Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
World's Biggest Generic Drugmaker To Slash 14,000 Jobs, Close Some Facilities
The New York Times: Teva Pharmaceuticals To Cut 25% Of Jobs In Huge Reshaping
Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world’s biggest maker of generic drugs, said on Thursday that it would cut about a quarter of its work force, or 14,000 jobs, close manufacturing and research facilities and suspend its dividend as it seeks to simplify its structure and reduce its debt. The Israeli company has faced management turmoil and been squeezed by increased competition as well as lower prices in a challenging market environment for generic drugs in the United States. (Bray, 12/14)
The Wall Street Journal: Teva Pharmaceutical To Cut 14,000 Jobs
Teva, the world’s biggest seller of generic drugs, didn’t detail where it is cutting jobs. At the end of the third quarter, it employed about 53,000, most of them in Europe and the U.S. Teva has been hit hard by declining generics prices in the U.S. and increased competition for its blockbuster multiple-sclerosis drug. It also recently emerged from a period of boardroom and executive-suite turmoil. Directors had clashed on the firm’s strategy after swallowing a big acquisition that saddled it with heavy debt. (Jones and Hufford, 12/14)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Bloomberg: Months After Approval, Breakthrough Cancer Drug Given To Just Five Patients
Two months after Gilead Sciences Inc.’s breakthrough treatment was approved in the U.S. to treat a deadly form of blood cancer, only a tiny handful of patients have actually gotten the costly therapy, while others linger on waiting lists. Five people have received the treatment, called Yescarta, at the 15 cancer hospitals authorized to administer it in the U.S., the hospitals told Bloomberg. Waiting lists for the $373,000 treatment have grown to at least 200 people, shrinking only as some very sick patients have died. (Cortez, Chen and Rausch, 12/14)
Chicago Tribune: Whistleblower Says She Warned Drugmaker Of Risks Of Taking Antipsychotic Seroquel With Methadone
Few prescription drugs were as popular as the antipsychotic Seroquel. Psychiatrists trusted it, nursing homes used it and addiction specialists prescribed it. Annual sales exceeded $3 billion. But in the winter of 2009, one of the top pharmaceutical sales representatives selling it, Allison Zayas, began to have her doubts. According to Zayas, one of her best clients, a doctor at a New York City outpatient clinic, told her that a patient had died while taking the drug and that the combination of Seroquel and methadone might have played a role. (Roe, 12/15)
Politico Pro: Appeals Court Deals Additional Blow To Brands In Biosimilar Case
An appeals court ruling today marks another big win for the biosimilar industry in its fight to bring cheaper versions of biologic medicines to market. Makers of brand-name biologic drugs can't use state laws to try to force biosimilar makers to share patents, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled today in a case pitting Sandoz vs. Amgen. (Karlin-Smith, 12/14)
