1. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is under investigation for defrauding insurers by hiding its ties with a mail-order pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services. The federal investigation may lead to criminal charges against Valeant and and former executives from the now defunct pharmacy. (WSJ)
2. Eli Lilly said its investigational breast-cancer drug, abemaciclib, failed to meet efficacy criteria for a Phase-III trial. The drugmaker did not specify what criteria it missed but said it will continue the trial of the drug through the first half of 2017. (WSJ)
3. A new policy will allow more institutions to grow marijuana for medical studies, officials from the Obama administration said. Medical use of marijuana is approved in 25 states for conditions such as Parkinson’s and Crohn’s diseases, but the University of Mississippi has been the only institution so far authorized to grow the drug for medical research. (NYT)
4. The FDA approved Heron Therapeutics’ Sustol, a drug that treats chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The biotech company said Sustol is effective for five days, compared to similar treatments like Eisai’s Aloxi, which is effective for 48 hours or less. (Reuters)
5. IBM Watson announced its first partnership in China. The deal will allow 21 hospitals in the country to adopt the company’s Watson for Oncology cognitive computing platform for personalized cancer treatment.
