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Biotech stocks got a bump on some promising new cancer research released at ASCO's annual meeting while Purdue Pharma got slapped with another lawsuit this week. Speaking of investigations, generic drugmaker Mallinckrodt said it expects to settle one with the DOJ. The CVS HealthHUB pilot program must have been a hit. They're now rolling it out across the U.S.
I'm heading to South Africa next week, so Berkeley will be your host for the next two. For all you frequent flyers, please send any tips on how to survive long flights my way.
(Are there any stories we should be chasing? Email tips, ideas, suggestions to CNBC Health Editor Dawn Kopecki at dawn.kopecki@nbcuni.com.) | ASCO lifts biotech | The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF that tracks the industry's biggest companies, got a nice bump on the ASCO conference. The sector was led by cancer drug company Mirati Therapeutics, which jumped 32% Monday after Amgen presented some cancer drug research that bodes well for a similar approach being explored at Mirati. Nektar Therapeutics rose by almost 9% after the company released some good news on its experimental melanoma therapy called bempegaldesleukin. Try saying that five times fast. -Berkeley Lovelace Jr | | Purdue Pharma gets sued, again | California, Hawaii and Maine — as well as the District of Columbia — filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma this week, bringing the total number of states accusing the OxyContin maker of helping to ignite the nationwide opioid crisis to 48. Purdue's attorneys tell me the accusations against the company are "not supported by facts and are fundamentally flawed." Obviously, they plan to fight them. Still, the cascade of lawsuits put the company at risk of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. -Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | CVS expands HealthHUBs | CVS made a big(ish) announcement this week. It's opening 1,500 redesigned HealthHUBs by the end of 2021, after testing out a new concept in Houston that offers some health services, like blood testing, at its pharmacies. The move is meant to Amazon-proof its retail business and lower health-care costs for its newly acquired health insurance business. -Angelica LaVito | | Double-digit growth | CVS Health shares got a nice bounce after laying out its double-digit earnings growth projections for its newly combined pharmacy and health insurance firm. Timing helps. The company's annual investor meeting Tuesday came just as investors were willing to get back into stocks and the beaten-down health care sector. CVS's 3.5% gain for the week wipes out its losses for the quarter. (Cigna, which held its analyst day one week ago today, is up 6% for the week.) -Bertha Coombs | | Mallinckrodt shares swing on DOJ settlement | Pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt said Wednesday it expects to pay $15.4 million to the DOJ to settle a drug bribery probe into Questcor Pharmaceuticals, which Mallinckrodt acquired in 2014. The company's shares swung wildly up, and then down, after announcing the tentative deal. The stock closed down by almost 8% at the end of the day. Problem is, the "settlement" doesn't settle everything and DOJ is still seeking unspecified monetary damages related to a company foundation allegedly used as a "conduit" to pay illegal kickbacks in the form of co-pay subsidies. -Ashley Turner | | Apple unveils new health features | Apple introduced its redesigned Health app, menstrual cycle tracking and a loud noise warning at its annual developer conference this week. The app uses machine learning to identify which issues people care about the most and highlights those. Cycle tracking works like similar apps, though Apple made a point to say women's data are secure. The noise app on the watch detects loud noises and decibels, warning people when they're in a setting that could risk their hearing. -Angelica LaVito | |
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