Takeda Pharmaceutical has reached a preliminary deal to acquire Shire in a $64 billion pact that would vault the Japanese company into the ranks of the world’s largest drugmakers. (Bloomberg) However, Takeda investors are uneasy about Shire’s price tag; the company’s share price was down 7% in trading in Tokyo. (CNN)
Amgen posted a higher first-quarter profit on Wednesday morning. The numbers were driven by lower taxes and an increase in the sales of new drugs. Sales of the company’s cholesterol treatment, Repatha, jumped by more than double to $123 million. (CNBC)
Novartis has rolled out a mobile app to collect information from users participating in studies about eye disease. In the company’s latest foray into digital medicine, its FocalView app is using Apple’s ResearchKit to track ophthalmic disease progression. (Reuters)
The FDA said Tuesday that it is cracking down on vaping devices, particularly the trendy-with-teenagers Juul products. The government agency said the nicotine in Juul devices, which are the size of thumb drives, can lead to years of addiction. (New York Times)
Medicare will ask hospitals to post their standard prices online. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will also require hospitals to make health records more easily accessible to patients. (Associated Press)
