Recon: Oklahoma Makes Final Bid in J&J Opioid Trial; Life Sciences VC Vida Ventures Raises $600M

• Oklahoma makes final bid to hold J&J responsible for opioid epidemic (Reuters) (Law360-$)
• Life sciences VC firm Vida Ventures raises $600 million in second fund (STAT) (Endpoints)
• Trump firms up plan to import medicines; pharma companies resist (Reuters)
• Drug costs push some to extreme measures as Trump admin unveils plan to import medicines from Canada (NBC)
• Senate Democrats to force vote on Trump health care moves (The Hill)
• The latest CRISPR patent fight is on. So is the mudslinging (STAT)
• Everything (or almost everything) you need to know about importing drugs from Canada (STAT)
• Vertex expects more, perhaps bigger M&A to come (BioPharmaDive) (BioCentury)
• Fresh delay for $4.3B Roche/Spark deal triggers analyst concerns about gene therapy M&A (Endpoints)
• Amarin Asks Justices To Get ITC To Look Into False Ad Claims (Law360-$)
• Drugmakers’ Alleged Price-Fixing Pushed a Needed Pill Out of Reach (Bloomberg)

• China's big data draws Big Pharma (Nikkei)
• UK sets aside £2.1bn for more no-deal Brexit prep (PMLive)
• Rwanda seals Congo border after third Ebola case in Goma (Reuters)
• Bangladesh struggles with worst outbreak of dengue fever (Reuters)
• Court Ruling A ‘Sea Change’ For EU Orphan Designation (Pink Sheet-$)
• Vas Narasimhan of Novartis: ‘We Are Not at All Prepared for a Pandemic’ (NYTimes)
• Still trailing far behind a blockbuster rival, Novartis gathers another round of positive survival data for Kisqali (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• London Lab Advances Use of A.I. in Health Care, but Raises Privacy Concerns (NYTimes)
• Bayer teams up with AI firm Sensyne Health to mine NHS data for its heart disease pipeline (Fierce)
• News from Abroad -- Swiss-type Patent Claims in Australia (Patent Docs)
• GSK completes transaction with Pfizer (PharamTimes) (Press)

• Blue-blooded crabs at heart of pharma dispute on drug testing (Reuters)
• FDA-EMA Workshop Discusses Quality Challenges for PRIME, Breakthrough Therapies (Focus)
• OPDP Issues Untitled Letter Over Birth Control Device TV Ad (Focus)
• New FDA Guidances Target Women’s Health, Neonatal Care (Focus)
• Why health companies are branding themselves as tech companies (STAT)
• 'Huge Need' For Neurotoxicity Biomarkers In Drug Development, FDA's Woodcock Says (Pink Sheet-$)
• Saving the Endangered Physician-Scientist — A Plan for Accelerating Medical Breakthroughs (NEJM)
• Lilly boosted by survival data for key growth drug Verzenio (PMLive)
• Novo, e-therapeutics extend Type 2 diabetes research pact to include new genomics tech (Fierce)
• National Immunization Awareness Month Faces Uphill Battle In Wealthy Areas Of US (Forbes)
• The Patient As Customer: How Biotech And Medicine Are Being Driven By Advocacy Groups (Forbes)
• Pathology Peer Review in Toxicology Studies: FDA Offers Q&A (Focus)
• Adrian Hayday refutes challenge on influential autoantibody paper by Karolinska scientists (Endpoints)
• Amicus touts latest set of gene therapy data; Novo Nordisk expands discovery deal for diabetes (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• Adaptimmune R&D chief Amado is out amid a top-level shakeup as new CEO tries to revive ebbing enthusiasm (Endpoints)
• Jumping into growing queue of buyers, Vertex chief targets a slate of new and 'larger' deals ahead (Endpoints)
• PD-L1, CD47 and now CD24? Star Stanford I/O scientist Irv Weissman points to a ‘major’ new cancer target (Endpoints)
• Specialty Pharmacies and PBMs Hop On the 340B Money Train (Drug Channels)
• Sanofi in manufacturing deal for cannabinoid overdose treatment (InPharmaTechnologist)

• Nektar Therapeutics and Bristol-Myers Squibb Announce U.S. FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Bempegaldesleukin (NKTR-214) in Combination with Opdivo® (nivolumab) for the Treatment of Patients with Untreated Advanced Melanoma (Press)
• Modra Pharmaceuticals Announces First Patients Treated in Phase IIb Metastatic Prostate Cancer Trial (Press)

• Integra Lifesciences picks up Arkis Biosciences (MassDevice)
• Masimo Q2 results exceed expectations (MassDevice)
• Abiomed plunges on fiscal Q1 earnings miss, lowered outlook (MassDevice)
• Teleflex ticks up on Q2 beats, raised outlook (MassDevice)
• Agilent Companion Diagnostic Gains Expanded FDA Approval in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) (Press)
• Adaptive Bio Receives NY State Approval for ClonoSeq in B Cell Cancers (GenomeWeb)

• What we learned from the Democratic debates (Politico) (KHN)
• Express Scripts Boosts Cigna As Employers Stick With Larger Insurer (Forbes)
• California Court Of Appeal Affirms New Trial In Talc Case (Drug & Device Law)
• PhRMA's New Attack On Calif. Drug Pricing Law Gets Traction (Law360-$)
• Ex-J&J Doctor Testifies She Told Bosses About Mesh Issues (Law360-$)
• Judge tosses 5,000 warming-device lawsuits filed against 3M (MassDevice)
• After Fresenius deal collapse, Akorn inks $74M settlement with investors over data integrity woes (Fierce)
• HHS/FDA Safe Importation Action Plan Proposes Two Pathways for Drug Importation (FDA Law Blog)
• $2,733 To Treat Iron-Poor Blood? Iron Infusions For Anemia Under Scrutiny (NPR)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• Names of liposomal medicines to be changed to avoid medication errors (EMA)
• Sussex criminal sentenced for laundering proceeds from the sale of black-market medicines (MHRA)
• Proposal to make Colourstart Test 65mcg Cutaneous Patch available from general sales outlets without prescription (MHRA)
• First allergy test for hair dye to go on general sale (MHRA)

• Thailand set to deliver first batch of medical marijuana (Reuters)

• Dr Reddy's expects US FDA re-inspection of Srikakulam plant (Pharmabiz) (Fierce)
• Reddys seek funds: ADIA, Mitsui, Itochu eye stake in Apollo Holdco (Economic Times)

• Advertising therapeutic goods: Natural claims on medicines and medical devices: naturally compelling? (TGA)
• Advertising health products: Understanding what ‘natural’ means on your medicine (TGA)