Recon: PBMs Blame Drugmakers for High Prices at Senate Hearing

• Pharmacy benefit managers in the spotlight (Politico)
• CVS, Cigna, Humana at Senate hearing blame Big Pharma for high drug prices (CNBC, Video)
• These Senators Received The Biggest Checks From CVS, Humana And Other Pharmacy Benefit Managers Testifying Tuesday (Forbes)
• Democrats to push DOJ on Obamacare stance (Politico)
• Zogenix's seizure drug filing fails to pass FDA scrutiny (Reuters) (Endpoints)
• GSK wins US nod for two-drug HIV combination (Reuters) (Endpoints) (FDA)
• Cancer 'vaccine' shows promise in human trial of lymphoma patients (CNBC)
• Health care is one of Apple's most lucrative opportunities: Morgan Stanley (CNBC)
• Who's partisan? Republicans urge drug CEOs to ignore pricing probe started by Democrat (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• NYC mayor orders mandatory measles vaccinations after Brooklyn outbreak (Reuters)
• UniQure gets speedy US review for Huntington’s gene therapy (PMLive)
• TV biz fights Trump drug pricing rule (The Hill)
• Opioid Evangelist Switches Sides in Case Alleging Pharma Abuse (Bloomberg)
• A troubled drug maker attempts to compensate for its problems by taking huge price hikes (STAT)
• After three years of controversy, CDC clarifies its opioid prescribing guidelines (STAT)
• Consumers Rejected Drug Plan That Mirrors Trump Administration Proposal (KHN)

• European Union files complaint against Turkey for ‘discriminating’ against foreign drug makers (STAT)
• Novartis to limit M&A spend to 5% of market value (Financial Times) (Endpoints)
• China's Draft Cell Therapy Guidelines Draws Concern From Industry (Pink Sheet-$)
• Novartis bribery investigation craters after Greek prosecutors clear 4 officials (Fierce)
• Manufacturing problems persist for Aurobindo, US' second-largest generics producer (Fierce)
• Epilepsy Society calls for review of UK supply chain following "steep rise" in access issues (Pharmafile)
• BeiGene lines up a next-gen CTLA-4 to complement its PD-1 pillar in new deal worth up to $270M (Endpoints)
• Another EU patent for Verona in COPD drug (PharmaTimes)
• Japan increases medical device registration fees (MassDevice)
• In Need Of Blankets, Pain Killers, Pill Refills: Life After Cyclone Idai (NPR)

• Merck KGaA exec takes top job at UK biotech Kymab (PMLive)
• ‘We owe much to the Sackler family’: How gifts to a top medical school advanced the interests of Purdue Pharma (STAT)
• Cats And The Future Of Machine Learning In Drug Discovery (Life Sci VC)
• CDER Develops New Method to Evaluate an Opioid’s Safety Risk (Focus)
• FDA Warns Chinese OTC Drugmaker (Focus)
• Centene Commits $100M To Personalized Medicine Research (Forbes)
• Alkermes says long-acting drugs could help schizophrenics stay on medication longer (Reuters)
• New Target for Cancer Immunotherapy: Exosomes (NIH)
• Bayer cuts with one hand, adds cancer R&D jobs in Kendall Square with the other (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• Drugs Are Keeping Seniors Healthy, And Hurting Them (Forbes)
• Creating new antimicrobial drugs will require governments working with industry (STAT)
• PhaseBio touts ‘breakthrough’ badge for bloodthinner reversal agent licensed from AstraZeneca, shares leap (Endpoints)
• Finance Watch: Q1 Biopharma Venture Capital Dips From All-Time High, But Numbers Still Impress (Scrip-$)
• Peter Hecht recruits Bayer/Shire vet Andreas Busch for a top R&D post at his $175M biotech spinout (Endpoints)
• Drugmakers Push Back Against Proposed Exclusion Criteria for Rare Esophageal Disease Trial (FDANews-$)
• Patient Engagement In Clinical Trials Needs More FDA Guidance, Stakeholders Say (Pink Sheet-$)
• Rebate Reshuffle: Could Pharma Foot The Bill To Offset Higher Premiums? (Pink Sheet-$)

• Roivant-backed Merck Serono spinout hits phase 3 diabetes goal; NDA on the horizon (Fierce) (Press)
• PIXUVRI® (pixantrone) Receives Positive CHMP Opinion to Convert Conditional Approval into Standard Marketing Authorization in Patients with Aggressive non-Hodgkin B-cell Lymphoma (Press)
• Rakuten Medical's ASP-1929 photoimmunotherapy for head and neck cancers to be designated under the Sakigake Designation System for its potential innovativeness and effectiveness (Press)
• LSK BioPharma and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Announce FDA Clearance to Initiate a Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) (Press)
• MaaT Pharma Announces Second Positive DSMB Safety Assessment of Phase II HERACLES Study in Acute GvHD (Press)
• NanOlogy announces First Patient Enrolled in a Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of NanoDoce® for Treatment of Bladder Cancer (Press)
• Frequency Therapeutics Announces Positive Phase 1/2 Data for Drug Candidate for Hearing Restoration (Press)
• Ra Pharmaceuticals Announces Completion of End-of-Phase 2 Interactions with FDA and Design of Pivotal Phase 3 gMG Study (Press)
• Peloton Therapeutics Announces Completion of Enrollment in Phase 2 Trial of PT2977 for Treatment of Von Hippel-Lindau Disease-Associated Renal Cell Carcinoma (Press)
• Cerevel Therapeutics Announces Publication of Phase 2a Study Results in Neurology on Its Most Advanced Investigational Epilepsy Treatment (Press)
• Galmed Pharmaceuticals Announces Successful Completion of End of Phase 2 Meeting With FDA and Plan for Start of Phase 3 (Press)

• FDA Warns Patients Against Using Pre-Owned and Unauthorized Diagnostic Test Strips (Focus)
• WHO Drafts Global Strategy on Digital Health (Focus)
• Novartis completes spinout of Alcon eye biz (MassDevice)
• Histogenics to merge with Ocugen (MassDevice)
• Silk Road Medical clears $109m in IPO (MassDevice)
• J&J’s Ethicon touts economic study of magnetic Torax GERD device (MassDevice)
• Bio-Rad Receives U.S. FDA Clearance for the IH-500, Expanding Its Offering for the Blood Testing Market (Press)

• How HHS Secretary Reconciles Proposed Medicaid Cuts, Stopping The Spread Of HIV (NPR)
• U.S. measles tally hits 465, mostly in kids (AP)
• Culture of Secrecy Shields Hospitals With Outbreaks of Drug-Resistant Infections (NYTimes)
• California allows aid-in-dying drugs for terminally ill, but hospitals set barriers (Reuters)
• In New York, confusion reigns in the emerging CBD edibles business (Reuters)
• Cardinal Health is fined by Ohio for failing to secure shipments of controlled substances (STAT)
• Recent Developments in Opioid Litigation: A Re-Cap, Visual Aid, and Summary of Outstanding Inquiries (Harvard Bill of Health)
• America's $103 billion home health-care system is in crisis as worker shortage worsens (CNBC)
• Concordia Pharma Sues Over Bowel Drug Trade Secrets (Law360-$)
• Judge Says Lack of State and Federal Plans Means That the Farm Bill’s Interstate Commerce Protections for Hemp Don’t Apply (FDA Law Blog)
• A Generic Drug Failure to Warn Claim? (Drug & Device Law)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• Legal requirements for children's medicines (MHRA)
• Class 4 Medicines Defect Information: Chloramphenicol 0.5% W/V Antibiotic Eye Drops (MDR 105-03/19) (MHRA)
• Virtual manufacturing of medical devices (MHRA)
• Valproate use by women and girls (MHRA)

• Bain, Piramal-led fund offers Panacea a Rs 992 crore bail-out deal (Economic Times)
• J&J agrees to pay only Rs 25 lakh compensation for faulty hip implants (Economic Times)

• International Work-sharing Initiative - Abemaciclib (Verzenio) (TGA)

• Consultation of Draft Guidance Documents: Identifying and Labelling Medicinal Ingredients, Generic Drug Equivalence: Medicinal Ingredients (Canada)