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TOP STORIES
GlaxoSmithKline said it would stop seeking drug patents in low-income countries. The goal is to take away the concern by generic pharma companies that they’ll be sued over patent infringement in these countries and improve access to drugs. GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty said, the changes by the company are intended to make it as clear and simple as possible for generic manufacturers to make and supply versions of GSK medicines in least developed countries, low income countries and most lower middle income countries.
Tim Worstall of Forbes welcomed the move and observed that it “runs entirely counter to the way that international trade agreements are set and settled these days.” He added that it will “blow a great, gaping, hole in the intellectual provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnernship.” — The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Pharma Times
LIFE SCIENCES
Pfizer’s April Fool’s day started a day earlier than expected when a press release reported that Pfizer would suspend drug prices. It led to a retraction by The Washington Post. Legal options are being explored, apparently. It’s all fun and games until one of the largest big pharma companies sues you. — Bloomberg
European Union regulators approved Bio Products Laboratory’s Coagadex, a treatment for the rare bleeding disorder factor X deficiency. — PharmaTimes
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.
New PureTech portfolio company and microbiome startup Commense seeks to replenish microbiome exposure that infants get when they pass through the birth canal when they are born. The thinking is that infants born by C-section are deprived of microbes that could raise their risk of developing asthma, food allergies, Type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. — Xconomy
Medtronic got a greenlight from the FDA to expand the indication for its ingestible capsule PillCam COLON 2 to detect colon polyps in patients with a history of gastrointestinal bleeding of lower gastrointestinal origin. — Fierce Medical Device
Speaking of 510(k) clearance, the FDA has been sending out letters to companies which received clearance for their medical devices years ago. It seems like they are merely updating product codes but what are the implications? — FDA Law Blog
Teva has formed a joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Japan. — BusinessWire
The global market for biopsy devices is projected to climb to $2.1 billion by 2020 from more than $1.5 billion in 2015, according to BCC Research. — PR Newswire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Tufts Medical Center has launched a nurse’s aide training program for college grads. — Boston Globe
There were 26 hospital deals in March. — BeckersHospitalReview
Bundled payments initiative for hip and knee replacement surgery takes effect today, affecting nearly 800 hospitals. They are accountable for all the costs of hip and knee replacements for 90 days. — The Wall Street Journal
TECHNOLOGY
A Stanford study of 10 by physicians and researchers used devices such as Dexcom G4 CGM, Apple HealthKit, and Epic, along with a data visualization tool developed by Stanford called GluVue, and found that glycemic control could be improved through continuous glucose monitoring.— MobiHealthNews
Here’s a radical idea. How can we reduce errors in patient medical records? How about we let patients read them? — Well, The New York Times
Startup Boot Camp has launched a digital health accelerator in Berlin. — International Business Times
POLITICS
As telemedicine pushes into specialties, a showdown is brewing between optometrists and companies developing smartphone enabled eye exams. Enter former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — Politico
The Association of American Medical Colleges has sent a letter to a Congressional committee investigating Planned Parenthood, protesting the move to subpoena members to get names and personal details of researchers involved with fetal tissue research. — The Hill
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
MIT chemistry research scientists think there’s a way to change the way drugs are produced as drug makers look beyond batch processing to more flexible alternatives such as flow processing to bring down production costs and improve access. In a project first backed by Novartis and then the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the researchers are developing a compact, transportable device that can make four drugs, which are formulated as solutions or suspensions and can manufacture about 1,000 doses of a given drug in 24 hours. —MIT News, Science
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