Top news
* Johnson & Johnson's $572 million opioid lawsuit verdict had investors in the pharmaceutical industry breathing a sigh of relief as the amount was less than the $17.5 billion the state of Oklahoma was seeking, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports.
* CStone Pharmaceuticals CEO Jiang Ningjun received the highest compensation in 2018 among six Hong Kong-listed prerevenue biotech companies, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Shanghai-based oncology-drug maker is one of eight biotech companies that listed in Hong Kong after the city eased listing rules in April 2018. Six of the eight early-stage companies released their 2018 annual reports, disclosing CEO compensation details.

* AveXis Inc. — which along with its parent Novartis AG is being investigated by certain U.S. agencies for submitting manipulated preclinical data for their $2.1 million gene therapy Zolgensma — had acknowledged certain data errors in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection earlier in the year, FiercePharma reported. The FDA officials had accepted the explanations offered by AveXis' officials that the preclinical data errors were a result of poor record-keeping.
Swiss drugmaker Novartis had known about the data manipulation since March — two months before the drug won approval to treat a genetic muscle disorder called spinal muscular atrophy — but had waited until late June to tell the FDA.
* Opioid-painkiller maker Purdue Pharma LP has reportedly offered up to $12 billion to settle the more than 2,000 lawsuits filed against the company and its owners for allegedly fueling the opioid epidemic, according to NBC News. The company, which is owned by the Sackler family, and several other drug manufacturers and distributors face lawsuits for using deceptive marketing techniques for opioid-based therapies that intensified the opioid crisis — an epidemic that kills about 200 Americans each day.
* The Trump administration overhauled the online tool for enrolling in the government's Medicare program for healthcare coverage, including for drug plans, making it more accessible for 21st-century devices. The move is intended to make it easier for seniors and Americans with disabilities to shop for additional private insurance coverage under the program and for policies that pay for prescription drugs.
* AstraZeneca PLC's medicine Breztri Aerosphere helped control the symptoms of patients with a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a clinical trial.
* Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said the European Commission approved Empliciti in combination with other drugs to treat certain patients with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma.
* Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Soliris became the first medicine to be approved in Europe to treat neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder — a rare central nervous system disease that usually affects young women. The drug is already approved in the U.S. for the same disease.
* Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd.'s drug Nourianz was approved by the U.S. FDA as an add-on treatment for adults with Parkinson's disease — the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the U.S. after Alzheimer's.
Operational activity
* GlaxoSmithKline PLC exercised its option to license Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s antisense medicines to treat chronic hepatitis B — an infection that affects the liver — for an upfront fee of $25 million.
* Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC and Noile-Immune Biotech Inc agreed to jointly develop certain compounds to treat several types of cancer. The collaboration could fetch Noile‑Immune up to $312 million, plus mid-single digit royalties on net sales of resulting products.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.19% to 25,615.48, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.11% to 20,479.42.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.23% to 7,105.45, and the Euronext 100 lost 0.54% to 1,039.34.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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