviser calls for wider probe into Biogen Alzheimer's drug approval (Reuters)
• J&J forecasts $2.5 bln in 2021 COVID-19 vaccine sales, sets lower production target (Reuters)
• J&J Vaccine May Be Less Effective Against Delta, Study Suggests (NYTimes)
• FDA rejects professor’s petition seeking to pull ‘dangerous’ Otsuka kidney disease drug (Endpoints)
• Cash shortage threatens White House global vaccine effort (Politico)
• PrEP, the HIV prevention pill, must now be totally free under almost all insurance plans (NBC)
• As a key hearing nears, Justice Department calls Purdue’s bankruptcy plan unconstitutional (STAT)

• S.Africa's Biovac to start making Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in H2 2022 – CEO (Reuters)
• Novartis set to deliver 50 mln CureVac COVID-19 vaccines this year (Reuters)
• Norway, Lithuania swap J&J, Pfizer vaccines to speed up inoculation (Reuters)
• Sinopharm's COVID-19 shot induces weaker antibody responses to Delta -study (Reuters)
• Novartis aims to beat rivals to novel $10bn cancer treatment market (FT)
• Drugmaker Sobi profit tops forecasts, sees markets recovering (Reuters)
• Catalent plans $100 mln expansion at vaccine plant in Italy (Reuters)
• EU rejects UK demand for new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland (Reuters)

• Global quest underway to speed COVID-19 vaccine trials (Reuters)
• WHO chief warns that the world is going into the ‘early stages of another wave’ (CNBC)
• US life expectancy falls to lowest level in almost 20 years due to COVID-19 -CDC (Reuters)
• Takeda agrees to supply additional 50 mln Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to Japan (Reuters)
• Vietnam produces first batch of Russian COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters)
• Leaked letters show AstraZeneca vaccine commitment not as Thailand claimed (Reuters)
• Taiwan bumps BioNTech vaccine order to 15 mln with Buddhist donation (Reuters)

• How cozy is too cozy? FDA and Biogen offer up a test case (Endpoints)
• FDA plans to study whether pharma reps at conference exhibit booths are telling the truth (STAT)
• Accelerated approval, the path used to greenlight Biogen Alzheimer’s drug, has a checkered track record, critics say (STAT)
• Philip Morris CEO defends the company’s intentions to buy inhaler maker Vectura (CNBC)
• Sanofi's sleeping sickness drug wins FDA OK and a lucrative priority review voucher too (Endpoints)
• Myovant, Gedeon Richter’s uterine fibroids med Ryeqo bags EU approval (PharmaTimes)
• AstraZeneca, Alexion close massive $39B merger; bluebird bio earns EU nod for Lenti-D as big split approaches (Endpoints)
• Statin Label Change May Signal Broader US FDA Shift On Drug Use During Pregnancy (Pink Sheet)
• Novartis discards one of its ‘wild card’ drugs after it flops in key study. But it takes one more for the hand (Endpoints)
• A Novartis castoff with a troubled past headlines Chinese biotech's Hong Kong IPO quest (Endpoints)
• Albireo caps a big week with back-to-back approvals in the US/EU for the first drug to treat a severe liver disease (Endpoints)
• FDA levels clinical hold on Magenta's second lead drug, asking for an additional bioassay before it gets to humans (Endpoints)
• Can a next-gen take on a deadly weight loss pill conquer cardiometabolic diseases? A Medicxi-backed startup thinks so (Endpoints)
• PacBio engineers $800M buyout of sequencing rival Omniome as analysts fret over FTC action (Endpoints)
• As healthcare heats up on HKEX, Qiming sets up $500M fund dedicated to public companies (Endpoints)
• The pivot: Turnstone Biologics opens a new chapter with a switch to clinical development and a new venture round to pay for it (Endpoints)
• New study shows smaller biopharma companies struggle more than larger ones with clinical trial transparency (Endpoints)
• On a mission to treat patients not covered by Luxturna, Horama refuels with a Series B expansion and a new name (Endpoints)
• FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Venclexta in combination with azacitidine for the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (Press)

• Medtech M&A expected to be robust in second half after 2021 began with a flurry (MedtechDive)
• ‘One FDA’: US Agency’s New Inspectional Affairs Council Takes Shape (Medtech Insight)
• BD acquires needle-free blood draw company Velano Vascular for ‘one-stick’ hospital stays (Fierce)
• Radiation therapy 'under attack' from CMS cuts, professional body warns (MedtechDive)
• First Expert Panel Opinion Offers Valuable Learning Opportunities (MedtechInsight)
• CMS pitches stiffening price transparency fines, halting end of inpatient-only list (MedtechDive)
• Nevro gets FDA nod for diabetic neuropathy treatment but misses Q2 sales target (MedtechDive)
• Neuspera Medical scores $65M for nerve-stimulating implant to treat overactive bladder (Fierce)

• Examiner Clears Sacklers Of Influencing Purdue's Board (Law360)
• Opana Sales Calls Didn't Cause Rx Rise, Economist Testifies (Law360)