Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Opioid Trial Begins In West Virginia
Bloomberg: Opioid Distributors Sold ‘Mountain Of Pills,’ Lawyer Tells Judge
The biggest drug distributors in the U.S. were accused of swamping a West Virginia county with millions of doses of painkillers as testimony is set to begin in the first trial over the companies’ role in the opioid crisis. McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. wrongfully “sold a mountain of opioid pills into our community, fueling the opioid epidemic,” Paul Farrell, a lawyer for Cabell County, told a judge Monday in his opening statement. The county and the city of Huntington want distributors to pay $2.6 billion to beef up treatment and policing budgets strained by years of opioid overdoses and addictions. (Feeley, 5/4)
In other pharmaceutical industry news —
Boston Globe: Affinia Therapeutics Raises $110 Million For Gene Therapy Treatments
Affinia Therapeutics, a Waltham-based biotech working on gene therapies to treat diseases using technology developed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said Monday it has raised $110 million in a new venture capital round. The company, which was founded in 2019 based on work pioneered by Luk Vandenberghe, an associate professor at Mass. Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, plans to use the money to advance its gene therapy technology and move experimental drug programs into clinical trials. (Jonathan Saltzman, 5/4)
AP: Pharma Company To Pay $12.6M To Settle Kickback Allegations
A Delaware pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay $12.6 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by paying kickbacks. Department of Justice officials said in a news release Tuesday that the settlement resolves allegations that Incyte Corp. improperly used an independent foundation to cover the copays of certain people taking the company’s cancer drug Jakafi from November 2011 to December 2014. Jakafi is approved to treat a bone marrow cancer called myleofibrosis. (Chase, 5/4)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Experts Say Methadone Rules Relaxed In Pandemic Should Stay Flexible
In March 2020, federal officials relaxed methadone dosing restrictions, letting more people take home their methadone to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Ohio was among the first to come up with a plan. On April 15, the Department of Health and Human Services renewed the pandemic public health emergency declaration, so the rules can continue for at least through the emergency, said Dr. Neeraj Gandotra, chief medical officer for the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. But Ohio will stick with a May 9 end to the extra take-home medication now that COVID-19 vaccines are widely available. (Demio, 5/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Elizabeth Holmes Makes First Courtroom Appearance In Over A Year
Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes appeared in a federal courtroom in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday for the first time in more than a year, attending arguments between her lawyers and prosecutors over what evidence jurors can hear at her approaching criminal fraud trial. (Randazzo, 5/4)
