Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bristol-Myers' Bet On Cancer Drugs Pays Off In Second Quarter
The Wall Street Journal: Bristol-Myers Results Boosted By Cancer Drugs
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its second-quarter revenue rose 17% and it raised its earnings forecast for the year as the company’s bet on cancer immunotherapies continues to pay off while other drugs show gains. The drugmaker was the first to bring to market an immunotherapy, which aims to fight cancer by unshackling the body’s immune system. Sales of its newest immunotherapy, Opdivo, rose to $840 million in the quarter, up $718 million from a year earlier and accounting for much of Bristol’s revenue gains in the quarter. (Rockoff and Stynes, 7/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Sanofi Profit Down As Diabetes Drug Sales Slip
French drugmaker Sanofi SA on Friday reported a fall in second-quarter net profit, hurt by dwindling U.S. diabetes drug sales and adverse currency moves but said it still expected to meet its profit target this year. The Paris-based drugmaker said net profit declined by 11% to €1.16 billion ($1.29 billion) for the three months through June from €1.3 billion a year earlier. (Bisserbe, 7/29)
Boston Globe: Bankruptcy Court Approves $40 Million Takeover Of Bind Therapeutics
A federal bankruptcy court Wednesday approved a $40 million takeover of cancer drug developer Bind Therapeutics Inc. by Big Pharma stalwart Pfizer Inc. The court order authorizing the sale closes the book on Bind, a 10-year-old Cambridge biotech company that pioneered a novel approach to fighting cancer but ran into financial trouble before it could bring its experimental therapies to the marketplace. (Weisman, 7/27)
Stat: Gilead Hep C Drug Prices Blamed For England’s Health Service Rationing Treatment
Faced with budgetary constraints, England’s National Health Service took several controversial steps to delay coverage of Gilead Sciences’s pricey hepatitis C treatments, but did so at the expense of patients, according to an investigation by the BMJ, the UK medical journal. Specifically, the agency’s moves caused delays in providing treatment to many of the estimated 160,000 hepatitis C patients, while others were unable to obtain the medications due to rationing. As a result, some people are now traveling out of the country to receive treatment. Meanwhile, Gilead has been blamed for igniting the problem due to its pricing practices. (Silverman, 7/28)
