Google parent company Alphabet has hired a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner to lead its health strategy and policy. Robert Califf will become head of strategy for the Verily Life Sciences and Google Health teams next month. He will continue to serve as an adjunct professor at Duke University’s school of medicine. (CNBC)
Walgreens is suspending sales of Zantac, Sanofi’s heartburn medication, as the FDA investigates its safety. Online pharmacy Valisure told the FDA in September that Zantac has an impurity that could cause cancer. (CNBC) CVS said on Saturday that it would also pause sales of Zantac. (Associated Press)
The FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration sent warning letters to four online networks for illegally marketing unapproved opioid medicines. Divyata, Euphoria Healthcare Pvt Ltd, JCM Dropship and Meds4U, which operate a combined 10 websites, received warning letters. (Reuters)
What could impeachment mean for lower drug prices? If Democrats move ahead with impeaching President Donald Trump, it could sideline bills to lower the cost of treatments for millions of people. Both parties have made lowering drug prices a top legislative priority, though there’s been limited action in Congress. (Associates Press)
Technology marketing legend Guy Kawasaki made it from an immigrant neighborhood in Honolulu to the rarified air of some of the best-known Silicon Valley boardrooms. What he learned along the way is the subject of this week’s edition of Chops. (MM&M)
