Recon: McKinsey settles opioid claims for $573M; UK to study Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID vaccine combo

• Opioid crisis haunts frontrunner for top job at US drugs regulator (FTv)
• Merck chief Kenneth Frazier to retire this summer (FT) (STAT) (CNBC)
• After a Rocky Start, Novavax Vaccine Could Be Here by Summer (NYTimesv)
• 55.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed, 33.8 million administered: U.S. CDC (Reuters)
• Merck anti-baldness drug Propecia has long trail of suicide reports, records show (Reuters)
• Amgen cuts 500 jobs, primarily in sales, as COVID-19 speeds shift to digital (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• McKinsey Settles for $573 Million Over Role in Opioid Crisis (NYTimes) (STAT)
• Bristol Myers Squibb Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Financial Results for 2020 (Press)

• EU drugs watchdog conducts COVID-19 vaccine, treatment collaboration program (Reuters)
• Britain trial to test combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in two-shot regimen (Reuters)
• COVAX allocates first tranche of 330 million vaccine doses to poor countries (Reuters)
• Brazil to allow emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines tested abroad (Reuters)
• Cancer drugs binned because of Brexit red tape, MPs hear (The Guardian)
• Roche reports solid results in 2020 (Press)
• Takeda FY2020 Q3 Results (Press)

• With a seductive number, AstraZeneca study fueled hopes that eclipsed its data (STAT)
• Vaccine passports: path back to normality or problem in the making? (Reuters)
• Britain has given 10 million people a first COVID-19 vaccine dose (Reuters)
• Sputnik-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials to start in Azerbaijan, MidEast (Reuters)
• Australia to buy 10 million additional doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters)
• China bat caves need exploring in search for COVID origins, WHO team member says (Reuters)
• Palestinians receive first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine (Reuters)
• North Korea to receive nearly 2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses in H1 - interim report (Reuters)
• Taiwan says to get share of 1.3 million vaccines via COVAX (Reuters)
• Thailand to get vaccine from Asia after EU export control, minister says (Reuters)
• India's Serum delays vaccines for private sale in Bangladesh; focus on state campaigns (Reuters)
• When Pandemic Ends, EUA Recipients May Face Litigation And Enforcement Actions (Pink Sheet)

• Over one-third of young adults misuse psychoactive medications, study says (CNN)
• BioNTech fund pays €600m dividend on back of vaccine success (FT)
• The most successful oncology drug portfolios of the past decade (Nature)
• GDUFA III: US FDA Says Generic Drug Supplement Volume Could Require More Resources (Pink Sheet)
• With $588M IPO, Sana leads wave of new biotechs going public (BioPharmaDive) (Endpoints)
• Consultation: Repurposing of Prescription Medicines (TGA)
• Novo Nordisk plots $1.3B in spending as it expands API production—and advances new oral meds (Fierce)
• Pfizer bags rheumatoid arthritis rights to new immunotherapy class through deal with Imcyse (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• Merck KGaA goes toe to toe with Novartis as FDA green-lights MET inhibitor (Endpoints)
• Veracyte drops $600M to acquire cancer tester Decipher Biosciences (Fierce)
• US FDA Drug Review Goals Should Be Faster In PDUFA VII, Industry Negotiators Propose (Pink Sheet)
• Nitrosamine Concerns Spur Precautionary Testing Of Rifampicin In EU (Pink Sheet)
• MHLW, Saudi Govt Sign Memo on Regulatory Harmonization; Japan-Listed Drugs to Get Priority Review (PharmaJapan)
• China approves AstraZeneca's heart failure drug Forxiga (PharmaTimes)
• Neurocine ends partnership with Voyager for Parkinson's gene therapy (BioPharmaDive)
• Senior AbbVie liaison quits job to launch neuro startup, with sights set on ALS (Endpoints)
• Prothena revives its former lead drug, aiming for a smaller population with more severe cases (Endpointsv)
• Novo Nordisk Divides R&D, Expects More Late-Stage Studies In 2021 (Scrip)
• Roche chops TNBC programs following PhIII flops, further dimming the spotlight on Array drug (Endpoints)
• Apotex recalls 2 batches of blood-thinner injection after syringe mislabeling snafu (Endpoints)
• Initial safety trial results find increased risk of serious heart-related problems and cancer with arthritis and ulcerative colitis medicine Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR (tofacitinib)(FDA)
• Biocon Biologics to provide cancer biosimilars to 30 countries in Africa, Asia (Economic Times)

• Google expands its health goals with new wellness features for Pixel phones (STAT)
• 23andMe to go public via Richard Branson’s SPAC (STAT)
• Boston Scientific sees COVID-19 electives pressure in Q1, recovery in second half (MedtechDive)
• PerkinElmer predicts sharp falloff in COVID-19 sales this year (MedtechDive)
• Quest says high demand for Covid testing drove record revenues, increases dividend (CNBC)
• Death, injuries prompt FDA to call Boston Scientific ICD recall Class I event (MedtechDive)
• Apple Watch can help track Parkinson’s disease symptoms, research shows (STAT)
• Baxter Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Results (Press)

• Frontrunner emerges for Biden’s Medicare and Medicaid chief (Politico)
• Bayer reaches $2 billion deal over future Roundup cancer claims (Reuters)
• Pandemic Emergency Manufacturing Act Introduced In US Congress (MedtechInsight)
• Teva Aims To Revoke IP For BMS Blockbuster Blood Thinner (Law360)
• Challenging Therapeutics IP After Fed. Circ. Drink Can Ruling (Law360)
• Covidien Tells Panel That Judge Garbled Patent Case Verdict (Law360)