A clause in a deal between the Department of Health and Human Services and Regeneron marks the first time the Biden administration has directly used its leverage to challenge drugmakers’ list prices. The contract between Regeneron and the government requires that the list price for a future monoclonal antibody drug to prevent COVID-19 is the same or lower in the United States as in other high-income countries. (STAT News)
Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ stock surged after the biotechnology company announced it reached alignment with the Food and Drug Administration regarding its global Phase 2 trial for a treatment of Danon disease. This disease impacts about 15,000 to 30,000 people in the U.S. and U.K., the company said. (Barron’s)
Former Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky was named lead director of Neurotech Pharmaceuticals. Gorsky, who left the pharma giant in 2022, serves as a major addition to the Rhode Island-based biotech’s leadership team.(The Boston Globe)
Nearly 500,000 healthcare workers in California are set to get a major raise after a deal was announced earlier this week. Thebill will increase health care workers’ salaries to at least $25 per hour over the next 10 years. (USA Today)
The right to sell Daraprim, a prescription medication that ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli made infamous by jacking up its price in 2015, was approved for sale to a former company insider for less than $1 million. Tilde Sciences LLC will purchase the rights to Daraprim, which treats the rare disease toxoplasmosis, for $650,000. (Bloomberg)
