Opioid overdose deaths have now slowed to the lowest levels nationwide since 2020, according to new estimates from the CDC. This marks the 12th straight month of decline since a peak last year. Around 70,655 deaths linked to opioids like heroin and fentanyl were reported for the year ending June 2024, the CDC now estimates, falling 18% from the same time in 2023. Almost all states, except for a handful in the West from Alaska through Nevada, are now seeing a significant decrease in overdose death rates. Early data from Canada also suggests overdose deaths there might now be slowing off of a peak in 2023 too.
Johnson & Johnson has sued a U.S. government agency over a closely watched dispute focusing on payment methods for some hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program. In its lawsuit, the company argued that HRSA has wrongfully interpreted a federal law concerning the use of rebates in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. J&J recently sought to change payment terms for its Xarelto blood thinner and the Stelara plaque psoriasis treatment.
U.S. drugmakers and biotechs have come to rely on Chinese partners for manufacturing, research and ingredients. Now, some of them are looking for alternatives as geopolitical tensions rise. Switch-overs in manufacturing, raw materials could mean higher drug prices and slower rollouts.
Data from over 3 million people who had been using Flovent showed a 17.5% increase in asthma-related hospitalization in the three months after Flovent was discontinued, and a 24.1% increase in the following three to six months. ICU admissions for asthma in those previously using Flovent increased 17.4% three months after discontinuation, and 23.1% three to six months after discontinuation. The data included children and adults.
The slow simmer of mistakes and misfortunes has come to a boil for the biggest U.S. drugstore chains. They've accumulated too many stores at a time of changing shopper habits. They're saddled with numerous government fines and a particularly ailing relationship with health insurers.
Novartis has lost a bid to keep a generic version of its top-selling heart failure drug Entresto off the U.S. market by blocking regulators from approving it, though the generic's launch faces other legal roadblocks. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., in an order made public this week, says the FDA did not overstep its authority in approving MSN Pharmaceutical's generic of Entresto, despite a slightly different label and alleged differences between the drugs.