BOSTON (Reuters)—New Jersey on Thursday accused Insys Therapeutics Inc of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to boost sales of a fentanyl-based cancer pain drug, as Massachusetts announced a $500,000 settlement with the drugmaker to resolve similar allegations. The lawsuit by New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino accused Insys of illegally directing its sales force to…
Articles by Cindy Devone-Pacheco
Cigna to End OxyContin Painkiller Coverage, Signs Contract for Alternative
(Reuters)—Amid a growing U.S. opioid addiction, health insurer Cigna Corp will stop covering OxyContin, the opioid painkiller sold by Purdue Pharma LP, as of January 1 and will instead cover an equivalent with a formulation less vulnerable to abuse, the company said on Wednesday. The insurer has signed a “value-based contract” with Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc…
What Price Glory (or, at Least, Getting Your Foot in the Door)?
In many respects, this is the beginning of the golden age of rheumatology. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are now available that have radically altered for the better the lives of people with diseases that were considered virtually untreatable just a few years ago. The rheumatologist’s approach to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the spondyloarthropathies, osteoporosis and…
U.S. House Committee Launches Probe of Allergan Patent Deal
NEW YORK (Reuters)—A U.S. House of Representatives committee launched a probe into drugmaker Allergan Plc’s deal to transfer some of its patents to a Native American tribe to shield them from review. A bipartisan group of four representatives from the House Oversight and Government Committee, including Republican Chairman Trey Gowdy and top Democrat Elijah Cummings,…
Obamacare Sign-Up Challenge: Proving the Law Is Not Dead
NOGALES, Arizona (Reuters)—More than two thousand miles away from the healthcare debate in Washington, President Donald Trump’s threats to let Obamacare collapse are sowing confusion about its fate and dampening 2018 enrollment expectations. The uncertainty here in Arizona, echoed in interviews across the country, shows that even though they have not been able to repeal…
Washington State Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma
(Reuters)—Washington state on Thursday sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for a national opioid addiction epidemic. The city of Seattle also filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue as well as units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Johnson and…
Makers of Fast-Acting Opioids Will Have to Pay for Training—FDA
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Makers of fast-acting opioids will have to fund voluntary training for healthcare professionals who prescribe the drugs, including education on safe prescribing practices and non-opioid alternatives, the course said on Thursday. The FDA sent letters to 74 manufacturers of immediate-release opioids, notifying them that they will have to fund the development of courses…
As 2018 Obamacare Deadline Nears, U.S. States Believe Every County Covered
NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. states have negotiated to the bitter end to keep health insurers selling Obamacare plans in every county next year, in some cases taking a hard-line to prevent exits that leave residents without access to health coverage. But states cannot rule out a last-minute pullout by an insurance company. Insurers must sign government…
Undetected Fractures Linked to Back Pain in Older Men
(Reuters Health)—About three in five older men with tiny spinal fractures related to osteoporosis reported new or worsening back pain in a new study. Only about one-quarter of new vertebral fractures are diagnosed by a doctor, the study team writes in their September 7 online report in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, though the…
Many Drug Companies Fail to Conduct Timely Safety Checks on Medicines after FDA Approval
(Reuters Health)—In the rush to approve new medicines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration often requires drug companies to study possible side effects and alternative doses for medicines once they hit the broader market. A September 20 online analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that, in many cases, that’s not being done….
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