1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines that urge physicians to prescribe physical therapy, exercise, and over-the-counter medicines before prescribing opioids like Oxycontin when treating patients with chronic pain. (LAT)
2. French drugmaker Sanofi agreed to a five-year research alliance with DiCE Molecules that will focus on discovering new oral medicines that would replace drugs that are currently injected. The deal could be worth as much as $2.3 billion. (Reuters)
3. MannKind, which is facing financial losses after Sanofi ended a marketing agreement for its inhaled insulin product, Afrezza, hired an Amgen executive as its chief commercial officer. Dr. Michael Castagna previously led a portfolio of nine biosimilar products at Amgen. (WSJ)
4. Orexigen Therapeutics purchased the U.S. rights to Contrave, its flagship obesity drug, from Takeda, its co-development partner. The drugmaker also said it would partner with Valeant to market the drug in Europe. (Reuters)
5. ICYMI: Every $28 that pharmaceutical companies spend each year on advertising results in one more doctor visit that led to a prescription. (NYT)
