Takeda has finally struck a deal to buy Shire. After several rejected offers, the Japanese pharmaceutical company is set to acquire its larger Irish rival for $62 billion. The deal is the largest-ever international takeover by a Japanese firm. (Fortune)
The prices of Vertex’s three cystic fibrosis drugs need to be slashed to be cost effective, according to a report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. The list prices for the drugs, which range from $272,886 to $311,719, would have to drop by more than 70%. (BioPharma Dive)
Walmart is planning to restrict opioid prescriptions to no more than a seven-day supply in an effort to fight opioid addiction. The retailer will put the policy into effect in the next 60 days. (Reuters)
GlaxoSmithKline has launched a global media review. The move primarily affects Omnicom’s PHD and WPP’s Mediacom, which won the British pharmaceutical company’s global media buying business in 2015. Last year, GSK spent about $1.7 billion on advertising. (MM&M)
Did Insys Therapeutics pay doctors to prescribe its painkillers? The company says the money was for a speaker program, but federal prosecutors say it funded a kickback scheme. (New York Times)
