Hospital groups creating company to make cheap generic drugs
Several major not-for-profit hospital groups, including the parent of St. Vincent Health in Indianapolis, are trying their own solution to drug shortages and high prices.
Pharmaceutical
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Lilly looks to boost pipeline with drug partnerships
A slimmed-down Eli Lilly and Co., thousands of employees lighter after its biggest restructuring in nearly a decade, is now looking high and low for deals to bulk up its drug pipeline.
Trump health pick wary of government drug price negotiations
Alex Azar, a former Eli Lilly and Co. executive, acknowledged to the Senate Finance Committee that drug prices are too high and said he'd work to lower them if confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Nearly a dozen Indiana communities sue opioid industry in new flurry of suits
A wide array of cities, towns and counties are blaming opioid makers and distributors for flooding their communities with addictive painkillers.
Pfizer to end Alzheimer’s research, cut 300 jobs
Pfizer said it will continue its support of potential blockbuster drug tanezumab, a late-stage pain treatment in development with Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.
Assembly Biosciences’ market value surges to nearly $1B, despite red ink
The 5-year-old Carmel biotech has won plenty of attention from Wall Street and has secured more than $100 million through licensing deals and a stock offering to help fund expensive clinical trials.
Is marijuana debate at a tipping point?
A fight over whether Indiana should legalize medical marijuana seems all but inevitable now.
Hot-selling Lilly drug gets OK for second use
Taltz, launched in 2016 to treat plaque psoriasis, won approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a second indication—treating adults with a form of arthritis.
FDA aims to expand early-approval program for promising drugs
The Food and Drug Administration wants to help patients get faster access to promising cancer treatments, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told House lawmakers Thursday.
Tangled incentives push drugmakers away from opioid solutions
Pharmaceutical companies have introduced medicines to treat dependence, reverse overdoses and deal with opioid side effects. But few effective and economically viable alternatives to addictive painkillers have emerged from the laboratory.
Former Pharmakon exec pleads guilty to 10 criminal charges
Caprice Bearden, 63, of Carmel pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and nine misdemeanor counts related to the sale of adulterated drugs, including painkillers that were used on hospitalized infants.
American drug deaths skyrocketed in 2016, new report shows
The rate of deaths increased slightly in every quarter of 2016, indicating an accelerating epidemic. That crisis has been driven by opioid abuse.
Pharmacist in deadly meningitis outbreak cleared of murder
A pharmacist at a facility whose tainted drugs sparked a nationwide meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people, including five people in Indiana, was cleared Wednesday of murder but was convicted of other crimes.
Lilly plans $72M upgrade for Indianapolis insulin operation
The Indianapolis drugmaker said it will use the money to replace an existing line that fills vials for Humalog and Humulin and to prepare for new insulin products.
Anthem breaks with Express Scripts, to start own drug plan with CVS
Indianapolis-based insurer Anthem Inc. said it will set up its own pharmacy benefits management unit, signaling a final break with Express Scripts Holding Co. after the health insurer accused Express of overcharging it by billions of dollars.
Trump considers former Lilly exec for HHS post
Before joining Eli Lilly and Co., Alex Azar served as the general counsel and deputy secretary of Health and Human Services Administration under President George Bush.
Express Scripts to buy medical test gatekeeper for $3.6B
The deal comes as Express Scripts faces challenges on a number of fronts, including the possible loss of its largest customer, Indianapolis-based health-insurance giant Anthem Inc.
Legal fight looms over California’s new drug pricing law
California has passed a law requiring pharmaceutical companies to explain their price increases, escalating the state-by-state battle between lawmakers trying to bring more transparency to the industry’s practices and drugmakers that oppose the efforts.
Zionsville pharmacist who put himself in feds’ sights admits to felonies
Harry Zhang pleaded guilty to two felonies this month after charged with illegally obtaining prescriptions from Canada and Germany and reselling them in China.
FDA approving drugs at accelerated pace
Thirty-four new drugs—treating everything from cancer to rare genetic diseases—have been approved so far this year. That’s on pace to nearly double last year’s approvals.