Recon: Teva, Allergan willing to pay $5B to settle opioid suits; FTC tells Medtronic to divest Fiagon in Intersect takeover

• Pfizer's $11.6 bln Biohaven buy could spark more biotech deals (Reuters)
• Arkansas sues drugmakers, pharmacy benefit managers over insulin costs (Reuters)
• Moderna CFO exits a day after taking charge as former employer launches probe (Reuters)
• J&J appoints consumer health head Thibaut Mongon to CEO of spun-off business (Reuters)
• Teva, Allergan Willing to Pay $5 Billion for Opioid Accord (Bloomberg)
• CDER Launches New Accelerating Rare disease Cures (ARC) Program (FDA)
• FTC tells Medtronic to divest Fiagon to clear barrier for $1.1B Intersect takeover (MedtechDive)
• U.S. drug overdose deaths surpass 107,000 last year, another record (Politico) (NYTimes)
• FDA user fee reauthorizations turns into a bipartisan lovefest at House hearing (Endpoints)

• Blow to Roche's cancer immunotherapy prospects as 2nd trial fails (Reuters) (STAT)
• Japan's Takeda forecasts rebound despite full-year profit drop (Reuters)
• Is It Tougher To Conduct Decentralized Trials In The EU? ‘Don’t Fall Prey To Negative Narrative’ (Pink Sheet)
• Novo Nordisk, Flagship's forward-thinking partnership aims to treat cardiometabolic, rare diseases (Fierce)
• Why a controversial patent rights waiver could be a ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle the next pandemic (STAT)
• WHO calls on Pfizer to make its COVID pill more available (AP)

• Some patients reporting COVID rebounds after taking Pfizer pills (Reuters)
• In first, Verve gets clearance to test base editing inside the body (BioPharmaDive)
• US FDA Aims To Simplify Terminology For Remote Assessments (Pink Sheet)
• A new biotech investment firm, headed by a pair of noteworthy VCs, seeks to ‘free the founders’ (STAT)
• Wisconsin giving Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals some cheddar as their new manufacturing site receives several million in state and local tax benefits (Endpoints)
• After failed SPAC and phase 3 fumble, Amicus gene therapy hits another delay to approval (Fierce)
• Can FDA replicate Operation Warp Speed for rare diseases? Not yet, but Peter Marks has some ideas (Fierce)
• AstraZeneca and Sanofi sharpen RSV pitch with new analyses, but how much weight will FDA give them? (Endpoints)
• Iterum says FDA is in 'general alignment' on proposed new PhIII for rejected uUTI drug (Endpoints)
• Artificial Intelligence Is Future Of Postmarketing Surveillance, US FDA’s Marks Says (Pink Sheet)
• US FDA’s Current Technical Standards Not A Good Fit For Real-World Data, Stakeholders Say (Pink Sheet)
• Transfusion of brain fluid from young mice is a memory-elevating elixir for old animals (STAT)
• Cytiva's latest project to open in Switzerland at the end of the month (Endpoints)

• Rising Google searches for procedures suggest recovering demand at medtechs: analysts (MedtechDive)
• Triple threat: Varian, HP and Adaptiiv form 3D printing pact to improve radiation therapy (Fierce)
• BD, Babson set sights on bringing simple blood collection into the home (Fierce)

• Teva faces $100M lawsuit from Israel over unpaid Copaxone royalties: report (Fierce)
• Gilead Slaps Rivals With Patent Suit Over HIV Drug (Law360)
• Jury Awards Nearly $334M To MGI Tech In Illumina Patent Suit (MedtechInsight)
• Pharma showers John Thune with campaign cash (STAT)