1. The National Academy of Sciences said in a new report that hepatitis C can be eliminated in the U.S., but barriers such as an underfunded surveillance system, prohibitively expensive drugs, and lagging diagnoses may prevent that from happening. (Politico)
2. J. Michael Pearson, the outgoing CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, agreed to be deposed by a congressional committee after lawmakers threatened to hold him in contempt. The Senate Special Committee on Aging plans to hold a hearing April 27 to discuss the drugmaker’s repricing of two heart drugs, Nitropress and Isuprel. (Fortune)
3. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is reportedly planning to revoke the federal license for Theranos, the closely-scrutinized blood-testing business, and ban its founders, including Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani, from operating or owning another lab for two years. (WSJ)
4. The FDA granted priority review to Merck’s Keytruda, a PD-1 inhibitor, as a treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The drug has also been granted accelerated approval.
5. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average deductible for people with employer-provided health coverage rose from $303 in 2006 to $1,077 in 2015. (KFF)
