TOP STORIES
Embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said it has received subpoenas from U.S. attorneys in Massachusetts and New York relating to its patient assistance programs. That isn’t the only latest Valeant news: It also wrote in a letter to Congress that “there was considerable room to increase the price of both drugs without unduly depleting the funds available to the hospitals from payers.” — Reuters, Wall Street Journal & PR Newswire
Fascinating piece on Theranos, which apparently doesn’t use its own technology for all of its tests. – Wall Street Journal
Tackling Rising Drug Costs and Growing Popularity of GLP-1’s
See how Quantum Health is providing the steps to help their members tackle the cost of specialty medications and other drugs.
Genetic testing has busted the $100 barrier, as Huntsville, Alabama-based Kailos Genetics has debuted a full-panel test called PGxComplete. It will be available for the introductory price of $99 through November 30, down from the regular price of $299, the company said. “It’s our goal to give people the ability to understand how medicine will work for them before it is prescribed,” Kailos Chief Scientific Officer Troy Moore said. — WAAY-TV, Business Wire
LIFE SCIENCES
Bristol-Myers Squibb signed a cancer licensing deal with Five Prime Therapeutics worth up to $1.74 billion. – Reuters
British biotech entrepreneurs are worried the sector could be squeezed as the British government looks for savings after a relative public spending boom on the life sciences. – Financial Times
Changes in Nurse Staffing Answer Clinician Demands
The ongoing nursing shortage facilitates high turnover rates since nurses know they won’t have difficulties finding new jobs. In order to retain and attract staff, it’s in a facility’s best interest to understand what nurses want.
Eli Lilly said that baricitinib, its experimental pill for rheumatoid arthritis, has proven more effective in a clinical trial than Abbvie blockbuster injectable Humira. — Reuters
The FDA has rejected Pfizer’s request to approve RA drug Xeljanz for treating plaque psoriasis. — Reuters
A former University of Pennsylvania cancer researcher has been sentenced to a year in prison for misdirecting federal grant money into his own business. — Philadelphia Business Journal
Cancer-focused biotech firm Galera Therapeutics has completed a $37 million Series B round. — Business Wire
Rosetta Genomics has closed on an $8 million private placement. — Business Wire
Dr. Eric Topol has yet another title for his CV: board member of biopharmaceutical startup MyoKardia. — Business Wire
Viamet Pharmaceuticals has hired Dr. Oren Cohen as chief medical officer, plucking Cohen from Quintiles. — Business Wire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Are chief information security officers “healthcare’s new rock stars”? — Healthcare IT News
Jim Roosevelt, CEO of Tufts Health Plan in Massachusetts and grandson of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, will leave his post Jan. 1. — Boston Business Journal
TECHNOLOGY
A new study suggests that remote home monitoring and other telemedicine services can reduce hospitalizations and emergency visits. — mHealth Intelligence
Private investment firm Platinum Equity is selling mobile diagnostic imaging firm DMS Health to larger competitor Digirad for an undisclosed sum. — PE Hub
Verisk Analytics has retained Morgan Stanley to sell off its healthcare division. — The Deal
As many as 850,000 retail pharmacies in India closed their doors Wednesday in a one-day protest against online pharmacies. — Reuters
POLITICS
Tennessee’s health co-op has shut down – the sixth Obamacare co-op this year. – The Hill
A nice look at how Jeb Bush’s healthcare reform plan could change health IT strategies. – Becker’s Hospital Review
Massachusetts’ health care regulators will begin notifying insurers and providers being flagged for excessive cost growth. – Boston Business Journal
OpenGov, a startup that wants to change how governments analyze and share financial data, closed $25 million. – VentureBeat
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
Warning: clickbait ahead. Ansell Healthcare Products, maker of Skyn condoms, is suing Reckitt Benckiser for patent infringement, alleging that Reckitt’s Durex RealFeel condom violates the latter’s intellectual property for “Dip-formed Synthetic Polyisoprene Latex Articles with Improved Intraparticle and Interparticle Crosslinks.” That’s a decidedly unsexy way of saying the item in question doesn’t contain latex. — PR Newswire
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