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The storied Silicon Valley venture firm Benchmark Capital has launched a slew of tech companies: Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, Instagram. Now its search for the next big thing has led it to…pot...Benchmark recently invested $8 million in Hound Labs, a startup here in Oakland that’s developing a device for drivers — and law enforcement — to test whether they’re too buzzed to take the wheel...Wealthy investors are pouring tens of millions into the cannabis industry in a bid to capitalize on the gold rush that’s expected when California legalizes recreational marijuana on Jan. 1. They’re backing development of new medicinal products, such as cannabis-infused skin patches; new methods for vaporizing and inhaling; and “budtender” apps like PotBot, which promises to scour 750 strains of cannabis and use lab research, including DNA analysis of each strain, to help customers find the perfect match...Among the noted investors: tech and biotech mogul Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and made a fortune with the cancer drug startup Stemcentrx. Thiel contributed $300,000 to the California ballot campaign that paved the way for legalization. And in the first public endorsement of the industry from a major biotech investor, Thiel’s Founders Fund has sent millions to Privateer Holdings, a Seattle private equity firm that backs research into medical marijuana products, among other cannabis-related ventures...

A California jury...ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $417 million to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using the company's talc-based products like Johnson's Baby Powder for feminine hygiene...The Los Angeles Superior Court jury's verdict in favor of California resident Eva Echeverria was the largest yet in lawsuits alleging J&J failed to adequately warn consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products...The verdict included $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages. It was a major setback for J&J, which faces 4,800 similar claims nationally and has been hit with over $300 million in verdicts by juries in Missouri...The 63-year-old claimed she developed terminal ovarian cancer after decades of using J&J's products. Her lawyers argued J&J encouraged women to use its products despite knowing of studies linking ovarian cancer to genital talc use...

Prescription drug spending has skyrocketed over the past few years, with many Americans struggling to access proper treatment. Lawmakers have attempted to address this issue, but it is likely that the trend of escalating drug spending will continue as costly specialty drugs dominate the market...All of the drugs that had the highest sales in 2016 are for specialty conditions, including autoimmune disorders and hepatitis C virus; however, the emergence of biosimilars may threaten their revenue into the future...

• 5. Infliximab (Remicade) - Johnson & Johnson and Merck report a 10.6% decrease in revenue from 2015, with infliximab generating nearly $7.83 billion in 2016...
• 4. Rituximab (Rituxan) - Partners Roche and Biogen reported total revenue of $8.58 billion for rituximab in 2016, which is a 2.7% increase from 2015. The drug is approved to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and granulomatosis with polyangiitis...
• 3. Etanercept (Enbrel) - This autoimmune disease drug treats rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. Amgen and Pfizer reported $8.87 billion in total sales for etanercept in 2016.
• 2. Ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (Harvoni) - When this drug hit the shelves, many patients with HCV and healthcare providers experienced sticker shock. The high cost of the curative drug and the prevalence of HCV have driven the $9.08 billion sales for the drug, according to the article.
• 1. Adalimumab (Humira) - In 2016, adalimumab grossed $16.08 billion in sales, which is a 14.7% increase in revenue for AbbVie, according to the article. The drug is approved to treat several autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and psoriasis.

The US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and Office of Regulatory Affairs will soon launch an effort to streamline the two offices' inspection and facility evaluation efforts...CDER Director Janet Woodcock and Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Melinda Plaisier said it is vital that the two offices quickly implement the plan in order to meet commitments under the recently reauthorized user fee agreements, specifically citing the agency's promise to communicate final inspection classifications to generic drugmakers within 90 days of an inspection beginning in October 2018...We plan to operationalize the plan in the fall of 2017 for nearly all human drugs...FDA details the plan—which includes specific operating models for pre- and post-approval inspections, surveillance inspections and for-cause inspections—in a 20-page white paper obtained by Focus entitled Integration of FDA Facility Evaluation and Inspection Program for Human Drugs: A Concept of Operations...

In response to the devastation associated with Hurricane Harvey, several retailers have stepped up their giving...H-E-B...early into the storm donated $100,000 toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and have begun accepting customer donations for the families and communities devastated by the storm...H-E-B has received numerous requests from customers about how they can help support victims and communities affected…In Victoria, Texas, Walgreens loaned the city a generator in order for them to help power their sewage facility and prevent from comprising the water supply of 70,000 residents with sewage backflow. "We proactively staged generators in the area and were able to quickly provide one to the city during this emergency,"...CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation gave $200,000 in cash and in-kind product donations to organizations helping with relief efforts for those affected...The CVS Health Foundation has donated $50,000 each to the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the American Red Cross, as well as $25,000 to Salvation Army, to aid the greater Houston area in supporting local residents...Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have made a $1 million commitment to provide support for relief efforts through cash and product donations. As a part of this commitment, Walmart is working closely with organizations like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Convoy of Hope while coordinating efforts with elected officials and governmental entities to help meet the needs of those affected...

Thousands of people with HIV received mailed letters from Aetna last month that may have disclosed their HIV status on the envelope...The letters, which Aetna said were sent to approximately 12,000 people, were meant to relay a change in pharmacy benefits. Text visible through a small window on the envelopes listed the patients’ names and suggested a change in how they would fill the prescription for their treatment for the virus...“People have been devastated. We’ve had a number of people tell us they had chosen not to disclose their HIV status to family members — but this is how their family members found out,” said Sally Friedman, legal director at Legal Action Center...Aetna is in the process of notifying both state and federal authorities about the breach, a company spokesman said. The mailing was sent July 28...Plans across the country suffer privacy breaches, as do providers. A 2009 law requires companies that are covered by federal health privacy laws, like plans, providers, and their vendors, to report data breaches that affect more than 500 individuals. That database showed some 30 such breaches in July alone, though the tool does not detail the kind of information that was disclosed. Some breaches involve Social Security numbers or service codes…

Laura Joszt, assistant managing editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Defying U.S. safety protections for human trials, an American university and a group of wealthy libertarians...are backing the offshore testing of an experimental herpes vaccine...Peter Thiel, invested $7 million in the ongoing vaccine research...Southern Illinois University also trumpeted the research and the study’s lead researcher...Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor a safety panel known as an institutional review board..monitored the testing of a vaccine its creators say prevents herpes outbreaks. Most of the 20 participants were Americans with herpes who were flown to the island several times to be vaccinated, according to Rational Vaccines...“What they’re doing is patently unethical,” said Jonathan Zenilman, chief of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center’s Infectious Diseases Division. “There’s a reason why researchers rely on these protections. People can die.”...The risks are real. Experimental trials with live viruses could lead to infection if not handled properly or produce side effects in those already infected...

...People are using anti-diarrhea drugs (loperamide) to get high, and it’s becoming a serious problem...A growing number of people are using high doses of it to mimic an opioid-like high, or to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms...So why would anyone take 150 tablets of anti-diarrhea drugs in the first place?...Abuse of loperamide—often called the “poor man’s methadone”—is rising. From 2010 to 2015, there has been a 91 percent increase in loperamide overdose exposures reported to the National Poison Data System...when you take it in much-higher-than-recommended dosages, the drug can enter into your central nervous system, giving you a euphoric high. High doses can also cause constipation, but no worse than other opioids...taking too much of it can have deadly consequences, too: Research has shown that loperamide overdose can seriously hurt your heart, causing abnormal heart beat, rapid heart beat, or cardiac arrest...

Nicole Crisano, PTNN. This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.