Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline are planning to merge their consumer health businesses. The combination would form a company with combined sales of $12.7 billion annually that would be spun off within three years. Pfizer has been searching for a buyer for its consumer health unit for more than a year. (CNN)
Novartis subsidiary Sandoz has signed a supply and distribution deal with medical cannabis company Tilray. The cannabis company will supply non-smokable and non-combustible medical cannabis products where it is legally allowed to do so, and Sandoz will help Tilray co-market and co-develop its products. (STAT)
GE has filed paperwork to spin off its healthcare unit via an IPO. GE disclosed plans for a spinoff in June, but observers questioned whether the IPO would happen after CEO John Flannery stepped down in October. The company could file publicly next spring. (Bloomberg)
Allergan has pulled breast implants in Europe after they were linked to a rare cancer. Implants with a similar texture have been connected to a disease called breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. The recall doesn’t affect implants in the U.S.. (New York Times)
States have demanded clarity over a Texas judge’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act. A coalition of more than a dozen states have asked the federal judge to clarify that his ruling will have no immediate impact on the ACA. The states want to “avoid the widespread confusion and massive disruption to the healthcare market that would otherwise ensue.” (CNBC)
