With megamerger, Pfizer will dodge billions in taxes | Washington Post
Everybody seems to be displeased by the $160 billion Pfizer-Allergan tax-inversion deal. Congressional lawmakers in both parties have decried tax inversions like it, although Democratic lawmakers lean toward blocking inversions while Republicans favor tax reforms they say would make remaining in the U.S. more attractive to corporations. Pfizer chief Ian Read says the pharma giant has noted the political tongue-wagging but still thinks the move is what's best for the company.
At-home statin intolerance test faces skeptics | MedPage Today
Boston Heart Diagnostics, a company selling a $99 direct-to-consumer saliva testing kit, says its tests help patients determine if they'll suffer side effects from certain cholesterol drugs. Some experts, however, say the tests don't belong in routine clinical practice.
New study spills doubt on some fingerprick blood tests | Ars Technica
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology found that the contents of drops of blood from finger-pricks can vary dramatically from drop to drop. That calls into question the accuracy of low-volume tests like those by startup Theranos, Ars Technica reports. The study found that accurate results required 60 to 100 microliters of blood, equivalent to roughly five drops or more.
Turing, company at center of drug pricing storm, offers discounts | Reuters
After being knocked for a 5,000% percent increase in the cost of Daraprim, a generic drug used primarily to treat a rare infection in pregnant women and HIV patients, Turing Pharmaceuticals is apparently trying to play nice. The company announced it is offering hospitals a 50% discount off its price for the drug. That's still over $360 more per pill than the drug cost before Turing acquired it.
Rise in early cervical cancer detection is linked to Affordable Care Act | New York Times
A study published this week in JAMA found that early-stage cervical cancer diagnoses in women under age 26 have increased since 2010. That's the year an Affordable Care Act provision allowing adults age 18-26 to remain on their parents health insurance went into effect. The researchers saw an increase in diagnoses among women aged 21-25, but diagnoses among women 26-34 remained flat, suggesting the law did have an effect.
