Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pharma Flexes Its Political Power
Stat: The Drug Industry’s New Tactic In Washington: Calling Trump’s Bluff
The pharmaceutical industry has sparred with President Trump for four years over drug pricing. Now it’s taking its biggest gamble yet: calling the president’s bluff. The most brazen move came this week: Unlike most CEOs, who jump at the chance to visit the White House, pharmaceutical executives — newly empowered by their high-profile efforts to respond to the coronavirus and fed up with President Trump’s repeated threats — responded to his latest invitation with open contempt. (Florko and Facher, 7/31)
Stat: Cerevel Therapeutics To Raise $445 Million To Develop Brain Drugs
Cerevel Therapeutics, a Boston neuroscience company spun out from Pfizer in 2018 and led by the well-known CEO Tony Coles, is going public. The method of the public offering is somewhat unusual: Cerevel will raise roughly $445 million by merging with a public shell company launched by the hedge fund Perceptive Advisors in June — that shell company has already raised $130 million — and by raising a private investment from other investors to make up the rest of the amount. (Garde and Herper, 7/30)
In other health industry news —
Stat: Medical Nonprofits Forced To Scale Back As Pandemic Upends Fundraising
Medical charities have long relied on black-tie galas, golf tournaments, and bike-a-thons to fund their operations. But as with so many other in-person events, Covid-19 has cancelled those plans this year, leaving nonprofits with a funding shortfall that has forced them to cut staff, end grant funding, scale back activities, and in at least one case, shut down entirely. (Robbins, 7/31)
