Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
UnitedHealth Faces Off Against Amazon
Becker's Hospital Review: UnitedHealth Acquires Competitor To Amazon's PillPack
UnitedHealth Group has acquired DivvyDose, a startup that delivers medications in presorted packages, CNBC reported. The deal was valued at just over $300M, according to CNBC. A spokesperson for UnitedHealth declined to comment. Retailers have increasingly been acquiring pharmacy startups, with Amazon acquiring PillPack, a competitor to DivvyDose, in 2018, and Walmart recently acquiring medication management technology from CareZoe. (Anderson, 9/29)
Becker's Hospital Review: FDA Grants Emergency OK Of Hologic's Asymptomatic COVID-19 Test
The FDA has granted emergency authorization to Hologic's COVID-19 test to treat asymptomatic people. It's the first test widely available specifically for screening asymptomatic people and those without other reasons to suspect COVID-19 infection. Hologic said it expects the test to play a key role in identifying early infection and helping to reopen schools, workplaces and the broader economy. The test, called the Panther Fusion test, can return results in about three hours, and machines can process more than 1,000 test results in 24 hours, Hologic said. (Anderson, 9/29)
Stat: Telehealth Startup Ro Expands Generics Partnership With Pfizer
Telehealth startup Ro is expanding its partnership with pharma giant Pfizer’s generics arm to offer its generic versions of commonly prescribed blood pressure and cholesterol medications. Through its virtual mail-order pharmacy, Ro will supply Pfizer-produced generics of Lipitor, a cholesterol drug, and Norvasc, a hypertension medication. The medications will be made available through Ro’s $5-per-month prescription drug service, which launched earlier this year and which doesn’t take insurance. (Runwal, 9/30)
Stat: Catalyst Loses Lawsuit Accusing The FDA Of Unfairly Approving Rival Drug
In a blow to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX), a federal judge dismissed its lawsuit accusing the Food and Drug Administration of violating the law when it approved a similar medicine by a small, family-run rival company. The lawsuit has been closely watched because Catalyst raised thorny questions about regulatory standards and the vagaries of orphan drug designations, while also playing into the heated national debate over the rising cost of prescription medicines. (Silverman, 9/29)
