Recon: Sales of Essure birth control implant halted by Bayer

• Sales of Essure birth control implant halted by Bayer; U.S. was last to sell controversial device (The Washington Post) (NYT)
• Novartis Sues to Block Generic Sales of Top Drug Gilenya for MS (Bloomberg) (Fierce)
• Merck Is Lowering Drug Prices. There’s a Catch. (NYT) (WSJ) (The Hill) (Reuters)
• Risks Just Rose for Drug Middlemen (WSJ) (Reuters) (Fierce)
• PureTech grabs up to $36M from Roche to research milk-inspired delivery platform (Endpoints) (The Pharma Letter-$) (PharmaTimes) (Fierce)
• Patient death prompts FDA hold on Mersana’s lead cancer ADC (Fierce) (Boston Business Journal-$)
• PTC Therapeutics to Buy Agilis Biotherapeutics in Deal that Could Exceed $945 Million (BioSpace) (Fierce) (Endpoints)
• Boston Scientific puts $270m on the table for Claret Medical (MassDevice) (Fierce)

• Swiss, German drugmakers join U.S. price freeze (Reuters) (Endpoints)
• Fearing ‘No Deal’ Brexit, E.U. Shifts Into High Gear to Keep Goods Flowing (NYT) (Reuters)
• India launches probe as Chinese company recalls BP drug (Economic Times)
• AZ suffers setback as NICE slaps restrictions on Fasenra (pharmaphorum) (Fierce)
• Australia-led global push to tackle PCOS -- the principal cause of infertility in women (Science Daily) (ABC News)

• Roche Hiked Cancer-Drug Prices Before Pledge to Keep Them Flat (Bloomberg)
• Drug Firms Blame Opioid Crisis on Illicit Websites, Dealers (Bloomberg)
• Trump meets with drug giant's CEO as part of price squeeze (Politico)
• Proposed US Patient Advocacy Bill Will Toughen Financial Reporting Obligations For Pharma (Forbes)
• Spooked AbbVie investors are selling off shares—but do they need to be? (Fierce)
• Doctors could prescribe drugs more accurately — if they could get the data (STAT)
• On Jadedness (Science Translational Medicine)
•  CBO’s Estimates of the Effects of Changes in the Manufacturers’ Discount in the Part D Coverage Gap (CBO)
• BIO Applauds Advancement of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (Press)

• Agios scores its second new drug approval, ivosidenib heads to the AML market (Endpoints)
• Scientists explore a new kind of immunotherapy to treat autoimmune diseases (STAT-$)
• Dr. Reddy’s Announces the Launch of Esomeprazole Magnesium Delayed-Release Capsules USP, 20 mg in the U.S. Market (Press)
• FDA Grants Approval of TIBSOVO, the First Oral, Targeted Therapy for Adult Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia and an IDH1 Mutation (Press)
• FDA Approves New Indications for ZOMACTON (somatropin) as Ferring Plans Launch of Needle-Free Delivery System (Press)
• Genentech to Present New Data Demonstrating the Breadth and Depth of Its Alzheimer’s Program at the Upcoming Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) (Press)

• Intuitive Surgical Beats Expectations, Driven By da Vinci System (Forbes)
• Liquid Biopsy Controversy Rages On (Forbes)
• Medical device company settles US case over false claims (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Tendyne investors sue Abbott over $50m milestone (MassDevice)
• Medtronic agrees to $43m deal to settle shareholder Infuse lawsuit (MassDevice)
• Memory Foam for Vascular Treatment Receives FDA Clearance (NIH)
• FDA grants Breakthrough Device Designation for Roche's Elecsys cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assays to support the improved diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (Press)
• AVITA Medical Announces Expansion of Management Team to Support Planned U.S. Launch of RECELL Device (Press)

• Rite Aid-Albertsons Comeback Hinges On Narrow Pharmacy Networks (Forbes)
• We need to improve Medicare’s annual wellness visit to better detect early dementia (STAT)
• Warren Questions Trump Administration on Ongoing Failures to Address Opioid Crisis (Sen. Elizabeth Warren)

• FDA Advisory Committee Calendar

• UK industry highlights code violations (The Pharma Letter)
• Sobi signs $450M deal for rare disease drug emapalumab, boosting its inflammation, I/O pipeline (Endpoints)
• UK drug advisors recommend rescheduling of medical cannabis (PharmaTimes)
• NICE backs radionuclide therapy for some neuroendocrine tumours (PharmaTimes)
• Companion Medical Announces CE Mark of InPen System (Press)
• Updated: Conferences and events (MHRA)
• Guideline on the clinical investigation of human normal immunoglobulin for intravenous administration (IVIg) (EMA)
• Annex to Guideline on similar biological medicinal products containing biotechnology-derived proteins as active substance: non-clinical and clinical issues (EMA)

• Over 100 hospitals received illegal rebates from drug suppliers (Korea Biomedical Review)
• WuXi STA and Antengene ink development and manufacturing deal (The Pharma Letter)

• Revisiting the ceiling price of Primary Knee implants and Revision Knee implants: Request for price data (NPPA)
• Amazon Hurricane Heading Towards Indian Pharma? (Scrip-$)
• E-commerce players brace for big battle over online pharma (Economic Times)

• The last chance drug that gave Max a fresh shot at life (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Share your thoughts with us in the 2018 TGA surveys (TGA)
• Australian Public Assessment Reports for prescription medicines (AusPARs) (TGA)

• Register of Innovative Drugs (Health Canada)
• Thornhill Medical Completes 'Series A' Financing Round Led by Shanghai Based Yonghua Investment Management Co., Ltd. (Press)

• When medication is essential to mental health (The Outline)
• A Health Insurer Tells Patients It Won’t Pay Their E.R. Bills, but Then Pays Them Anyway (NYT)
• State Prisons and the Delivery of Hospital Care: How states set up and finance off-site care for incarcerated individuals (Pew)
• 'Diseases Of Despair' Contribute To Declining U.S. Life Expectancy (Forbes)
• The opportunity ‘is huge’: Why tech developers are trying to tackle mental health (STAT)