The Justice Department has joined the whistleblower case against Insys. The lawsuit has accused the pharmaceutical company of offering kickback to doctors in exchange for prescribing its opioid pain killer, Subsys, a spray form of fentanyl. (Reuters) Meanwhile, a new JAMA study found that doctors who received free meals and other forms of compensation from pharma companies increased opioid prescriptions, while those who did not receive such payments reduced them. (Los Angeles Times)

Kleiner Perkins Caufield general partner Beth Seidenberg is leaving to start her own biotech and health investment firm. Her departure is bound to raise questions about Kleiner’s commitment to life science investments. (Recode)

 

Eli Lilly agreed to acquire AurKa Pharma in a deal worth up to $575 million. AurKa develops an experimental cancer treatment for solid tumors. It is Lilly’s second deal in the past seven days. Last week, it said it was planning to buy Armo BioSciences. (Reuters)

 

DIY gene editing is on the rise, with serious real-world risks. Amateurs are injecting themselves with modified DNA, and one major concern is that someone could develop a bioweapon. (New York Times)

 

Some healthcare professionals are choosing to go without health insurance. Their reasons range from high premiums for independent contractors to simply being fed up with insurance companies. “I just want to be able to do my job, and do it well, and take care of patients. What I’ve found is that the system is designed to prevent you from doing it,” said Nemat Dadfar, an emergency physician in San Antonio. (Bloomberg)