Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Valeant's $58M Accounting Error Prompts The Question: What Other Flaws Will Emerge?
The New York Times: A Valeant Boo-Boo May Portend Bigger Errors
In the five months since Valeant’s board established a committee to examine the company’s accounting practices, it has turned up one $58 million error. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, the besieged drug company, had made a mistake in booking $58 million in sales in 2014 to Philidor Rx Services, a specialty pharmacy the company used to sell its drugs. Those sales should have been recorded later, when the drugs were actually dispensed to patients, the committee said. A $58 million boo-boo is no biggie for Valeant, which reported over $8 billion in sales in 2014. Still, the question lingers: Will other accounting flaws emerge? (Morgenson, 4/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Regeneron’s Blockbuster Dreams Get Brighter
After a rough start to the year, fresh clinical data gave Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shareholders some much-needed relief. Regeneron’s stock surged 12% on Friday after the company announced strong phase 3 clinical results for dupilumab, its experimental treatment for atopic dermatitis. Regeneron is developing the drug with the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. (Grant, 4/3)
