Morning Read: The NIH gets $2B funding increase – the most in 12 years

TOP STORIES

The National Institutes of Health will get a $2 billion funding increase in the federal spending bill released early this morning, which would be the first time the NIH got such a large raise in more than 12 years — assuming the spending bill gets enough votes to pass Congress. — STAT

LIFE SCIENCES

Valeant gets a new drug distribution deal with Walgreens and all is again right with the world. – Bloomberg

Lots of great details here about how AstraZeneca is going all-in with China despite the pharma industry’s recent problems. An initial spend of $150 million will improve the capabilities of early-stage drug development in the country. – Financial Times

Merck’s drug to reverse the effects of muscle relaxants used during surgery has won U.S. approval. The FDA said it approved the drug, Bridion, to reverse the effects of paralysis caused by rocuronium and vecuronium, muscle relaxants used at the beginning of surgery to help doctors insert a breathing tube. — Reuters, FierceBiotech

Sovaldi is taking it on the chin (again). But it may be the one drug that could potentially justify its price. – NPR

GamaMabs Pharma has raised $16.4 million to advance a monoclonal antibody against gynecological cancers into the clinic phase and up to proof-of-concept. — FierceBiotech

James Dentzer is leaving as Dicerna Pharmaceuticals chief financial officer. Jack Green, former CFO at GTC Biotherapeutics, is now interim CFO. – Business Wire

NovoCure said data from the phase 3 trial of its Optune device, in combination with standard-of-care temozolomide for treating newly diagnosed glioblastoma, has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. — MassDevice

PAYERS-PROVIDERS

It’s the equivalent of not requiring restaurant workers to wash their hands: More than half of U.S. hospitals don’t require health care providers to get a seasonal flu shot. – HealthDay

Aledade announced that Mark McClellan MD, PhD – a health care expert and an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) pioneer– will be joining its Board of Directors.  — Aledade

As prescription drug costs continue to be a concern for consumers, The Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report on the recent and forecasted trends in prescription drug spending. Here are seven key findings from the report. — Becker’s Hospital Review

TECH

Teladoc’s case against the Texas Medical Board marches on. – MobiHealthNews

GE Healthcare releases three interesting apps for clinicians and patients. — iMedicalApps

Hexoskin, making of the health-tracking t-shirts, has raised nearly $1 million. – MobiHealthNews

Here are Eric Topol’s top 10 tech advances of 2015. — Medscape

The Cerner impersonator case has brought its fourth guilty plea. – Kansas City Business Journal

Chiron Health has raised $2.3 million from Capital Factory, Floodgate, and Martin Ventures for a telemedicine offering that helps providers connect with their existing patients. — MobiHealthNews

POLITICS

The “unprecedented demand” rolls on – officials are pushing back an Obamacare sign-up deadline by two days. — The Hill

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA