Recon: Mexico authorizes AstraZeneca COVID vaccine; Woodcock returns to new role in Commissioner’s office

• Drugmakers kick off 2021 with 500 US price hikes (Reuters) (STAT)
• Inovio expects to begin late-stage COVID-19 vaccine study in second quarter (Reuters)
• Most US COVID-19 vaccines go idle as New York, Florida move to penalize hospitals (Reuters)
• Haven, ambitious health venture backed by Amazon, to shut down (STAT) (Reuters)
• Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs (KHN)
• Janet Woodcock bumped to Commissioner’s office, will remain involved in OWS (Politico)
• HHS rebukes drug makers for curtailing discounts to hospitals that serve low-income populations (STAT)

• EU seeks up to 100 million more doses of Pfizer vaccine in new deal – sources (Reuters)
• EMA says interval between Pfizer vaccine doses should be respected (Reuters)
• China doubles down on COVID narrative as WHO investigation looms (Reuters)
• Canada on track to have more than 1 million Pfizer and Moderna doses by end-January - PM Trudeau (Reuters)
• Pfizer Has Offered South Africa Discounted Covid-19 Vaccines (Bloomberg)
• India readies roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines for 300 million people (Reuters)
• Mexico approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, minister says (Reuters)
• Israel authorises use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters)

• Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (NEJM 1, 2, 3)
• Dutch caught off guard by Pfizer approval, unable to start vaccinations until Weds says PM (Reuters)
• Belgium to get half the Pfizer vaccine doses it ordered for January (Reuters)
• Italy to invest in biotech ReiThera to support COVID-19 vaccine development (Reuters)
• China's CNBG has supplied 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to UAE (Reuters)
• Stemirna COVID-19 vaccine candidate obtains clinical trial approval in China (Reuters)
• Brazil to requisition syringes for COVID-19 vaccination plan (Reuters)
• FDA flags false negative risk of startup Curative's COVID-19 test (MedtechDive) (FDA)

• Pfizer Introduces New Logo Playing Up Role in Drug Creation (WSJ)
• Roche's tiragolumab receives U.S. breakthrough therapy designation (Reuters)
• The biotech scorecard for the first quarter: 17 stock-moving events to watch (STAT)
• Surprise! Brand-Name Drug Prices Fell (Again) in 2020 (Drug Channels)
• Plenty Of Action On EU Accelerated Assessment Front (Pink Sheet)
• Oral Contraceptives Tied to Lower Risk for Certain Cancers (NYTimes)
• Triplet Therapeutics and three other startups got venture funding a year ago. Where are they now? (STAT)
• Mace Rothenberg starts the year by stepping out of his top job in Pfizer R&D — as Stanford’s Aida Habtezion steps in (Endpoints)
• WuXi Biologics Receives GMP Certification from Brazil (GEN)
• Recall report: Nostrum expands recall of diabetes drug metformin after carcinogen concerns (Endpoints)
• Regeneron's Schleifer, Yancopoulos set their company's ambitions sky high with $1.4B on the table in performance awards (Endpoints)
• Edging toward a pivotal readout, Biogen picks a new discovery partner for ophthalmic gene therapy (Endpoints)
• Can a new protein bring RNA drugs where they can't reach? J&J vet Sue Dillon's Ionis-partnered biotech gets $88M to prove yes (Endpoints)
• Ikena bags $120M to advance growing pipeline of cancer drugs (Fierce)
• Eli Lilly's transpacific bosom buddy Terns bags late-round funding to drive NASH hopefuls through the clinic (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• Charles River Laboratories spends $83M to snap up Distributed Bio to boost antibody work (Fierce)
• Fujifilm's CDMO carves foothold in Boston biotech hub with new HQ focused on viral vectors, gene therapies (Endpoints)
• Shanghai Pharma maps out $1.18B industrial park in hometown biopharma hub (Fierce)
• AbbVie bails on Sosei Heptares pact for novel neurology candidates in blow to discovery outfit's A-list Rolodex (Endpoints)
• Millendo braces for deep cuts after its last clinical effort ends in defeat and a last search for a way to end things (Endpoints)
• BioXcel scores another win with reformulated Pfizer sedative, this time in an Alzheimer's symptom (Endpoints)
• News briefing: Marius submits NDA for oral hypogonadism therapy; Celltrion's billionaire founder steps down (Endpoints)
• Risankizumab (SKYRIZI®) Phase 3 Results Demonstrate Improvements in Disease Activity Across Joint and Skin Symptoms Among Psoriatic Arthritis Patients (Press)

• Color raises $167M to scale up US testing and telehealth services (MedtechDive)
• What’s On The European Commission’s Agenda For Medtechs In 2021 (MedtechInsight)
• Asia Medtech Reg Discussions: COVID-19 Is A Golden Moment For Medtech And Governments To Learn How To Deal With Future Crises (MedtechInsight)
• Becton Dickinson, ramping up syringe capacity, set to turn out 1B COVID-19 vaccine devices by year-end (Fierce)

• DOJ Backs AbbVie At 7th Circ. In 'Patent Thicket' Case (Law360)
• DC Judge Calls Teva's Bid To Reclassify Drug Anticompetitive (Law360)
• DOJ Attys Dish On Indivior Opioid Case As Sentencing Wraps (Law360)
• Allergan Seeks Quick Appeal After Failing To Nix FCA Suit (Law360)
• Zantac Generics MDL Labeling Claims Axed As Preempted (Law360)
• Final Medicaid Best Price Changes Encourage Value Based Purchasing but Discourage Copay Assistance (FDA Law Blog)
• Value-Based Contracting: CMS Final Rule Leaves ‘Multiple Best Price’ Questioned Unresolved (Pink Sheet)