Dr. George Kudmani, an OB/GYN from Kentucky, was sentenced to 4 years in prison this week after a federal jury ruled that he was guilty of inappropriately doling out opioids and Medcaid fraud. The jury found Kudmani guilty of 19 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and 8 counts of health care fraud. After Kudmani serves his […]
Pharmaceuticals
Glytec highlights hospital cost-savings for insulin therapy
At the 6th International Hospital Diabetes meeting, Glytec‘s eGlycemic Management System was featured in several studies demonstrating the products’s ability to save hospitals money. One case study presented at the meeting described a health system that adopted Glytec’s eGlycemic Management System and saw 1st-year cost savings of $7.5 million. The Kaweah Delta Medical Center attributed the […]
Express Scripts, CVS sued over Mylan’s EpiPen
Express Scripts (NSDQ:ESRX) and CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) were among the pharmacy benefit managers named in a lawsuit last week, when a potential class of patients accused them of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to negotiate lower prices for Mylan’s EpiPen allergy auto-injector. The suit, filed in the Minnesota District Court, alleges that […]
Inhaled Parkinson’s treatment improves motor function in Phase III
Shares in Acorda Therapeutics (NSDQ:ACOR) jumped this morning after the company reported that its inhaled Parkinson’s drug significantly improved motor function in a Phase III trial. The investigational drug is being studied as a therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease experiencing “off” periods, or a re-emergence of symptoms. The Phase III Span-Pd trial enrolled 339 patients with […]
Report finds Pfizer has hiked prices of nearly 100 drugs this year
As other major pharma players like Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) vow to limit annual price hikes, a report by the Financial Times found that Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has raised prices on 91 drugs by an average of 21% in 2017. The most recent price hike at the start of June was the company’s 2nd for […]
Insulet brings on new chief commercial exec | Personnel Moves – June 5, 2017
Insulet (NSDQ:PODD) last month named Bret Christensen as its chief commercial officer to lead the company’s sales, marketing, customer care, market access and advocacy. He most recently served as GM of Myriad Genetics’ preventive care business division. He has also worked as VP of sales and marketing of the gynecologic surgical products unit at Hologic. “I […]
Novartis, IBM Watson collab to optimize care for patients with advanced breast cancer
Novartis (NYSE:NVS) said today that it inked a deal with IBM Watson Health to optimize care and improve outcomes for patients with advanced breast cancer. The 2 companies plan to develop a “cognitive solution” using real-world patient data and analytics to better understand expected outcomes of breast cancer treatment options and develop personalized treatment plans […]
Cingulate moves controlled-release ADHD drug to human testing
Cingulate Therapeutics said this week that it began a proof-of-concept trial for its controlled-release attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug. The 4-week clinical trial is being conducted by its development partner, Bio-Images Drug Delivery. The trial enrolled healthy volunteers to evaluate the pharmacokinetic behavior of CTX-1301, including the body’s absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of the drug. […]
Maryland becomes 1st state to pass generic drug price gouging law
Maryland is slated to become the 1st state to pass a law banning “price gouging” by generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. The bill was passed by the Maryland general assembly in April and last month the governor said he would allow the bill to become law without his signature. The bill, which becomes effective on Oct. 1, prohibits […]
Critics allege misleading campaigns, poorly-cited data fueled opioid addiction crisis
The state of Ohio filed a lawsuit against opioid-makers this week, alleging that the companies produced misleading marketing schemes to convince doctors and patients that opioids were not addictive. Ohio isn’t alone – Mississippi and West Virginia have filed similar cases against major players in the pharmaceutical industry. Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Endo […]