Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bristol-Myers Outflanks Merck By Embracing Old, Mass-Marketing Approach On Cancer Drug
The Wall Street Journal: Bristol Bucks Trend Toward Precision Medicine
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has sprinted to an early lead in the race to sell a new class of cancer treatment by bucking the trend toward precision medicine. For years, drug companies tried to sell medicines to as many patients as possible. More recently many pharmaceutical companies have been pairing their new therapies with diagnostic tests identifying patients best suited for the treatment. Merck & Co., Bristol’s chief cancer-drug competitor, has pursued such a “precision medicine” approach while selling its new lung-cancer drug, which harnesses the immune system to attack tumors. But in selling its similar therapy, Bristol has outflanked Merck partly by sticking to the old, mass-marketing approach. (Rockoff and Lotfus, 3/13)
The New York Times: Valeant, Woes Rising, Backs Away From Boldness To Calm Investors
Back when its stock soared and investors fawned — just six months ago — Valeant Pharmaceuticals billed itself as a new kind of drug company. It thrived on acquiring new drugs rather than inventing them, and generating big profits from raising prices on old, undervalued treatments. Now, in the face of federal investigations and a tumbling stock price, the company has a different pitch — as an old-fashioned drug company. (Thomas, 3/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Valeant: Can Investors Make Sense Of It?
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s finances are like an old jigsaw puzzle: Some pieces don’t seem to fit together, some are missing. Investors hope to find a few Tuesday when the company plans to, finally, announce fourth-quarter results and update earnings guidance. If it doesn’t provide enough answers, its shares could again get hammered. (Rapoport, 3/13)
The New York Times: Pfizer’s Eager To Go, But The Market Has Doubts
The stock market isn’t convinced that the biggest tax inversion merger on the horizon — Pfizer’s pending blockbuster deal with Allergan — will be concluded without major problems. That’s what the share prices of the two pharmaceutical companies are telling us. While their adjusted prices should be converging — if you assume the merger will be completed without significant impediments — the spread remains unusually wide. (Sommer, 3/12)
The Washington Post: FDA Expands Use Of Pfizer Drug For Rare Form Of Lung Cancer
The Food and Drug Administration expanded approval of a Pfizer drug to treat a small subset of lung cancer patients with a rare mutation. The agency said Friday that Xalkori capsules are now approved for patients with the ROS-1 gene mutation, who make up about 1 percent of U.S. patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. (Perrone, 3/11)
Bloomberg: Shkreli's Bankrupt Drug Company Gets Offer From Hedge Fund
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., the drug company that plunged into bankruptcy after the arrest of its former Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli, is getting some help for its plan to buy a treatment for Chagas disease. Hedge fund Black Horse Capital LP offered to buy at least 40 percent of the company for $10 million on the condition that Shkreli holds no more than 20 percent of KaloBios’s voting shares, according to a filing Thursday in Delaware bankruptcy court. (Smythe and Church, 3/11)
