New PCSK9s & heart meds face slow uptake, brush up against payer review requirements

The heart drug Entresto, along with two new PCSK9 inhibitors, have had slower than anticipated uptake. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 16, 2016

Report: Walgreens threatened to dissolve Theranos arrangement barring quick fixes

According to the Wall Street Journal, the drug store giant issued a "warning letter" to the embattled blood testing upstart giving it until the end of the month to resolve a number of issues which have invited federal regulatory scrutiny.  

By Sy Mukherjee • Feb. 11, 2016

Explore the Trendline➔

Commercialization

New drugs for obesity and Alzheimer’s look set to become blockbusters, reshaping pharma marketing strategies just as many current top-sellers near looming patent cliffs.

By BioPharma Dive staff

Imprimis marches on with price cut strategy, will offer cheaper version of Retrophin's kidney stone med

The company previously introduced a cheaper version of Daraprim after former Turing CEO Martin Shkreli increased its price by 5,000%. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 11, 2016

Egypt facing major drug supply crisis fueled by weak currency & political turmoil

Since the country's political uprising in 2011, the value of the Egyptian pound has declined substantially, making it harder to import essential drugs. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 11, 2016

Breaking down Super Bowl 50's pharma ads: A bold moment for gut drugs

Two ads that got a lot of attention during the big game last Sunday were AstraZeneca's Movantik commercial for opioid-induced constipation and Valeant's Xifaxan ad for IBS-D. We spoke with Michael Smith, Vice President of the nonprofit patient group G-PACT, about why they were so significant.

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 10, 2016

You've got InMail: Pharma ratcheting up use of LinkedIn for marketing

Pharma companies see LinkedIn InMail as a safer marketing option than other social media channels. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 10, 2016

A besieged drug industry launches major new ad campaign to woo lawmakers

The trade group PhRMA spent $18.4 million last year on federal lobbying while the biopharma sector faced intense scrutiny on drug prices.

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 9, 2016

Novartis strikes rare P4P deals with Aetna & Cigna, will price heart med based on outcomes

In the deal with Cigna, the price of Entresto will be tied to the reduction in the proportion of planholders admitted to the hospital for heart failure. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 9, 2016

In blow to Sanofi, UK's NICE reverses course & backs Amgen's PCSK9 med

The French pharma giant on Tuesday announced that its 2016 profits won't be growing as Lantus sales continue to decline. And this new PCSK9 setback in the UK presents yet another big hurdle for the firm.

By Sy Mukherjee • Feb. 9, 2016

How top Valeant & Turing execs defended their drug prices to Congress on Thursday

In a long, often contentious hearing, House lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle hammered Valeant interim CEO Howard Schiller and Turing chief commercial officer Nancy Retzlaff on drug price hikes. And the specter of a grinning Martin Shkreli lurked just beneath the surface even after his departure from the chamber.

By Sy Mukherjee • Feb. 5, 2016

Senators urge Obama to ramp up pressure against high drug prices

Signatories to a letter asking the president to pursue aggressive drug pricing policies included presidential contender Bernie Sanders, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), and Sen. Angus King (I-ME).

By Sy Mukherjee • Feb. 3, 2016

From blunt force to electrical currents: Cancer treatment in the 21st century

We spoke with Asaf Danziger, CEO of NovoCure, about a new therapy for cancer based on alternating electrical fields. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 3, 2016

New study: Pfizer's Chantix no more effective than nicotine patches

The findings could be bad news for Pfizer, which has seen Chantix sales fall since 2008. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 3, 2016

Old Novartis cancer flagship Gleevec heads to pharmacies as lower-cost generic

Mumbai-based Sun Pharma will be the first company to make generic Gleevec (imatinib tablets), which was introduced by Swiss pharma giant Novartis in 2001. 

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 3, 2016

Express Scripts ditches Valeant diabetes med as part of 2016 formulary shakeup

The benefits manager is excluding roughly 80 drugs, including Glumetza, from its list of covered medicines for 2016.

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 1, 2016

Valeant hits back at Clinton's 'predatory pricing' accusations

In a blog post, the company defended its pricing of D.H.E. 45, saying its market share for the drug is less than 1%.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Feb. 1, 2016

Hep C market poised for pricing rumble as Merck's cheaper med approved

Merck's Zepatier is priced at $54,600 for 12 weeks, well below Gilead's market-leading Harvoni and AbbVie's Viekira Pak.  

By Nicole Gray • Feb. 1, 2016

Looking ahead at Lilly's 2016 prospects after a challenging 2015

Lilly's revenues and profits barely grew in 2015 as some of its older drugs faltered. While the company's pipeline took some major hits, renewed investment in oncology and diabetes may spur a better year ahead. 

By Ned Pagliarulo • Jan. 29, 2016

Q4 update: Bristol-Myers outperforms and Celgene misses EPS estimates

For the fourth quarter, Celgene's EPS came in at $1.18, up from $1.01 in 2015. But analysts had predicted EPS of $1.22. BMS knocked the ball out of the park with EPS of $0.38 compared with analysts' projections of $0.28.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 29, 2016

Novartis blames slower-than-expected Entresto growth in US on insurer tardiness

Novartis pointed to slower reimbursements and coverage for drugs in the U.S. as a reason for lagging uptake of several key therapies.

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 28, 2016

Massachusetts AG threatens Gilead with legal complaint over hep C drug prices

The biotech giant was also slapped with a federal lawsuit on Tuesday by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is seeking to invalidate patents for Gilead's sole new approved medication of 2015, Genvoya.

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 27, 2016

Trump joins Clinton, Sanders, & Obama in endorsing Medicare drug price negotiations

"We don’t do it," said the Republican presidential candidate during a campaign event in New Hampshire. "Why? Because of the drug companies."

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 27, 2016

DTC TV ad spending fell in December, but Pfizer topped peers

December's DTC television ad spending declined to $107 million. 

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 26, 2016

US temporarily halts enrollment in Cigna Medicare Advantage & drug plans

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) found "widespread and systemic failures" at Cigna, according to a letter notifying the company of its suspension. 

By Nicole Gray • Jan. 26, 2016

Sanofi EVP & former Obama admin official Suresh Kumar on the TPP, drug prices, & Dengue

Kumar's unorthodox path to Sanofi's executive team took him through the world of Indian sports broadcasting and the halls of the White House. We spoke with him during the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier this month about some of the biggest issues that Sanofi, and biopharma at large, faces this year. 

By Sy Mukherjee • Jan. 26, 2016