Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was invigorating and inspiring, because that oh-too predictable routine of online meetings, phone calls, and deadlines has returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So to give it a nudge in a better direction, we are firing up the coffee kettle to brew some cups of stimulation. Our choice today is a new addition to our overflowing pantry — honey almond. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, we have once again assembled a few items of interest for you. Best of luck on your journey today and, of course, do keep in touch. …
Makena, once the only available treatment to prevent preterm birth, has had its share of controversy, STAT notes. A yearslong debate over the drug’s effectiveness led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval and demand it be pulled from the market after a confirmatory trial failed to replicate results of a key study. But one aspect of the drug’s legacy has gone untold. A widely cited study that supported Makena’s approval mixed up the names of two distinct molecules: 17P and progesterone. That error caused some women to mistakenly be given injections of high doses of progesterone to reduce their risk of preterm birth — an untested treatment.
Cardinal Health announced its pharmaceutical distribution contracts with UnitedHealth’s OptumRx unit will not be renewed after they expire at the end of June, Reuters notes. The wholesaler expects to partially offset the impact of losing the OptumRx contracts through a combination of new customer wins and growth in its specialty pharmacy business. OptumRx is a pharmacy benefit manager that acts as an intermediary between insurers and drugmakers to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson estimated the move will hurt Cardinal earnings per share in fiscal year 2025 by 45 cents to 50 cents.