TOP STORIES
By the end of next year (hopefully) Boehringer will own Sanofi’s animal health business and Sanofi will own Boehringer’s consumer health business. The most profound statement on the deal so far: “You see that it is a complex procedure,” Boehringer CEO Andreas Barner said. – Pharma Times, Reuters
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
This piece started as a general overview of Theranos but then resurfaced an interesting suggestion at the end: “Kalorama thinks Theranos should adjust strategy too, by moving into simpler ‘point of care’ testing. Here diagnostics are carried out in a surgery, clinic or a pharmacy and the patient waits a few minutes for results. This cuts out the need for a laboratory altogether.” – Financial Times
LIFE SCIENCES
Solve the priority review voucher program and you neuter Martin Shkreli? – STAT
Illumina has struck a joint development deal with China’s Novogene focusing on reproductive health and oncology based on next-generation sequencing technology. – Medical Device Network
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Crealta Pharmaceuticals and its orphan gout treatment are being acquired Horizon Pharma for $150 million. – Xconomy
The 3D-imaging senor company Vayyar Imaging closed on a $22 million round that included Walden Riverwood, Battery Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners, among others. – PR Newswire
Akebia is moving its anemia drug into Asia with a $350 million deal. – Boston Business Journal
Amgen will take back bone drugs Prolia and Xgeva plus cancer therapy Vectibix from GSK. – Pharma Times
An FDA advisory committee says Merck shouldn’t say Vytorin reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients with coronary heart disease (the benefit is too small). – Reuters
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Daughters of Charity Health System is now owned by the New York hedge fund Blue Mountain Capital and its subsidiary Integrity Healthcare. Let’s see how this turns out. – Silicon Valley Business Journal
Something to depress the hell out of you this holiday season: another poignant profile of a family caregiver. “People say I am strong, but I don’t feel strong a lot of the time. The shower gets a lot of my tears.” – BBC
RNs are more likely than LPNs to identify high-risk medication discrepancies; researchers want a clearer definition of duties between the two jobs in nursing homes. – Science Daily
TECHNOLOGY
Televideconference company Vidyo got $10 million in Kaiser Permanente Ventures in its $15 million fund-raising round. That gives Vidyo $163 million in private investment. – MobiHealthNews
POLITICS
I’m sorry but I’m not buying the “unprecedented demand” line coming out of the White House around the latest deadline on Obamacare signups. Maybe the fine will push some people. But, more likely, expect some angry people come 2017 tax time. – NPR, The New York Times
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
The Bowe Bergdahl case isn’t just getting played out in court. It’s the subject of an amazing podcast called Serial, which in a long-form fashion is examining, in Bergdahl’s words, what happened just before and during his capture. Some way it’s also driving Bergdahl’s prosecution. – Serial, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post
