Author: Peter

In New Orleans...a major medical organization attempted a feat perhaps as hard as treating the disease doctors were there to discuss. They asked a packed convention hall of attendees not to tweet the confidential, market-moving data they had flown in to see...It didn't work...In an unusual arrangement, the American Diabetes Association let hundreds, if not thousands, of in-person attendees see new data on Novo Nordisk A/S・s blockbuster diabetes treatment Victoza (liraglutide) more than an hour before its official release to the public and the markets. That's atypical for such sensitive data, which are usually shared only with journalists and researchers who have agreed to abide by strict terms, under threat of losing future access...After warning attendees not to share the information they were about to post...Within minutes, some Twitter accounts were posting pictures of the charts, including key slides that showed the drug's success in reducing deaths. And as fast as the posts went up, the medical society's communications team issued online pleas for them to stop...Novo's shares fell 5.6 percent to 343 kroner, for their biggest one-day drop since February...You can't embargo something that is being discussed publicly...Why are they trying to control the flow of information, especially in this case where the results could influence public health and the markets? Hopefully other organizations won't take this as a signal they can do the same thing...

Skyrocketing drug prices are forcing states to take unprecedented measures to rein in health care spending. Vermont just became the nation’s first state to require prescription drug pricing transparency. The New York and Massachusetts attorneys general have launched investigations into major pharmaceutical companies’ and insurers’ drug pricing policies and strategies...important steps. But they ignore a key driver of the problem: secondary patents...secondary patents work like this: Companies file for additional, defensive patents to thicken the protection around their original base patents. These additional patents rarely represent anything new in terms of science. Instead, their purpose is to prolong a company’s monopoly and, along with that, its ability to charge high prices for its drugs. Some drugs have dozens of secondary patents...

First vaccine against lethal infection was 80%-90% effective in challenge study...A vaccine against cholera has, for the first time, received FDA approval...To be sold as Vaxchora, the product contains live but attenuated Vibrio cholerae bacteria. It is taken as a single oral liquid dose... the vaccine is indicated primarily for people traveling to areas where the infection is endemic...Vaxchora is manufactured by PaxVax Bermuda...

...Walgreens said...it would end its relationship with Theranos, in another blow for the blood-testing company that was once lauded for its innovative approach but has increasingly come under scrutiny...Walgreens said it would shutter all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at its stores in Arizona, having already stopped Theranos laboratory testing services at its location in Palo Alto, California..."In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has rejected Theranos' plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers' best interests to terminate our partnership," Brad Fluegel, Walgreens senior vice president...Theranos was once praised for its fast, less-invasive blood testing technology but the company has found itself in the spotlight after media reports raised questions about the accuracy of its proprietary tests...Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office and the SEC have investigated Theranos over whether it misled investors...

Colombian Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria has vowed to find a way to force Novartis to lower the price of its Gleevec (imatinib) leukemia treatment. At first, he threatened to sidestep the drug patent to ensure low-cost generic production, but last week he took steps to unilaterally lower the price the government will pay for the medicine...So far, Novartis is not budging. The company argues that any move to jeopardize its patent would distort world trade rules, which, under certain circumstances, permit governments to overlook patents and secure a supply of needed medicines. Moreover, the drug maker notes there are several generic alternatives available to Colombians, so there is no need to haggle over the cost of its cancer medicine...the episode has quickly become an unfortunate litmus test in the struggle over patients and profits...A Novartis spokesman said the company is not threatening litigation against any of the generic companies, but he did not say what steps it might take...the drug maker may have to tough it out and provide Gleevec at a lower price...Novartis refused to give in. Doing so may have defused the crisis, but created a different problem. Drug makers worry that acceding to such demands might create a precedent that would encourage other countries to pursue the same tactic on other drugs. Similar battles have occurred in other countries, notably India, where drug patents have been sidestepped in a few instances...

As the UNLV School of Medicine prepares for its expected July 2017 debut, the state’s Reno-based medical school has begun crafting a new image to distinguish itself...The first step: Changing its name...The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents on Friday voted to tweak the name of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, which will be now known as the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, effective July 1 of this year...The Reno campus will use the name change to clarify...its affiliation, location and distinct role in the state separate from that of the developing medical school at UNLV...The move to establish its own identity comes at an interesting time for the Reno campus; a month from now, UNLV’s School of Medicine takes another step toward its own accreditation when it hosts a committee site visit...

Drug labels sometimes warn that the medications may disrupt sleep, but a new study suggests these drugs don't cause troubled sleep for most people...researchers found "barely" any link between medications that warned about potential sleep disturbances and actual sleep problems among thousands of people interviewed for the study...Sleep disturbances are a frequent problem especially in older people and we wanted to find out whether this might be due to the intake of sleep disturbing drugs... We found that drugs labeled as sleep disturbing . . . are not a major risk factor for sleep disturbances in the general population...Even taking a number of potentially sleep disturbing drugs barely led to more sleep disturbances...the individual or a specific patient can still suffer from sleep disturbances caused by drugs - especially drugs against diseases of the central nervous system...One limitation of the study is that the results are based on self reports by the participants and not devices that track sleep...

Paris prosecutors...have begun an involuntary manslaughter investigation into a failed drug trial that left one dead and five hospitalized in January...The prosecutors' office said the investigation had been opened to determine whether there was a criminal element in any mistakes made or whether it was simply the result of clinical risks involved...France's Health Ministry said last month that Portuguese drugmaker Bial and French laboratory Biotrial were at fault "on several counts" for the drug trial...

Walmart announced that it is cancelling plans for a store at the Outlets at Sparks due to issues surrounding pharmacy services at the location...Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia cited the inability to have pharmacy operations at the site, also known as the Legends at Sparks Marina, as the reason for the decision..."After serious consideration, given the existing development restrictions prohibiting Walmart from operating a pharmacy at the Legends at Sparks Marina, we are no longer planning for a Walmart store at that location," Garcia said via e-mail on Friday afternoon...The value of a full-service pharmacy, including access to Walmart’s $4 generic prescription program, along with one-stop shopping for groceries and general merchandise is critical to our customers...

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper...signed legislation, S.B. 135, which expands collaborative practice for licensed pharmacists and opens the door for health benefit plans to provide coverage for pharmacists’ services...S.B. 135 allows pharmacists to enter into collaborative practice agreements with physicians and advanced practice nurses and grants licensed pharmacists the authority to provide healthcare services to patients under protocols delegated by a physician or advanced practice nurse. The law also authorizes pharmacists to provide care under a statewide drug therapy protocol developed by the boards of pharmacy, medicine, and nursing...the law does not require health plans to pay for pharmacists’ services...Health plans must reimburse pharmacists in their provider networks for services that would be reimbursed if provided by a physician or advanced practice nurse...