1. Tesaro disclosed the price of its new ovarian cancer treatment Zejula, revealing a per-month cost of $9,833 at a once-per-day dose of 200 mg. However, the drug was approved at a per-day dose of 300 mg, which increases the monthly cost by 50%, to $14,750. (TheStreet)
2. uniQure, which developed the first gene therapy drug Glybera, announced it would not renew its marketing authorization in Europe. The company’s CEO, Matthew Kapusta, said Glybera’s usage “has been extremely limited” and that he did not envision demand significantly increasing in the years ahead.
3. Fox News announced that Bill O’Reilly would not be returning to the network in the wake of reports that he settled a number of sexual-harassment claims. A number of pharma advertisers, including GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, Bayer, Gilead Sciences, and Astellas Pharma, pulled commercials from “The O’Reilly Factor” following the news reports. (CNBC)
4. Pfizer announced the creation of the Pfizer Healthcare Hub: London, a project aimed at supporting startups that focus on health-tech development. Similar Pfizer Healthcare hubs have already been opened in New York, Berlin, and Tel Aviv. (Pharmafile)
5. Opioids are being prescribed even after minor surgery, according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery. The study revealed that the rate of chronic opioid use following minor surgery was 5.9%, compared with 6.5% percent following major surgery. (Reuters)
