1. President Trump spoke with pharmaceutical executives in a closed-door meeting, reportedly saying he wanted to speed up drug approvals, lower “astronomical” drug prices, and bring more drug manufacturing jobs to the U.S. In January, Trump said that drugmakers were “getting away with murder” because of high prices. (WaPo)
2. The FDA approved Sanofi’s over-the-counter allergy drug, Xyzal. The drug was previously only available by prescription. It is the drugmaker’s third Rx-to-OTC switch in the category, following Allegra in 2011 and Nasacort in 2013.
3. Eli Lilly ended the last Phase-III study for its experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug, solanezumab. The company’s CEO, David Ricks, said there was no scientific basis to believe the drug would confer a “meaningful benefit.” (Endpts)
4. A Senate committee approved Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), President Trump’s pick for the head of Health and Human Services. The vote, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was suspended due to a Democrat boycott but Republicans suspended the rules that allowed for the boycott. (AP)
5. ICYMI: A computer algorithm was able to recognize skin cancer in photos as well as dermatologists, according to a study in Nature. The algorithm went head-to-head against 21 board-certified dermatologists and performed similarly in identifying cancerous lesions. (Nature)
