Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
J&J accuses divisions of Cigna of helping drain its drug copay funds, WSJ reports
Johnson & Johnson has sued divisions of Cigna, accusing the health insurer of working with a drug-benefit middleman to drain J&J's financial-assistance funds earmarked for patients taking some of its pricier drugs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
US FDA lifts partial clinical hold on BioNTech cancer drug study
BioNTech SE said on Friday it has been informed by its partner OncoC4 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted the partial clinical hold on a late-stage trial studying its drug for a type of lung cancer. In October, a partial clinical hold was placed on the trial studying the drug, gotistobart, in some lung cancer patients after an assessment of the trial data by an independent data monitoring committee.
Texas AG sues New York doctor over abortion pill prescription
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued a New York doctor for allegedly providing a Texas woman with abortion pills by telemedicine. The lawsuit by the Republican attorney general, which appeared to be the first of its kind, could offer a test of conservative states' power to stop abortion pills from reaching their residents.
Consulting firm McKinsey to pay $650 million to resolve US opioid charges
McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $650 million to resolve charges over advice it provided Purdue Pharma on how to "turbocharge" sales of its addictive painkiller OxyContin, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday. The consulting firm entered into a five-year deferred prosecution agreement filed in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, to resolve criminal charges brought as part of the latest corporate prosecution concerning the marketing of addictive painkillers that helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic.
US FDA approves Neurocrine Biosciences' genetic disorder drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Neurocrine Biosciences' drug to treat a type of genetic disorder, the health regulator's website showed on Friday. The drug, branded as Crenessity, is to be used together with glucocorticoid, a type of steroid, to control androgen levels in adults and pediatric patients aged 4 years and older with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).
Suspect in UnitedHealth executive murder was not a customer of the insurer
The suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson was not a customer of the health insurer, a company spokesperson said on Friday. Ivy League-educated Luigi Mangione was charged with murder on Dec. 9 for the killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference, following a five-day manhunt.
US FDA approves Checkpoint's skin cancer drug
The U.S Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has approved Checkpoint Therapeutics' drug for treatment of a type of cancer on the outer layer of the skin. Approval for the drug, which will be sold under the brand Unloxcyt, is for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma which can be both locally advanced as well as for when it spreads into other areas of the body, the FDA said.
Regulatory conditions on Novo Holdings' $16.5 billion Catalent deal fulfilled, companies say
All regulatory closing conditions related to Novo Holdings' $16.5 billion acquisition of U.S. contract drug maker Catalent had been fulfilled, the companies said on Saturday, adding that the transaction is expected to be completed in the coming days. Novo Holdings in February agreed to buy Catalent to boost output of the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. According to the terms of the deal, Novo Holdings would sell three of Catalent's factories, where injection pens are filled in sterile conditions, in Italy, Belgium and the United States, to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion.
Lilly's Mounjaro more popular than Wegovy in UK's private obesity drug market
Britons paying privately for obesity drugs are increasingly choosing Eli Lilly's Mounjaro over Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, online pharmacies say, in a sign the U.S. drugmaker is gaining ground on its European rival. Mounjaro is appealing to people because of its greater efficacy, six online pharmacies and two patients told Reuters, showing Novo's first-mover advantage is being challenged in the UK even though some pharmacies sell starter doses for the weekly injection for up to 40% more than Wegovy.
EU drugs regulator backs Mounjaro's sleep apnea use without fresh approval for Lilly
The European Medicines Agency has allowed Eli Lilly to update the product label of its weight-loss drug Mounjaro to show it has benefit in treating a sleep disorder without approving it specifically for the disease, the company said. Lilly was seeking EU approval for the expanded use of Mounjaro to treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with obesity.
