1. SGLT-2 inhibitors lowered the risk of heart failure and death by 46%, an AstraZeneca-sponsored study of more than 300,000 type 2 diabetes patients found. AstraZeneca’s Farxiga, Eli Lilly’s and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance, and Johnson & Johnson’s Invokana are among the SGLT-2 inhibitors on the market. (Reuters)

2. The FDA’s closed system of prescription-drug distribution provides quality control, while importation is “likely to harm patients and consumers,” four former FDA commissioners wrote in an open letter to Congress.

3. Patients taking Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s blood thinner Xarelto were much less likely to suffer from dangerous blood clots, known as venous thromboembolisms, compared with patients taking low-dose aspirin, a study of 3,396 patients found. (Drug Discovery & Development)

4. Stocks of managed-care companies UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Humana, and Centene collectively rose nearly 300% since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, according to Bespoke Investment Group. (NYT)

5, Patients implanted with Absorb, Abbott Laboratories’ dissolving vascular stent, had greater heart risk than those who used the drugmaker’s widely used Xience, a two-year study found. Nearly 11% of patients taking Absorb had target lesion failure, compared to 7.9% of patients using Xience. (Reuters)