Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Purdue Pharma, Sacklers Unveil New Settlement For OxyContin Lawsuits
AP: OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma And Sackler Owners Submit New Settlement Plan
Purdue Pharma asked a bankruptcy judge late Tuesday to consider the latest version of its plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin, a deal that would have members of the Sackler family who own the company pay up to $7 billion. The filing is a milestone in a tumultuous legal saga that has gone on for more than five years. (Mulvihill, 3/19)
FiercePharma: Merck Plots 163 Layoffs As It Prepares To Shutter Pennsylvania Manufacturing Site
Merck is planning layoffs in Pennsylvania as part of a multi-year plan to wind down operations at a manufacturing plant in the state. The pharma giant will cut 163 jobs at its Cherokee manufacturing plant in Riverside, Pennsylvania, through three rounds of cuts, according to a state notice that cites a site closure as the reason for the workforce reduction. (Becker, 3/17)
Axios: Optum To Drop Prior Authorization Requirement For Dozens Of Prescription Drugs
Optum Rx — which includes the pharmacy benefit manager of health care conglomerate UnitedHealth Group — is dropping annual reauthorization requirements for 80 drugs, which will eliminate more than 10% of overall pharmacy prior authorizations, the company announced. (Owens, 3/19)
FiercePharma: Dr. Reddy’s, Sun Pharma And Zydus Issue US Recalls, Citing Failed Specs And Labeling Issues
In the case of Dr. Reddy’s, the company unveiled a voluntary recall on March 13 for one lot of 1,000 mg/100 ml single-dose levetiracetam infusion bags that had been shipped out across the U.S. in early November. Sun Pharma, for its part, is recalling nearly 10,000 100 mg bottles of morphine sulfate extended-release tablets after the products failed to meet FDA dissolution specifications. Lastly, Zydus Pharmaceuticals initiated two separate Class II recalls on Feb. 13 covering a whopping 38,871 vials of the chemotherapy injection nelarabine, which were manufactured at the company’s Ahmedabad, India, production facility. (Keenan, 3/17)
Modern Healthcare: GE HealthCare, Nvidia To Partner On Autonomous X-Ray, Ultrasound
GE HealthCare announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with Nvidia to work on autonomous X-ray and ultrasound scanners that will leverage artificial intelligence-enabled software to capture and analyze medical images. The company is developing the technology to help ease the burden of rising patient volumes and staff shortages on healthcare professionals, Roland Rott, president and CEO of imaging at GE HealthCare, said in a news release. (Dubinsky, 3/18)
Stat: Prime And Beam Go Head To Head Over Gene-Editing Treatment
The gene-editing field may have yet another legal squabble on its hands — this time between two companies created by the same star biotech researcher, in a dispute that gets at the core of some of the challenges facing the field. (Mast, 3/19)
Also —
Stat: Patient Dies After Receiving Elevidys, Sarepta’s Duchenne Therapy
Sarepta Therapeutics said Tuesday that a 16-year-old boy died after receiving Elevidys, its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the first known death linked to the treatment. The teenager suffered liver failure, a side effect that has been seen with other gene therapy treatments over the last two decades. (Mast, 3/18)
