New Life Breathed Into Pharma’s Efforts To Block California’s Drug Pricing Transparency Law
The legislation would require drugmakers to inform the state and give justification for their price hikes. The judge is allowing the industry to proceed with the argument that the law is unconstitutional because it violates interstate commerce and free speech principles.
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Pharma Lawsuit Against California Transparency Law Can Proceed
A federal judge breathed new life into a long-running effort by the pharmaceutical industry to thwart a controversial California law that requires drug makers to not only provide advance notice of price hikes, but also give the reasons for any increases. In a ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr. allowed the PhRMA trade group to proceed with an amended lawsuit that argues the law is unconstitutional because it violates interstate commerce and free speech principles, unfairly holds drug makers largely accountable for prices, and purportedly has fuzzy language about the timeframe for providing notice of a price hike. (Silverman, 8/1)
In other pharmaceutical news —
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PhRMA’s Top Lobbyist Will Leave At The End Of August
Rodger Currie, the top lobbyist for the drug industry trade group PhRMA, is leaving the organization at the end of August, three sources confirmed to STAT. The news was announced internally by the association’s president, Steve Ubl, in an internal email sent late Thursday afternoon. Currie has chosen to “pursue new opportunities,” according to the internal email. (Florko, 8/1)
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Pharmacy Groups Seek To Break Impasse On Monitoring Compounders
A behind-the-scenes dispute over a regulatory memorandum threatens to scramble long-running efforts to bolster oversight of compounding pharmacies, a concern that has haunted government officials ever since an outbreak of fungal meningitis killed dozens of people seven years ago. At issue is an attempt by the Food and Drug Administration to sort out responsibilities with the states for monitoring inordinate amounts of medicines shipped by two different types of compounders — those making large quantities and smaller pharmacies that dispense medicines for individual patients. The distinction was created as part of a federal law in 2013 in response to the fatal outbreak. (Silverman, 8/1)
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Life Sciences VC Firm Vida Ventures Raises $600 Million In Second Fund
The Boston-based venture capital firm Vida Ventures snagged $600 million more to invest in early-stage biotech companies in a second fund, it announced Thursday. That fund should bolster the firm’s attempts to become a more significant player in the cottage industry of biotech venture capitalists. Vida has only formally invested in 14 companies since its launch in April 2018, though one — the cell therapy company Allogene (ALLO)— has already gone public. Merck bought another, Peloton Therapeutics, for $1 billion upfront. (Sheridan, 8/1)
