Atul Gawande’s selection as CEO of the health venture launched by J.P. Morgan Chase, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway stemmed from a 2009 New Yorker article he wrote about rising healthcare costs. The article caught the attention of Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett, Gawande told STAT. (STAT)
In a trial, Roche immunotherapy drug Tecentriq, when combined with chemotherapy, increased overall survival in patients with previously untreated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer compared with chemo alone. That’s good news for the Swiss drugmaker, which is playing catch up with Merck’s rival drug, Keytruda. (Endpoints)
Eli Lilly has won a patent infringement case involving its top-selling cancer drug, Alimta vitamin regimen. A U.S. district court has blocked Hospira and India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories from selling generics until Alimta’s patent expires in May 2022. (Reuters)
New York State health officials are arguing in court that Orkambi, a cystic fibrosis drug sold by Vertex Pharmaceuticals that costs $272,000 a year, is not worth the price. The state’s Medicaid program said it should pay less for the drug. (New York Times)
Illegal online sales of opioids skyrocketed after the drugs were reclassified as a Schedule II drug in 2014. The move, which imposed stricter controls on opioid prescriptions, caused more people to turn to the black market, according to a new study. (Reuters)
