The Trump administration has put the kibosh on Idaho’s plan to ditch certain Obamacare requirements, saying that until the law is replaced, its rules must be followed. Idaho was angling to allow insurers to offer minimal plans that didn’t include key tenets of Obamacare, like protections for pre-existing conditions. (Politico)
Voyager Therapeutics reported positive results in a gene therapy clinical trial for its Parkinson’s drug, VY-AADC. The drug, currently in a Phase Ib trial with 15 patients, resulted in a mean increase of five hours per day of “on” time, meaning a period of increased function. (Endpoints)
A Rhode Island doctor who admitted to prescribing the fentanyl-based pain drug Subsys in exchange for kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics will be sentenced on Friday. Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to sentence Jerrold Rosenberg to 70 months in prison as punishment for taking $188,000 from Insys, prescribing the drug despite two patients nearly dying from overdoses. (Reuters)
Cigna’s plan to acquire Express Scripts will face a long merger review from the Trump administration. Following the merger of CVS Health and Aetna, antitrust enforcers will examine the effects that such massive consolidations will have on consumers and the industry. (Bloomberg)
Jordi Casals has been named Amryt Pharma’s head of European operations. The company focuses on treatments for rare and orphan diseases. He’ll initially focus on the sales growth of its Lojuxta commercial asset. (PMLive)
