Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Cold winds and overcast skies will not deter us from celebrating another brand new day here on the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots are hunting for creatures and a parade of driving machines is passing near by. As for us, we are engaged in the usual ritual — brewing cups of stimulation. Our choice today is cinnamon sticky bun. Our pantry is overflowing with interesting choices. Meanwhile, we have done a bit of hunting and gathering ourselves and assembled yet another list of interesting items for you to peruse. We hope your day is productive and successful. And as always, do keep in touch …
Amid a slumping stock price and Wall Street doubts, Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla maintains that investors are missing the potential benefits from the recent $43 billion purchase of Seagen, which makes a hot category of cancer treatments called antibody-drug conjugates, STAT explains. On Thursday, executives are holding an investor briefing to try to convince shareholders that its bet will pay off. For now, though, Pfizer has a market capitalization of only $150 billion — a quarter that of Eli Lilly and half that of longtime rival Merck — after its shares fell 44% last year and another 9% this year.
In a bid to combat prescription drug costs, the White House will hold a listening session on Monday in search of ways to reform pharmacy benefit managers, STAT reports. The list of attendees includes representatives from the federal government and industry, who are expected to provide insights into how the largest pharmacy benefit managers determine which medicines are covered by insurers and employers, as well as prices that are paid at pharmacy counters. Among those invited is Mark Cuban, whose Cost Plus Drug Company is trying to transform the marketplace by avoiding the largest middlemen when reaching benefits agreements with employers.
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