Pharma Flexes Its Political Power
Big Pharma executives ignore the president's invitation to meet at the White House. Cerevel plans to go public. Meanwhile, medical charities are forced to cut back on galas and other charity events they use to raise money.
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The Drug Industry’s New Tactic In Washington: Calling Trump’s Bluff
The pharmaceutical industry has sparred with President Trump for four years over drug pricing. Now it’s taking its biggest gamble yet: calling the president’s bluff. The most brazen move came this week: Unlike most CEOs, who jump at the chance to visit the White House, pharmaceutical executives — newly empowered by their high-profile efforts to respond to the coronavirus and fed up with President Trump’s repeated threats — responded to his latest invitation with open contempt. (Florko and Facher, 7/31)
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Cerevel Therapeutics To Raise $445 Million To Develop Brain Drugs
Cerevel Therapeutics, a Boston neuroscience company spun out from Pfizer in 2018 and led by the well-known CEO Tony Coles, is going public. The method of the public offering is somewhat unusual: Cerevel will raise roughly $445 million by merging with a public shell company launched by the hedge fund Perceptive Advisors in June — that shell company has already raised $130 million — and by raising a private investment from other investors to make up the rest of the amount. (Garde and Herper, 7/30)
In other health industry news —
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Medical Nonprofits Forced To Scale Back As Pandemic Upends Fundraising
Medical charities have long relied on black-tie galas, golf tournaments, and bike-a-thons to fund their operations. But as with so many other in-person events, Covid-19 has cancelled those plans this year, leaving nonprofits with a funding shortfall that has forced them to cut staff, end grant funding, scale back activities, and in at least one case, shut down entirely. (Robbins, 7/31)
