Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Valeant Rejects Takeover Approach
The Wall Street Journal: Valeant Rejected Joint Takeover Approach From Takeda, TPG
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. received a joint takeover approach this spring from Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and private-equity firm TPG that the beleaguered drugmaker rejected, according to people familiar with the matter. The approach came a month or two ago, before Valeant named Joseph Papa as its new chief executive, and didn’t include a firm price, the people said, adding that there are no current talks. The board is seeking to give Mr. Papa, who was hired in late April, time to chart a course for the company, the people said. (Benoit, Mattioli and Rockoff, 5/26)
News outlets also scrutinize the standards for cancer drugs and the lack of drug testing on pregnant women —
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: FDA Standards For Approving Cancer Drugs Lax, Study Says
A new study calls into question the standards used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve new cancer drugs, and whether those drugs are helping patients at all. The paper, published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, says the FDA has been approving cancer drugs that may have no scientific correlation to actually living longer or maintaining quality of life. (Fauber, 5/26)
ProPublica: Most Drugs Aren’t Tested On Pregnant Women. This Anti-Nausea Cure Shows Why That’s A Problem
Fifty to 90 percent of women spend some part of their early pregnancies sick to their stomachs, and what begins as simple nausea can become dangerously debilitating. Some expectant women use ondansetron for only a few days; Smiley took it two or three times a week into her second trimester. ...But ondansetron, for years the most widely used drug to treat the most common complication of pregnancy, was never approved in the U.S. or anywhere for use in pregnancy. (Martin, 5/26)
And Bernie Sanders joins the fray regarding the dust-up over Colombia's attempt to allow production of a drug without a patent —
Stat: Bernie Sanders Accuses US Trade Rep Of Intimidating Colombia Over Novartis
Bernie Sanders is the latest lawmaker to chastise United States Trade Representative Michael Froman for pressuring Colombia not to sidestep a patent on a Novartis drug. (Silverman, 5/26)
