Congress gives dying patients easier access to unproven drugs
President Donald Trump’s interest in the bill stems from a push by Vice President Mike Pence, who championed the initiative when he was governor of Indiana.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Anthem’s pharmacy-benefits-management unit off to bumpy start
Brian Griffin, the leader of Anthem’s new PBM, IngenioRx, quit on May 8 with no warning to become CEO of Michigan-based Diplomat Pharmacy. Now Anthem is scrambling to adjust.
Trump plan for drug prices won’t include direct negotiations
President Donald Trump is set to unveil his long-awaited plan for reducing drug prices after more than a year of bold promises to tackle pharmacy costs that are squeezing millions of Americans.
UPDATE: Eli Lilly buying immuno-oncology company for $1.6 billion
The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant said it plans to acquire ARMO BioSciences Inc., which is working on treatments that activate the immune system of cancer patients to recognize and eradicate tumors.
IU organ researcher lands $9M grant to study animal transplants
The money is designed to further the work of Dr. Burcin Ekser and his team, who are working to print three-dimensional pig liver tissue from genetically engineered pig liver cells.
Lilly rolls out its first-ever TV campaign for a cancer drug
The ads for the metastatic breast cancer drug Verzenio show women in their 50s and 60s looking resolute and indomitable, surrounded by smiling friends and family.
Bid of $6.5B for Athenahealth might be ploy to lure other bidders, including Anthem
Shares in Athenahealth Inc. surged the most since 2016 after activist investor Elliott Management Corp. bid to acquire the medical company for $160 a share.
Major health initiative targets 3 Indianapolis neighborhoods with high diabetes rates
A five-year, $7 million program is led and supported by a coalition of local health institutions, including Eli Lilly and Co., Fairbanks School of Public Health and Eskenazi Health. It is based on a model that Lilly has used in other countries.
Private equity firms mull bids for Eli Lilly’s Elanco unit
The Indianapolis pharmaceutical giant is evaluating whether to keep the division, which makes animal-health products, or sell it or take it public. An analyst said it might fetch $16 billion.
Eli Lilly hikes forecast after better-than-expected first quarter
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. on Tuesday reported quarterly revenue and adjusted earnings that exceeded analyst forecasts.
Groups sue over new state law that toughens abortion rules
The plaintiffs—Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana—called the measure "a cruel intimidation tactic."
Indiana gets another $11M to combat heroin, opioid abuse
The Health and Human Services funding is among $485 million recently awarded nationwide to combat heroin and opioid abuse.
Cigna-Express Scripts deal to face Justice Department review
Cigna Corp. confirmed that its proposed $54 billion acquisition of Express Scripts Holding Co. will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has raised the bar for approving deals that don’t combine direct competitors.
Americans filling far fewer opioid prescriptions, new report says
The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the United States fell dramatically last year, showing their biggest drop in 25 years.
Mainstreet retools, says old strategy ‘broke down’
For more than a decade, Zeke Turner built scores of senior-care facilities. But in the past year, Mainstreet has been reeling from an unexpected slowdown in sales of its properties.
St. Vincent rethinks how to deliver care; struggling parent cuts costs
Jonathan Nalli has a message for his 16,000 employees at St. Vincent Health: Get ready for more transformation and disruption.
Local health care software firm raises $7 million in capital
Indianapolis-based Hc1.com Inc., which sells customer-management software to health care enterprises, has raised three sizable rounds of capital in four years.
Anthem agrees to $1.6M settlement over autism therapy
Insurance company Anthem Inc. has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Indiana parents who were denied coverage for therapy for their children with autism.
Rare loss for Big Pharma will cost industry billions
Drugmakers will have to offer a much more generous discount to Medicare beneficiaries who fall into the so-called donut hole coverage gap.
Indiana group to create app to teach doctors about opioids
The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation awarded $230,000 to the Indiana State Medical Association this week to develop the app and an accompanying podcast.