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US healthcare proposals to cut premiums; Ionis sells rights to 2 drugs in $1.7B deal

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US healthcare proposals to cut premiums; Ionis sells rights to 2 drugs in $1.7B deal

Top news

* Carlsbad, Calif.-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. sold the rights to twoof its treatments to unit AkceaTherapeutics Inc. in a deal valued at up to $1.7billion. Ionis' inotersen and AKCEA-TTR-L Rx are being developed to treatforms of transthyretin amyloidosis, a progressive condition that sometimesleads to death.

* A healthcare market stabilization proposal beingpromoted byRepublican Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Susan Collins of Maine wouldcut individual plan premiums by an average of 10% in 2019, and 20% in 2020 and2021, according to early estimates from congressional analysts.

* South Dakota sued Johnson & Johnson's ,Purdue Pharma LP, anda subsidiary of EndoInternational plc for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketingpractices for selling opioid painkillers and contributing to the opioidepidemic, Reuters reported.

On the policy front

* China's plans to overhaul its government structure at the central levelis expected to make its healthcare system more efficient, said Justin Wang, amanaging director and partner at L.E.K. Consulting. Under the proposal,government will retire the China Food and Drug Administration and set upa new National Market Supervision Administration instead.

M&A and capitalmarkets

* BayerAG has made progress in its discussions with Russia's FederalAntimonopoly Service regarding the German company's acquisition of , Reuters reported,citing an emailed statement. Bayer, in January, the Russian competition watchdogover its handling of the investigation relating to the Monsanto deal.

* U.K.-based Vernalis plc is exploring strategicoptions, including the potential sale of the company. Vernalis will alsoclose its U.S. commercial sales and marketing operations by September-end.

* Hayward, Calif.-based Arcus Biosciences Inc. priced its IPO of 8 millioncommon shares at $15apiece.

Drug and productpipeline

* AlexionPharmaceuticals Inc. said its ALXN1210 worked as well as thecompany's Soliris in treatingcertain patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, under alate-stage study. PNH is a rare blood disease where red blood cells aredestroyed by a part of a sufferer's immune system.

* OnoPharmaceutical Co. Ltd. exercised its to enter into a new collaborationwith Merus NV for thedevelopment of an antibody to treat autoimmune diseases. Under the new deal,Merus will use its Biclonics technology to develop a bispecific antibody, or anartificial protein, that targets autoimmune diseases.

* BellicumPharmaceuticals Inc. said its BPX-501 drug showed inan ongoing study among children with acute myeloid leukemia and primary immunodeficiencies.

* SolidBiosciences Inc. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placeda clinical trial for the company's SGT-001 gene transfer therapy onhold. The company was studying the medicine for treating Duchenne musculardystrophy.

* Johnson & Johnson and are preparing measures tocheapen their tuberculosis drugs in India to ensure greater access in thecountry after free supplies of TB medicines have ceased, The Economic Times of India reported,citing people familiar with the matter.

Operations andstrategy

* Theranos Inc.and its CEO Elizabeth Holmes agreed to settle fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities andExchange Commission over allegedly false statements about the privately heldmedical testing company.

Our features

US tax reformfires up healthcare M&A, buyback activity early in 2018: In thewake of the windfall brought forth by U.S. tax reform, the healthcare industryhas money to spend on M&A, research and development and share repurchasingprograms.

Other features

* STAT has an interviewwith Henry Waxman, who helped draft the Affordable Care Act, in which theformer lawmaker talks about the current state of drug pricing in the U.S.

* STAT also has a featureon how doctors are using fluorescent dye to better remove tumors during surgery.

* Patients who have private health insurance often findthemselves paying large out-of-pocket bills for advanced imaging, such asmagnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans, according to a study publishedin the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

* Older women living in U.S. territories are less likely toreceive the recommended quality of care to treat breast cancer when compared totheir counterparts in the continental U.S., Reuters reported,citing a study.

* Female physicians in the U.S. earned about 28% less thantheir male counterparts in 2017, Bloomberg News reported,citing a survey.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed openingfor the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.34% to 31,541.10 and theNikkei 225 rose 0.12% to 21,803.95.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.15% to7,143.20 and the Euronext 100 rose 0.15% to 1,022.31.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 6:30 a.m. ET. Someexternal links may require a subscription.