1. Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt said the company is “not in a hurry to do M&A.” Sanofi was reportedly edged out of an acquisition of Actelion by Johnson & Johnson and was also outbid by Pfizer for oncology drugmaker Medivation. (Reuters)
2. Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that President Trump supports Medicare drug price negotiations even though it appeared Trump walked back on his call for the U.S. to begin “bidding” on drug prices after a recent meeting with top pharma CEOs. (Bloomberg)
3. Roughly 18% of Americans older than the age of 18 did not fill a prescription in 2016 because of high drug prices. In the U.K., only 2% of adults did not fill a prescription due to price last year. (Chain Drug Review)
4. Gilead Sciences executives told investors that the market for HCV drugs is declining faster than it predicted. The company’s CEO, John Milligan, said it would be “challenging to grow without some sort of acquisition.” (Bloomberg)
5. The FDA approved Amgen’s treatment, etelcalcetide, for secondary hyperparathyroidism in adult patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis.
