The IRS isn’t concerned about Obamacare, Aduro Biotech IPO lives up to the hype (Morning Read)

The head of the IRS isn't even worrying about the results from the Supreme Court case subsidy ruling. And let's all reflect on the Aduro IPO - because it is kind of a big deal.

TOP STORIES

The head of the IRS said that his agency does “not spend any time thinking” about whether the Supreme Court could strike down Obamacare tax subsidies for millions of people this summer.

So Aduro Biotech’s $119 million IPO was kind of a big deal. The offering, which is funding Aduro’s pancreatic cancer immunotherapy combo CRS-207 and GVAX, was seen as a litmus test on the biotech bubble. There were two other biotech IPOs that day. But Aduro was the signature stock offering.

LIFE SCIENCE

Novartis subsidiary Alcon receives got FDA approval of AcrySof IQ ReSTOR, which treats cataracts.

Amgen gets its first heart drug with the FDA approval of Corlanor.

Cangrelor, Medicines Co’s intravenous blood clot preventer, won FDA approval.

Sage Therapeutics got $138 million out of its secondary stock offering – doubling cash on hand.

Biochemist Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues are moving forward with a patent fight over gene-editing technology known in shorthand as CRISPR/Cas9. The issue has been ongoing.

It heated up when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in April 2014 awarded the first CRISPR-related patent to the Broad Institute and MIT for work led by the Broad’s Feng Zhang. The Berkeley group wants the PTO to reconsider that award, claiming that it had the invention first.

Pfizer is stopping early a late-stage study of Ibrance, a treatment for breast cancer, because it met progression-free survival targets.

The Phase III PALOMA-3 trial showed that Ibrance (palbociclib) plus fulvestrant significantly boosted progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant/placebo in women with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer, whose disease had worsened during or after endocrine therapy.

PAYERS-PROVIDERS

From Modern Healthcare: “Investors have flocked to publicly traded health insurers, as evidenced by soaring stocks so far in 2015. Although optimism runs high in the managed-care sector, signs have emerged that medical costs are on the rise and could dampen earnings.”

Humana is chasing the Kentucky Medicaid contract again.

Critical care nurses at 42 hospitals nationwide have developed patient care initiatives that substantially improved clinical outcomes while demonstrating anticipated financial savings of more than $28 million annually.

TECH

A new report on cybersecurity by Vormetric called attention to concern over inside jobs.

PillPack is looking to reinvent the retail pharmaceutical experience with new launch in California.

MDLive, which offers patient-to-physician remote visits via mobile devices, has partnered with Microsoft to deliver telehealth services through Skype.

POLITICS

Anti-vaxxers were able to hold off the California vaccination bill – for a week at least.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced its selection of Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ) as a Legislator of the Year for 2015.

Republicans are battling Democrats (the Doc Fix bipartisanship could only last so long), and they are currently seeking to to build up $2 billion in tax relief through cuts and cost savings for heathcare in Minnesota.

A LITTLE EXTRA

I haven’t jumped on board with the whole Etsy obsession. But so many people have, and it shows in returns. The site has has raised $267 million in its initial IPO, ahead of its debut on the Nasdaq. It’s pricing 16.66 million shares of its stock at $16 per share.

The Morning Read provides a 24-hour wrap up of everything else healthcare’s innovators need to know about the business of medicine (and beyond). The author of The Read published it but all full-time MedCity News journalists contribute to its content.

 

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