TOP STORIES
AstraZeneca entered into a licensing agreement, valued at up to $445 million, for its experimental psoriasis drug. Under the terms of the deal, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. of Quebec will make an upfront payment of $100 million to AstraZeneca for the rights to further develop and commercialize the new drug candidate brodalumab. — Philadelphia Business Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Back in 2013, Cellular Dynamics vowed to create induced pluripotent stem cell lines from the cells of 3,000 donors—some healthy, some diseased the world’s biggest stem cell bank. The $32 million initiative funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine involved a collaboration with Cellular Dynamics and Coriell Institute and is moving ahead.
— Xconomy
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Indiana University Health president and CEO, Daniel F. Evans Jr., is planning to retire. Dennis M Murphy, the current executive vice president and COO of the 17-hospital system in Indianapolis, will be promoted to president of the organization and take over as CEO on May 1, 2016. — Becker’s Hospital Review
Dr. Robert V. Kolbusz, a dermatologist who operated the Center for Dermatology and Skin in Lombard out of Chicago, has been sentenced to seven years in jail Friday for insurance fraud. He reportedly filled “hundreds of false insurance claims for alleged skin cancer treatment that was unnecessary or never performed,” the government claimed. — Chicago Business Journal
TECH
Jiff, the health benefits startup, and Mercer, the global HR consulting leader have launched a new health benefits tech platform, Health Pathfinder by Mercer.
Jiff already works with Fortune 500 customers, including Activision, Qualcomm, and Redbull. The large companies Mercer works with offer dozens of health benefits using the latest apps, like MyFitnessPal and Doctor on Demand, and wearables like Fitbit, but without a way to manage them, people don’t use them, and the value is left on the table.
— Jiff and Mercer
Google has announced that it now offers an iOS app, called Android Wear, that allows users to connect certain Android Wear smartwatches with iPhones.
POLITICS
Is the False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation against healthcare supervisors and executives still viable? Here’s a breakdown of where things stand currently.
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
Google has changed it’s logo. Does it really matter that much?
