1. Following his arrest, over charges of securities fraud at another drugmaker, Retrophin, last week, Martin Shkreli resigned as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. He told The Wall Street Journal that his practice of raising drug prices at the companies he led was what triggered attention from the authorities. (WSJ)
2. The FDA approved another indication for Merck’s Keytruda, this time as a first-line treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. It’s the second melanoma indication that the drug has been awarded.
3. Pharmaceutical companies have spent $23 million to defeat a California ballot initiative that would require them to give price discounts on drugs that are used to treat people covered by state government programs. This includes HIV patients, retirees and low-income people. (Stat News)
4. The FDA delayed its deadline to make a decision whether to approve a BioMarin Pharmaceutical drug, which is used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The FDA had been scheduled to make its decision Dec. 27 but the deadline has been pushed back until early January. (Reuters)
5. New York City launched a campaign to promote Truvada, Gilead Sciences’ HIV drug that is approved as a treatment to prevent infection. The campaign is called “Play Sure.” Other cities like San Francisco have launched similar campaigns promoting the drug. (NYT)
