| Thursday | ||||
A Florida jury has… A Florida jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $9M to an 82-year-old woman who claimed that asbestos-tainted talc was responsible for her cancer, Bloomberg's Jef Feeley reports. Jurors in Miami determined that asbestos in baby powder used by Blanca Mure-Cabrera throughout her lifetime contributed to the development of her mesothelioma, Feeley notes, citing one of her lawyers. The trial outcome marks the second loss for J&J this year over claims that it was aware some of its talc-based products were laced with asbestos and concealed it from consumers, the author notes. Reference Link | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
With the spread of the… | ||||
| Tuesday | ||||
Johnson & Johnson… Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said it would collaborate with Apple (AAPL) on a study to use an iPhone app and the Apple Watch to study how earlier detection of atrial fibrillation affects stroke in individuals aged 65 or older, Reuters' Stephen Nellis reports. Apple COO Jeff Williams said that Apple's initial Heart Study last year proved that the company's watches can detect atrial fibrillation with a low rate of false alarms, which helped the company gain approval from the FDA for a watch app that takes on EKG measurement, Nellis says, noting that the study with J&J seeks to show if early detection leads to better outcomes. "We want to follow the science all the way to the end, no matter what the outcomes are, and run this longitudinal study," Williams told Reuters in an interview. "It's not something that we have to do, but it's the right thing to do." The joint effort is known as "Heartline," the author notes. Reference Link | ||||
A close to $50B… A close to $50B settlement proposed by opioid makers and distributors is drawing more support from states, including California and New York, as the companies try to make a deal before a trial in New York next month, Jef Feeley and Erik Larson of Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the talks. However, nearly two dozen states and most of the cities and counties suing the opioid industry still say the terms aren't good enough, Feeley and Larson add. A February 22 vote by the members of the National Association of Attorneys General found 35 states and U.S territories backing offers by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), McKesson (MCK) and other opioid companies to pay more than $23B in cash and to donate drugs and other services valued at more than $26B over nearly two decades, people familiar with the results told Bloomberg. That's a pickup of seven states plus one U.S. territory since the offer was unveiled in October, the sources added. | ||||
| Monday | ||||
| Over a week ago | ||||
Endo (ENDP) announced… Endo (ENDP) announced that Blaise Coleman, who has served as the company's Executive Vice President and CFO since 2016, will succeed Paul Campanelli as President and CEO and will become a member of the Board of Directors effective March 6. Campanelli will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. This appointment will complete the CEO succession plan that Endo announced in November 2019. Coleman has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Prior to joining Endo in 2015, he held a number of leadership roles of increasing responsibility with AstraZeneca (AZN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). | ||||
Johnson & Johnson… Johnson & Johnson announced that its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies will expand its existing partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, to seek treatment solutions for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV. "This latest collaboration will enhance Janssen's ongoing work with global partners to screen a library of existing antiviral molecules, with the aim of identifying compounds with promising antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. The expanded partnership with BARDA builds on Johnson & Johnson's multipronged response to the COVID-19 outbreak. These efforts, in addition to the ongoing development of a potential vaccine candidate, bring hope of finding a solution against COVID-19 for communities in greatest need in China and around the world," the company stated. | ||||
Attorneys general for 21… Attorneys general for 21 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have rejected an $18B settlement offer from three major drug wholesalers aimed at resolving litigation over their alleged role in the opioid crisis, said The Wall Street Journal's Jared Hopkins, citing a letter sent to the law firms of McKesson (MCK), AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and Cardinal Health (CAH) earlier this week. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was also involved in the discussions to contribute additional money, the Journal previously reported. The dissenting states want the wholesalers to contribute between $22B and $32B, a person familiar with the matter told Hopkins. Reference Link | ||||