Sun Pharma has decided to settle its part of an industrywide price-fixing suit. Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi won coverage from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration in Alzheimer's disease. AstraZeneca faces resistance to a round of layoffs in India. And more.
1. In industrywide price-fixing case, Sun Pharma opts to settle for $75M
Sun Pharma and its subsidiary Taro have agreed to pay $75 million to settle their part of an industrywide price-fixing lawsuit. The antitrust lawsuit started back in 2016 and involves many companies including Pfizer, Viatris and others.
2. After Medicare rejection, Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi gets thumbs-up from Veterans Administration
Eisai and partner Biogen scored an important early win for their Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi. The U.S. Veterans Health Administration has decided that it will cover the antibody treatment in veterans with an early stage of the disease. The FDA will rule on whether to grant Leqembi a full approval by July.
3. AstraZeneca employees fight layoffs in India as drugmaker shifts 'strategic priorities'
AstraZeneca has decided to lay off 103 employees in the company’s primary care division in India. But 51 of the staffers reportedly refused the company’s voluntary retirement offer, and some say AZ terminated them illegally. Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi and GSK have also recently downsized their workforces in India.
4. Esperion and Daiichi Sankyo bump heads on Nexletol milestone payments
Daiichi Sankyo is fighting with Esperion over milestone payments related to the latter’s cholesterol drug Nilemdo, which is sold in the U.S. as Nexletol. Daiichi, which holds the drug's European rights through a 2019 deal, suggests that the drug’s recent cardiovascular risk data don’t support milestone payments tied to a potential label expansion.
5. LG Chem locks in $200M vaccine supply deal with UNICEF
LG Chem has signed a manufacturing contract worth $200 million with UNICEF. The South Korean company will supply its polio and pentavalent vaccines to 80 million children around the world. The five-in-one shot covers diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and meningitis. The company is also working on hexavalent shots.