The already fragile medical supply chain is facing more stress this week, after Hurricane Helene ravaged a huge Baxter International plant in North Carolina that makes IV fluids for many U.S. hospitals. While the damage hasn't been totaled up, and the company says it's lining up backup plants and making other contingencies, the closure of the flooded facility threatens to upend such basics as intravenous dialysis care and complicate the federal disaster response.
CVS Health Corp.'s stock rose 1.7% Monday after a report surfaced of a meeting between the healthcare company and its major hedge-fund investor, Glenview Capital Management. CVS also confirmed plans to reduce its workforce by 2,900 people as part of a previously announced cost-cutting plan. CVS's stock rose $1.65 to $63.03 in early trading. Glenview CEO Larry Robbins was to meet with CVS Chief Executive Karen Lynch to present proposals to energize the company but not break it up. The gathering between CVS and Glenview comes after CVS's stock has fallen more than 22% this year as of Friday's close, while the S&P 500 has risen about 20%.
With more Americans using ever-stronger marijuana, a federal advisory panel is calling for a public health approach that's a big departure from "Just Say No." Thursday's report proposes a health-focused strategy with the CDC taking a larger role in cannabis policy than ever before. "We'd like the federal government to step up to provide some leadership in this area," said Dr. Steven Teutsch of the University of Southern California, who chaired the committee behind the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report. The CDC and the National Institutes of Health sponsored the report. A CDC spokesperson said Thursday that the agency would study the recommendations and that more money would be needed to implement them.
Thousands of plaintiffs across the country claiming in a federal lawsuit that Ozempic, Mounjaro and other popular drugs prescribed for diabetes and obesity harmed their health, and that the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured them failed to warn patients of their risks. The suit against two manufacturers, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, was filed this year. It's in the discovery process and may go to trial in 2025. Central to the lawsuit is the claim that Ozempic caused plaintiffs' gastroparesis.
A U.S. appeals court revived a lawsuit on Friday by healthcare and drug industry groups challenging the first-ever U.S. law requiring pharmaceutical companies to negotiate drug prices with the government's Medicare health insurance program that covers 66 million people. The decision from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not address the merits of the case, which was brought by the nation's largest drug industry lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and others. Instead, the court found only that a Texas judge was wrong to dismiss the case in February on the grounds that he did not have jurisdiction to hear it.
Cardinal Health on Friday agreed to acquire community cancer center operator Integrated Oncology Network for $1.12 billion in cash, marking its expansion into cancer care. The Dublin, Ohio-based company is the latest to join the trend of healthcare service companies diversifying beyond drug distribution. Rival McKesson recently acquired a unit of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute for $2.49 billion, while Cencora, in partnership with TPG Inc., purchased OneOncology for $2.1 billion in 2023. The deal gives Cardinal Health's cancer-focused unit Navista access to a network of more than 100 healthcare providers across 10 states in the U.S.