Johnson & Johnson’s Court Victories Start To Stack Up As Jury Clears Company Of Responsibility For Woman’s Cancer

Bloomberg: J&J Cleared Of Responsibility For Woman’s Talc-Cancer Claim 
Johnson & Johnson isn’t responsible for a Missouri woman’s cancer that she blamed on asbestos-tainted talc, a jury decided in the company’s latest win in the nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors in state court in St. Louis concluded Friday J&J’s talc-based product didn’t contribute to the development of Vickie Forrest’s ovarian cancer and didn’t fail to properly warn her about its health risks. Its the company’s first win in the St. Louis courts since last year. Jurors in that same court hit the world’s largest maker of health-care products with a $4.7 billion verdict for more than 20 women who said their use of asbestos-laced baby powder caused their cancers. (Feeley, 12/20)

Reuters: J&J To Buy Remaining Stake In Verb Surgical To Strengthen Digital Surgery Portfolio
Johnson & Johnson said on Friday it would acquire the remaining stake in Verb Surgical Inc, from Verily, Alphabet Inc's life sciences division. Bolstering its Ethicon unit, which makes surgical equipment, J&J in 2015 formed an independent company called Verb Surgical with Verily to create smaller, smarter and less costly robotic-assisted systems for surgery. (12/20)

Modern Healthcare: Cigna's Express Scripts Partners With Prime Therapeutics
Cigna Corp.'s Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics solidified the terms of a three-year collaboration as the pharmacy benefit managers look to leverage the scale of the more than 100 million individuals that their clients cover. Express Scripts, the nation's largest PBM that merged with Cigna last year, said Thursday that it will offer retail pharmacy and drug manufacturer contract services to Prime, which is owned by 18 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans that stand to benefit from Express Scripts' purchasing power. Prime said it will continue to supply full-service pharmacy benefit management offerings for its clients. (Kacik, 12/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Mayo Clinic Names Health IT Vet To Head Its Digital Health-Care Businesses
The Mayo Clinic has named health-care technology veteran John Halamka as the head of its digital health-care businesses. One of his focus areas will be looking at how neural networks, machine learning and artificial intelligence can improve health care. Dr. Halamka, also a practicing emergency medicine physician, will be president of the Mayo Clinic Platform, a newly created position, when he joins on Jan. 1. The Mayo Clinic Platform is a strategic initiative to improve health care through insights and knowledge derived from data. It is a part of Mayo charged with developing clinical innovations and transforming health care. (McCormick, 12/23)

Modern Healthcare: Insurer CareFirst Strikes Two Deals, Marking Foray Into Medicaid
Baltimore-based insurer CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield is entering the Medicaid managed-care market with acquisitions of two small Medicaid plans in Maryland and Washington, D.C. CareFirst said it reached separate agreements to buy Trusted Health Plan in D.C. and University of Maryland Health Partners in Baltimore. Health Partners is owned by the University of Maryland Medical System. Combined, the Medicaid managed-care organizations serve about 81,000 people. (Livingston, 12/20)

The Baltimore Sun: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Of Baltimore Will Acquire Medicaid Plans In Maryland And Washington 
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield said Friday it plans to acquire Medicaid plans in Maryland and Washington. The state’s largest health insurer will acquire University of Maryland Health Partners in Baltimore, health insurance plans for Medicare and Medicaid members run by the University of Maryland Medical System. The nonprofit also will acquire Trusted Health Plan in Washington, a Medicaid managed-care organization in Washington. (Mirabella, 12/20)