pharmaceuticals – Karma

Big Pharma Should Curb Drug Price Increases During Pandemic, Consumer Group Says

Neanda Salvaterra — Wed, 06 May 2020 10:00:00 +0000

A consumer group calls on pharmaceutical companies to freeze drug prices during the COVID-19 pandemic and says the U.S. government should regulate medicine cost increases. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has increased prices for existing drugs on a yearly basis, which hurts consumers, says an advocacy group. Drug prices are estimated to go up by an […]

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First AI-Designed Drug Enters Testing, Raising Hopes for Faster, Cheaper Drug Creation

Bruce Rule — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:14:03 +0000

A drug developed using artificial intelligence will enter clinical trials for the first time, opening up the possibility of using machine learning to slash costs and time needed to create medicines. The compound targeting obsessive-compulsive disorder was developed by U.K.-based Exscientia in partnership with Japanese drugmaker Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. The research exploratory phase of development […]

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China’s Spreading Coronavirus May Ripple, Disrupting Global Supply Chains of Medicines and Ingredients

Bruce Rule — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 05:35:32 +0000

The novel coronavirus that is spreading in China may harm the health of more than those who catch the respiratory illness — the killer infection may disrupt production of the world’s pharmaceuticals. China is a giant supplier of ingredients for medicines worldwide, home to 13% of all facilities that make ingredients for drugs sold in […]

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As Drug-Resistant Bacteria Frustrates Big Pharma, Impact Investors See Opportunities

Scarlett Kuang — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:57:44 +0000

With more than 500,000 people dying each year due to their bodies rejecting currently available antibiotics, profits are drying up and the world’s largest drugmakers are backing off. This is leaving the field to a group of ambitious startups, according to a study. Four companies — GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Novartis International, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Mylan Pharmaceuticals […]

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Novartis $2M Drug For Killer Genetic Disease to Be Dispensed for Free Via Lottery

Scarlett Kuang — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 22:30:54 +0000

It’s the world’s most expensive drug, and one of only two available for spinal muscular atrophy, the top genetic killer of children under two years old. And now the drug’s maker, Novartis, wants to give it away using a procedure considered controversial by advocacy groups. Starting Jan. 2, Novartis will give 100 patients free Zolgensma, […]

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Private Equity, Biotech Industry Worried Pelosi Drug Plan Would Be ‘Destructive,’ Slow Innovation

Ron Day — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 21:12:01 +0000

Private equity and venture capital firms, which have poured billions of dollars in biotech firms, are opposing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to cut drug prices, saying it would stifle the small firms that are often the source of new medications. Venture capitalists met with Pelosi’s staff, as well as House and Senate Democrats over […]

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Magnetar Raising $400 Million for Healthcare Fund as Private Money Piles into Industry

Scarlett Kuang — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 21:19:23 +0000

Magnetar Capital, which has made billions on its energy and infrastructure bets, is joining others who are seeing green lights flashing in healthcare. The $13.4 billion hedge fund is seeking to raise $400 million, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar. The Evanston, Illinois-based firm is planning to close the fundraising by mid-2020, and focus on […]

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Seniors May Be Overpaying for Medicine, Study Looking at Medicare’s Use of Generics Suggests

Ron Day — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 21:35:46 +0000

Medicare may not be getting the best prescription drug deals it can, meaning senior citizens using the plan are overpaying, a new study suggests. Private insurance companies adopt cheaper generic drugs at a faster pace than government-run Medicare, a study by lobbying group Access for Affordable Medicines concludes. Generics are intended to be a lower-cost […]

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Purdue Pharma Took a Page from Big Tobacco & Oil in Effort to Shift Blame in Oxycontin Deaths

Ron Day — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 20:40:23 +0000

Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma cultivated sympathetic writers and funded think tanks as part of an aggressive media campaign aimed at countering negative stories about its blockbuster opioid, ProPublica reported. For nearly 20 years Purdue followed tactics similar to those of the oil and tobacco industries by promoting science that advanced its agenda and shifting blame, […]

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Government Lawsuit Against Gilead Highlights Steep Cost of HIV Prevention Pills

James Quirk — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 21:59:20 +0000

A lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against Gilead Sciences is the most direct action taken to date to bring down the high cost of HIV prevention pills – a critical component of the government’s plan to reduce new infections in the U.S. by 75% over the next five years. Both the government and HIV/AIDS […]

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