1. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot is reportedly moving to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries as the generic drugmaker’s CEO. AstraZeneca’s stock fell more than 5%. The company declined to confirm or deny the report. (Reuters)
2. The FDA gave Amicus Therapeutics accelerated approval for its rare-disease drug Galafold, reversing a 2016 decision, which denied approval due to insufficient data. (Bloomberg)
3. The Alexa Diabetes Challenge, sponsored by Merck, announced five finalists that came up with Alexa voice-enabled solutions for people with type 2 diabetes. They are DiaBetty by the University of Illinois, My GluCoach by HCL America, PIA by Ejenta, Sugarpod by Wellpepper, and T2D2 by a Columbia University team.
4. The House of Representatives passed the user-fee bill that reauthorizes the FDA to collect user fees from drugmakers and device companies. The Senate is next expected to take up the legislation. (Washington Examiner)
5. In the company’s blog, Allergan CEO Brent Saunders urged the healthcare industry to appropriately manage medical aesthetic treatments for patients under the age of 18.
