1. Boehringer Ingelheim will pay $13.5 million to settle allegations that it misleadingly promoted Micardis, Aggrenox, Atrovent, and Combivent. (Hartford Courant)
2. CAR-T therapies, including Novartis’ Kymriah and Kite/Gilead’s Yescarta, are more cost-effective than traditional chemotherapy, according to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. The group’s study took into account patient survival, quality of life, and healthcare costs over a patient’s lifetime. (Endpoints News)
3. The FDA approved the combo therapy of Roche’s Perjeta with Herceptin and chemotherapy for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. The drugmaker also received full approval to use the combo therapy prior to surgery. (PharmaTimes)
4. Merck and Pfizer received FDA approval to market SGLT2 inhibitor Steglatro, for the regulation of glycemic levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. Other FDA-approved SGLT2 inhibitors include Janssen’s Invokana, AstraZeneca’s Farxiga, and Lilly and BI’s Jardiance. (Reuters)
5. In a Phase-III trial, AbbVie’s experimental JAK-1 inhibitor upadacitinib improved the symptoms experienced by RA patients, compared to methotrexate. However, the use of the drug has resulted in patient deaths as well as a single instance of pulmonary embolism. (PMLive)
