And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda includes catching up on our reading and promenading with the official mascots, but will mostly focus on Mrs. Pharmalot, since an important page is turning on the calendar. As part of the festivities, we hope to hold another listening party, and the rotation will likely include this, this, this, this, and this. And what about you? This is a grand time to enjoy the great indoors. So you can curl up in front of the telly and binge-watch a show or two. Perhaps you could kill time at a nearby temple of consumption, reach out to someone special, or simply plan the rest of your life. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon. …
A division of the Publicis Groupe advertising company and Hikma Pharmaceuticals reached separate settlements worth a collective $500 million to resolve claims they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, Reuters notes. The settlements add to the more than $50 billion that drugmakers, distributors, pharmacy chains, and consultants have agreed to pay to resolve lawsuits and probes over their roles in the opioid crisis. Publicis Health agreed to pay $350 million to resolve claims by U.S. states and territories that it helped Purdue Pharma devise marketing strategies to boost sales of OyxContin. Hikma agreed to pay $150 million for failing to report and monitor suspicious orders.
The first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. will hit the market soon, and the Biden administration is facing pressure from Democrats and reproductive health groups to ensure it is affordable, The Hill notes. The manufacturer of Opill says it is on track to make the drug available sometime during the first quarter of this year. The White House last week unveiled new efforts to expand access to contraception, but only if it is prescribed. Insurers typically do not cover OTC products. A few states require state-regulated private health insurance plans to cover OTC contraception, but those rules do not apply to most employer-sponsored plans.