Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marketplace Roundup: Biotech Organogenesis To Go Public Again; Eyes On Esperion Cholesterol Trial
Boston Globe: Organogenesis Will Become A Public Company Again
Organogenesis Inc., a Canton biotech that sells wound care and skin graft products, is going public again, 16 years after it went private amid financial problems. The biotech, founded in 1985 as a spinoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced it is merging with a special entity created by Avista Capital, a New York private equity firm. (Saltzman, 8/20)
Stat: Esperion Therapeutics And The Cholesterol Trial That Could Swing Billions
Is a small company poised to shake up the multibillion-dollar market for cardiovascular drugs, or is it about to descend into irrelevance? That’s the question hanging over Esperion Therapeutics and its experimental cholesterol-cutting therapy. The drug is being developed as an option for patients who can’t get what they need from cheap, generic statins but who also don’t require pricey injectable medicines called PCSK9 inhibitors, which can cost more than $10,000 a year. (Garde, 8/21)
The Star Tribune: Blue Cross Affiliate Stella Development Invests In Startups
A development company that's owned by the corporate parent for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has made two investments this year in health care startups, including a deal announced this month to back a sports medicine company based in Georgia. Stella Development, the Blue Cross affiliate, did not announce financial terms for either deal. (Snowbeck, 8/20)
The Associated Press: AbbVie Donates $100M To Ronald McDonald House Charities
Drugmaker AbbVie is donating $100 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities, which help provide housing to pediatric patients and their families throughout the U.S. The donation announced Monday is the single largest ever gift to Chicago-based charity network. The money will be used to build housing in at least 26 states and at 32 Ronald McDonald Houses. (8/20)
