Pfizer world headquarters in Manhattan on May 5, 2014 (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
TOP STORIES
Pfizer is opening a $350 million biotech hub in Hangzhou city, China, marking its first such facility in the country. It will produce biosimilar drugs and is projected to open in 2018. The drugmaker sees enormous growth potential for biosimilars in China which account for 4 percent of drugs in the country, compared with 20 percent in the U.S. — Bloomberg, Biophamra Dive
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Gilead Sciences received a greenlight from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its combination drug treatment Epclusa for adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus regardless of whether they have cirrhosis. It is the first drug to treat the six major strains of the disease. It will also be priced lower than previous treatments. — The Wall Street Journal, FDA
Australian drug manufacturer Maybe Pharma Group will unburden Teva and Allergan of a generic drug portfolio, which includes 37 FDA-approved drugs and five drug applications, at a cost of $652 million. It’s part of a deal Teva worked out with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration so its acquisition of Allergan can move ahead. — North Carolina Biotechnology Center
LIFE SCIENCES
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s cancer drug director, Dr. Richard Pazdur, is now the acting head of the Oncology Center of Excellence. The center was announced by the FDA and Vice President Joe Biden as part of the administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative to accelerate cancer research. The center will coordinate cancer therapeutics and the director will report to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. — Reuters
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Merck has formed a collaboration and license agreement with Moderna Therapeutics to develop and commercialize novel messenger RNA personalized cancer vaccines. —BusinessWire
The Wistar Institute and Delaware-based Christiana Care’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute expanded their partnership so that Christiana’s gene editing institute will be integrated into Wistar’s molecular screening facility. — PR Newswire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is reimbursing members who use telemedicine through a new collaboration with Doctor On Demand and from physicians in the insurer’s network who offer telehealth. —Boston Business Journal
Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network are conducting a trial of medtech company Avinger’s Pantheris image-guided atherectomy device. It’s designed to treat peripheral artery disease using optical coherence tomography. — Mass Device
TECHNOLOGY
Siemens has committed $1.1 billion over the next five years to investing in disruptive technology from startups through a new unit called Next47. It will have offices in Berkeley, Munich and Shanghai and will be headed by CTO Siegfried Russwurm. — Bloomberg
Perthera closed an $8.7 million Series A round led by Pilot Growth Equity, the sole institutional investor. It has developed a software program called Precision Cancer Analysis, intended to give physicians a more accurate understanding of a patient’s cancer and treatment options to personalize treatment. — BusinessWire
Behavioral telehealth business AbilTo added Rob Rebak as CEO. Rebak came from Sharecare, a health and wellness patient engagement platform, where he was president, consumer solutions. He joined Sharecare when it acquired QualityHealth, where he served as chairman and CEO. He has also worked in pharma at Pfizer, Merck, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. — PR Newswire
POLITICS
It looks like California voters will get to decide this November on whether or not recreational marijuana use should be legalized for adults. Voters had previously rejected legalizing marijuana in a 2010 referendum.— Reuters
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
One Caring team believes the relaxing change of scenery virtual reality goggles provide could have useful applications for dementia patients. — NPR
