Eli Lilly is planning to acquire Loxo Oncology and its portfolio of cancer drugs for $8 billion. Shares of Loxo were up by nearly a third on Monday morning on the news. Federal regulators last year approved the first commercial medicine from Loxo, Vitrakvi, which treats a range of cancers caused by a rare genetic mutation. (CNBC)
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is getting underway on Monday morning in San Francisco. Keep an eye on mmm-online.com for coverage of the healthcare mega-event, at which deals could be announced. (Business Insider)
AstraZeneca has hired Jose Baselga to lead its oncology research and development. Baselga resigned as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s chief medical officer in September after an investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times found he did not disclose millions of dollars in payments from healthcare companies. (Reuters)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called for the FDA to address a shortage of the shingles vaccine in his home state. However, the FDA has been operating with only essential staff since the partial government shutdown began more than two weeks ago. Schumer said the shortage is an example of why the government should reopen. (Newsday)
Shares of Sage Therapeutics were up by 33% on Monday morning after the company said that its oral treatment for postpartum depression met its primary goal of reducing symptoms, compared with a placebo. Patients treated with the drug showed improvement on the Hamilton Rating Scale, which scores patients on 17 parameters. (Reuters)
