Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Google Completes Steps To Purchase FitBit For $2.1B
AP: Google Muscles Up With Fitbit Deal Amid Antitrust Concerns
Google has completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness-gadget maker Fitbit, a deal that could help the internet company grow even stronger while U.S. government regulators pursue an antitrust case aimed at undermining its power. Thursday’s completion of the acquisition comes 14 months after Google announced a deal that immediately raised alarms. Google makes most of its money by selling ads based on information it collects about its billions of users’ interests and whereabouts. Privacy watchdogs feared it might exploit Fitbit to peer even deeper into people’s lives. (Liedtke, 1/14)
Stat: Two Ways Fitbit Could Boost Google's Health Ambitions
Google’s newly-finalized purchase of Fitbit is poised to provide the tech giant with a potentially lucrative toehold into two competitive markets: clinical trials and employer benefits. The $2.1 billion buy-out could give Google an edge in the race to court employers and health plans as companies seek to boost staff benefits amid the pandemic, industry observers told STAT. (Brodwin and Aguilar, 1/15)
In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —
The Hill: Report Faults 'Broken' System For Insulin Price Spikes
Insulin prices have soared in recent years due to a “broken” system that rewards companies for raising costs on a drug that hasn’t been significantly improved in its 100-year existence, congressional investigators said Thursday. A scathing report from the offices of Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, found that in the convoluted drug pricing system, competition, rather than lowering costs, often drives price increases. (Hellmann, 1/14)
Stat: Aurinia In 'Show-Me Phase' As FDA Nears Approval Decision On Its Drug
Next week, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a new medicine from Aurinia Pharmaceuticals that will be used to treat patients with lupus nephritis, a serious autoimmune kidney disease. If the decision goes Aurinia’s way, the oral drug called voclosporin will be the first commercial product developed successfully by the drug maker, founded in 1993 and based in Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada. (Feuerstein, 1/15)
