Source: Donald J. Trump/Facebook

1. President-elect Donald Trump claimed drugmakers have been “getting away with murder.” He claimed that the industry has been overcharging the government for its medicines and he pledged to bring drug prices down. In the wake of his comments, pharma stock prices plummeted. (Reuters)

2. The Senate voted 51 to 48 to approve a budget plan that would enable the repeal of significant parts of the Affordable Care Act. (NYT)

3. IBM Watson Health and the FDA announced a partnership to study the use of blockchain technology for the secure exchange of healthcare data. The research initiative will look at EMRs, clinical trials, genomic data, and data from mobile devices and wearables, initially focusing on oncology-related data. (MobiHealthNews)

4. Gilead Sciences said the European Commission has approved Vemlidy to treat adults and adolescents with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The approval allows the drugmaker to market Vemlidy in all countries in the European Union, as well as in Norway and Iceland. 

5. Private startup Maverick Therapeutics and Takeda announced a five-year collaboration to develop Maverick’s platform aimed at improving the use of T-cell redirection therapy for cancer treatment. Takeda invested $125 million in Maverick, and the deal provides the drugmaker the exclusive right to acquire Maverick after five years.