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Johnson & Johnson has been hit with billions in talc verdicts, but it's had mixed success in appeals. With a new decision...the company chalked up its latest appeals win...A court in J&J's home state of New Jersey struck down a $117 million verdict against the drugmaker originally handed down there in 2018...The court ruled that the trial judge shouldn’t have allowed certain expert testimony, so J&J and its talc partner Imerys—which has since declared bankruptcy—deserve another trial...READ MORE

A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to bilking North Carolina Medicaid out of $13 million, prompting the forfeiture of an airplane, a sports car, a pickup, land and luxury jewelry...Timothy Harron, 52, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Authorities said the guilty plea requires him to forfeit cash and luxury items...READ MORE

Nevada has struck a $45 million settlement deal with McKinsey & Company for the global consulting firm’s role in advising opioid makers how to sell more prescription painkillers amid a national overdose crisis...The western state reached the deal after sitting out a multi-state settlement with McKinsey announced in February. The hard bargaining has allowed Nevada to win a settlement that’s three and a half times larger than the average settlement with other states...READ MORE

Johnson & Johnson has been battling for years against lawsuits claiming its talc powders cause cancer, but now investors are getting a sense of what the litigation could cost the drug giant...In an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, J&J said its multibillion-dollar 2020 litigation expense is “primarily associated with talc related reserves and certain settlements” worth $3.9 billion. The company faces 25,000 lawsuits alleging the household products cause cancer...READ MORE

In 2020, Indivior resolved the federal government's long-running probe into its aggressive marketing of the opioid addiction therapy Suboxone, reaching a $600 million plea deal. Now, it's paying up...Indivior will shell out $300 million to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to resolve claims that it “falsely and aggressively” marketed its opioid addiction drug Suboxone, leading to misuse of state Medicaid funds, California Attorney General Rob Bonta...READ MORE

Johnson & Johnson has ginned up major support in its quest to challenge a $2.1 billion verdict over claims that its talc-based powders cause cancer...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups...pressed the Supreme Court to review the verdict, taking aim at the merging of 22 plaintiffs' cases and the damages J&J was subsequently asked to shell out...In a 2018 trial, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.69 billion after hearing the combined claims of 22 women who alleged the company’s talc powder caused their ovarian cancer...the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District knocked the verdict down to $2.1 billion...READ MORE

Here's a hypothetical: What happens when the FDA grants exclusivity to a new drug ingredient that isn't exactly new?...Novartis' generics unit claims the agency did just that with Sanofi's multiple sclerosis med Aubagio—but the dispute isn't necessarily just about the New Chemical Entity exclusivity itself. That's no longer in force according to the FDA Orange Book. It's also about the 180-day exclusivity drugmakers win when they're first to file for copycat approval—and right now, 20 generics are poised to hit the scene simultaneously in 2023...READ MORE

The European Commission said on Monday it had launched legal action against AstraZeneca for not respecting its contract for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely deliveries...Under the contract, the Anglo-Swedish company had committed to making its "best reasonable efforts" to deliver 180 million vaccine doses to the EU in the second quarter of this year, for a total of 300 million in the period from December to June...But AstraZeneca said in a statement on March 12 it would aim to deliver only one-third of that by the end of June, of which about 70 million would be in the second quarter. A week after that, the Commission sent a legal letter to the company in the first step of a formal procedure to resolve disputes...Read More

Eli Lilly faced a high-level personnel scandal last month when CFO Josh Smiley left under a cloud of "inappropriate" communications with employees. But a sex discrimination lawsuit from a former internal lobbyist uncovers an entirely new controversy—and offers an alleged look inside the culture of a key team...Sonya Elling, a longtime biopharma lobbyist who worked in Lilly's government affairs operation, sued the company alleging mistreatment by her supervisors on the basis that she is a female...During Elling's time at the company, her first- and second-level supervisors called her “mean,” “nasty,” “disruptive,” “rude,” “aggressive,” and a “bitch,” according to the suit. They did so because she is a "strong, assertive female," who didn't "conform to traditional gender stereotypes," the suit says...READ MORE

A December 2020 opinion issued by Washington Attorney General...affirmed pharmacists’ standard of practice under collaborative drug therapy agreements (CDTAs)...“[The opinion] clearly states that pharmacists working under CDTAs can identify and treat illness. This is reassuring news to practitioners who have developed practices that care for patients with these agreements,”...The opinion was a response to questions from the Washington State Medical Commission about whether pharmacists can diagnose patients pursuant to CDTAs—and if that constitutes unauthorized practice of medicine—and whether prescribers can enter CDTAs permitting pharmacists to diagnose patients...READ MORE