1. Some Medicare beneficiaries struggle to pay for inhalers that treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, like GlaxoSmithKline’s Breo Ellipta and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Spiriva. About 1 in 9 Medicare beneficiaries have been diagnosed with COPD. (Kaiser Health News)
2. Novartis partnered with IBM Watson Health to better understand the outcomes for its breast-cancer treatments. Physicians will be able to use Watson to help them better understand which therapies are best for each patient. (Reuters)
3. Despite criticism of its pricing practices, Mylan hasn’t lowered the price of its EpiPen allergy auto-injector. One consumer recently paid $609 for a box containing two EpiPens. (NYT)
4. Technology companies are limiting their investment in healthcare to services and tools that sit on the fringe of the complicated U.S. health system, like vitamins, fitness apps, and home health care services. (CNBC)
5. Patients who share details about the side effects of their cancer treatments reported improved survival. Patients who participated in the study used their home computers to report nausea, fatigue, and other symptoms. (AP)
