Recon: Novartis Lawyer Exits Over Cohen Payments

• Novartis’s Top Lawyer is Out After Payments to Michael Cohen (NYT) (CNN) (Bloomberg) (Endpoints) (Reuters) (Fortune) (Axios) (Politico) (Financial Times) (STAT)
• Pfizer collects its third US FDA biosimilar approval with Retacrit (BioPharma-Reporter) (The Center for Biosimilars) (Fierce) (Lexology-$) (Focus) (Reuters) (Endpoints)
• Evolus investors frown as FDA declines to approve Botox rival (Reuters) (Endpoints)
• EIP Pharma nabs $20.5M to push Alzheimer's drug through phase 2 (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• Positive Dupixent Phase III results in dermatitis in adolescents (The Pharma Letter-$) (Scrip-$)
• Zoetis to buy veterinary diagnostics firm Abaxis for $1.9 billion (Reuters) (Wall Street Journal)
• Quip raises $10 million for electric toothbrushes and dental care (TechCrunch) (CNBC)
• 6 states sue maker of OxyContin as they battle expenses, human costs of opioid crisis (USA Today) (Reuters) (Fortune) (Washington Post)
• Florida Sues 5 Major Drug Companies Over Opioids (AP News) (The Columbus Dispatch
• FDA Rejects Push for New Regulatory Action on Medical Device Service (AAMI) (Focus) (Medtech Insight-$)

• Credit Suisse to pump $250 million into Israeli health tech venture fund aMoon (Times of Israel) (The Financial) (Endpoints)
• Vermont becomes first state to permit drug imports from Canada (Politico) (The Hill)
• SA Health blood test delays and lost results blamed on new computer system (ABC) (Healthcare IT News) (SBS News)
• Picking your pharma right: Why alienate US with stent regulations or compulsory licensing? (Financial Express)
• BC Platforms, Google Cloud partner to offer transformational and scalable genomic solutions worldwide (Pharmabiz)
• Congo receives first doses of Ebola vaccine amid outbreak (Reuters)
• Novartis' Sandoz business is broken, CEO says, but he's focused on fixing it (Fierce)
• Tariffs on Chinese Goods May Trigger Drug, Device Shortages (Bloomberg-$)

• What New Jersey's drug plan do-over says about the industry (Axios)
• Former Novartis CEO Explains Why His Company Paid Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen $1.2 Million (Forbes)
• FDA reverses course on Duke’s research grant after favoritism concerns (Politico)
• Valeant Ex-CEO Wasn't Swayed by Philidor Warning, Witness Says (Bloomberg)
• Peer review could have helped short-circuit the Theranos fake news scandal (STAT)
• It’s a long-shot idea for a major Medicare change. But drug makers are already scared (STAT-$)
• AbbVie bows to pressure to keep cheaper Imbruvica formula on the market (Fierce)
• Eleven rebrands as Sesen as data readout nears (Fierce) (Press)
• Ex-Pfizer executives join Roivant's C-suite (Fierce) (Press)
• J&J CEO warns of 'unintended consequences' of Trump's drug-price reduction plan (CNBC)
• No Jurisdiction Over NDA Holder Who Did Not Make The Drug (Lexology-$)
• Insys Bribed Docs To Write Opioid Scripts, DOJ, 6 States Say (Law360-$)
• 3rd Circ. Already OK'd Lipitor State Claims, Health Plans Say (Law360-$)
• FDA reports quality problems for data provided by the firm IQVIA that were used to inform estimates for some controlled substances (FDA)

• Seattle’s Nohla closes $45M to bring novel stem cell treatment for leukemia to late-stage trials (Endpoints) (Press)
• His way: Greg Verdine is building a new kind of drug, with backing from a different kind of investor (Endpoints)
• Lilly's cluster buster puts Amgen in a fluster (EP Vantage)
• Asco preview – lung cancer battle takes centre stage (EP Vantage)
• Merck, Eiger expand drug licensing deal to include rare disease indication (BioPharma Dive)
• Researchers Uncover Gut Bacteria's Potential Role In Multiple Sclerosis (Forbes)
• FDA expands Truvada indication (The Pharma Letter)
• Effect of Fremanezumab Compared With Placebo for Prevention of Episodic Migraine (JAMA)
• Bioverativ and Sangamo Announce FDA Acceptance of IND Application for Gene-Edited Cell Therapy BIVV003 to Treat Sickle Cell Disease (Press)
• Fate Therapeutics and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Expand Scope of License Agreement to include Gene-edited T-cell Immunotherapies (Press)
• Insmed Announces FDA Acceptance for Filing of New Drug Application for ALIS in NTM Lung Disease Caused by MAC (Press)
• Albireo Enrolls First Patient in Phase 3 PFIC Trial of A4250 (Press)
• Audentes Announces Continuing Positive Data from First Dose Cohort of ASPIRO, a Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of AT132 in Patients With X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy (Press)

• Auris Health, Ethicon’s NeuWave ink robot-assisted bronchoscope ablation dev deal (MassDevice)
• Stryker’s Howmedica owes $13m in fees in Zimmer Biomet patent spat (MassDevice)
• 'Program Alignment' Turns 1: FDA Wants To Train Investigators On Innovative Tech As Part Of Its Inspection Scheme – But Will It Be A Cakewalk? (Medtech Insight-$)
• iSTAR's Glaucoma Micro Device Shines In Early Follow-Up (Medtech Insight-$)
• Sivantos and Widex in $8 billion merger to create No.3 in hearing aids (Reuters)
• Sivantos-Widex allows EQT to reset the clock (EP Vantage)
• Keys To FDA Advisory Panel Prep For Device Makers (Law360-$)
• MC10 Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for the BioStamp nPoint System (Press)
• FDA Clears CASMED’s FORE-SIGHT Tissue Oximetry OEM Module (Press)
• Medtronic Begins U.S. Study of Drug-Eluting Stents to Evaluate Treatment of Bifurcation Lesions in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease (Press)
• DePuy Synthes Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Assets of Medical Enterprises Distribution, LLC to Strengthen its Portfolio and Amplify the Surgeon's Capabilities Via Automation (Press)

• Verily submitted patent application for smart diaper able to detect, differentiate between waste (MobiHealthNews)
• Pennsylvania Appeals Court Affirms Preemption of State Law Claims Based on Off-Label Marketing (FDA Law Blog)
• Blue states can defend ACA in latest lawsuit, judge says (Axios)
• Which drug makers’ medicines are racking up bigger and bigger bills for Medicare and Medicaid? (STAT-$)
• Johnson & Johnson to relaunch baby-care line after its 20% sales decline (CNBC)
• A bid to save $300 million at HCR ManorCare, and disrupt U.S. healthcare (Reuters)
• Pennsylvania To Lead Nation In Medical Marijuana Research (Forbes)
• Elliott Says Athenahealth Isn't Engaging in Takeover Talks (Bloomberg)
• International Mail Facilities: ORA Letter to the USPS (FDA)
• Fixing Healthcare: Driving Value Through Smart Purchasing and Policy (HHS Secretary Alex Azar)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• CGT Catapult unveils major UK investment in skills and capabilities (PharmaTimes)
• Interoperability also posing big challenges in the UK (HealthcareITNews)
• GDPR: The Multiple Ways In Which Medtech Is Impacted, And Needs To Comply (Medtech Insight-$)
• Reva touts first implant of bioresorbable scaffold in Turkey (Drug Delivery Business News)
• Amgen Receives European Commission Approval For Repatha (Evolocumab) To Prevent Heart Attack And Stroke In Adults With Established Cardiovascular Disease (Press)
• GE increases cell culture media production capacity by tenfold (Press)
• Philips and Dutch Rijnstate hospital sign 10-year agreement to build a virtual hospital for large-scale connected care (Press)

• Promethera estalishes Tokyo branch (The Pharma Letter)
• China extends drug patents to 25 years (Nikkei Asian Review)
• Japan to export medical infrastructure to India (Nikkei Asian Review)
• Insightec seeks Japanese marketing approval for Exablate Neuro device to treat advanced Parkinson's disease (Pharmabiz)

• MedGenome, Kailash Cancer Hospital discover genetic mutation of rare colorectal disorder in Gujarati family (Pharmabiz)
• Local medical devices industry wants Modi to encourage indigenous manufacturing (Business Today)

• When hospitals are making people sick: Health sector's role in saving the planet (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• OneVentures backs Australian artificial heart maker BiVACOR (The Australian Financial Review)

• Medical students, health groups call on province to cover abortion pill (CBC News)
• Half of Canadians have experienced a mental health issue (Sun Life Financial Canada)

• Suicide Became the Second Leading Cause of Death for Young People in 2016. We Don't Know Why (Fortune)
• Survey: Nine out of ten doctors worry about negative online reviews (MobiHealthNews)
• Why EHR data interoperability is such a mess in 3 charts (HealthcareITNews)
• Trump’s Plan for Cheaper Health Insurance Could Have Hidden Costs (NYT)