Pfizer opted to not investigate the potential for its rheumatoid arthritis drug to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The drugmaker also chose to withhold this data after discovering in 2015 that Enbrel may have reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s by 64%. After three years of internal review, the drugmaker ruled that a clinical trial would be too expensive and unlikely to be successful. (Washington Post)
A doctor in Ohio is facing more than two-dozen counts of murder for prescribing excess doses of opioids to patients after the deaths of 25 people. William Husel, a Mount Carmel Health System doctor, could be sentenced to a jail term of 15 years to life in prison. (NBC)
MyCME has been selected as a 2019 Connectiv Innovation Award winner for its InnoVision products. The products include a variety of mobile applications that make Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs and content readily accessible for HCPs. The award is in the category of “Delivering a Dynamic Customer Experience.” (SIIA)
Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Ned Sharpless commented on the drug pricing debate at the annual BIO convention. He said that the coverage of the approval of Novartis’ spinal muscular atrophy treatment was all about its record price, causing the bigger picture to get lost. (Endpoints)
Mallinckrodt has reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to pay $15.4 million to settle a drug bribing probe. The lawsuit claimed Questcor Pharmaceuticals, a company Mallinckrodt acquired in 2014, was bribing doctors to prescribe its drug H.P. Acthar Gel, a treatment for multiple sclerosis and seizures in children. (CNBC)
