February 12th 2016 No 3789 scripintelligence.com It Was Shkreli’s Show, But Pharma Was On Trial The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on drug prices was the hottest spot in a very damp and cold Washington on Feb. 4 and former Turing Pharmaceutical Inc. CEO Martin Shkreli gave lawmakers and the overflow-crowd in attendance what they were anticipating: Several big smirky smiles, a lot of eye rolling and a refusal to testify – citing his “Act of Production Privilege” under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution at the Fer Gregory/shutterstock.com Fer advice of his counsel. And lawmakers were irked, with the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), rebuking Shkreli for sneering during the congressman’s opening remarks about STAR OF THE SHOW: Shkreli how Turing had jacked up the price of grilled under intense limelight its recently acquired toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by more than 5,000%, putting it out of reach of some patients. the witness already had been dismissed, heated confrontations – I have never seen “It’s not funny Mr. Shkreli. People are departing about 45 minutes into the nearly an individual act with such arrogance as dying, and they’re getting sicker and sicker,” four-hour hearing. Mr. Shkreli a while ago, such childish, smart- Cummings scolded. “In all my time in Congress – I’ve served alecky smirks, even turning away from ranking Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-TN) also had some on four committees, been here 28 years, I’ve member Cummings to pose for pictures while tough words for Shkreli – although by then, seen hundreds of witnesses and some very Turn to page 6 Pfizer’s Currency, Patent Pressures Boost Allergan Pfizer Inc.’s pending $160bn merger with New drugs and current best-sellers will Allergan deal has the potential to boost Allergan PLC may be its best shot at significant contribute to sales growth in 2016, as they this year’s revenue by more than the 0% revenue growth this year, since the company’s did last year, but Pfizer expects to take a to 4% growth rate that is envisioned in the 2015 revenue and earnings fell below 2014 $2.3bn hit from unfavorable foreign currency company’s 2016 financial forecast. totals due to foreign currency impacts and the exchange rates and experience $2.3bn in “The [Allergan] transaction’s about loss of patent exclusivity for multiple products sales losses due to generic competition for accelerating growth potential in our innovative – factors that again could lead to flat growth its branded drugs. Since the $17bn Hospira businesses, and strengthening our established during the current year, despite meaningful Inc. acquisition helped Pfizer keep its 2015 business, and more efficiently allocating our sales gains for certain products. revenue decline to 2%, the much larger Turn to page 10 We are tweeting, chatting, liking and Let’s get sharing the latest industry news and insights from our global team of editors SOCIAL and analysts, join us! @scripnews /scripintelligence contents/editor’s letter 16 PathDoc/shutterstock.com Pan JJ/shutterstock.com Pan Eleanor Malone, Editor, 8 Scrip Intelligence Are you a man? Do you think that women 1 It Was Shkreli’s Show, 11 Novo Nordisk Says Global Payer But Pharma Was On Trial Pressure Limits Price Rises should get more visibility, more recognition, more power and more money? Do you feel 1 Pfizer’s Currency, 12 Business Bulletin you are in a position to help? Patent Pressures Boost Allergan 13 AstraZeneca Under Pressure But If the answer is yes, take care. 3 Shkreli’s Price-Hike Brag: $45bn Target ‘Still Achievable’ I’m sure you wouldn’t be silly enough to organize a party at a major investment ‘$1bn Here We Come’ Mersana/Takeda Deal Adds To 14 conference to facilitate male appreciation ADC Pipeline 4 Humira Competition Dominates of female models. But even trying to big up AbbVie Earnings 15 Pierre Fabre To Feed R&D Pipeline women by focusing on their brains or their 4 Sanofi Puts Itself Forward 16 Zika Gets Political business acumen isn’t straightforward. For Zika Vaccine Collaboration Only a couple of years ago Scrip editors 17 R&D Bites were consulted on a planned all-female panel Will Liability, Advertising Lawsuits 5 18 NewLink Brings Flavivirus at an industry conference. The male organizer Plague Biosimilars Market? ‘Dream Team’ To Zika wanted to know if it would be “fun” or “repulsive” to subtitle the panel “Biotech Babes.” 5 Medicxi Launches With €210M Fund 18 Witty’s Wish: Hold Off On GSK Break-Up Chatter The topic wasn’t even about being a babe. 7 Policy & Regulation Briefs A tip: if your panel is not about being a 8 FDA ‘Moon Shot’ Center 20 Expert View: French Industry Head woman, don’t make a thing of your panellists To Expedite Combo Cancer Drugs Lauds New Drug Pricing Deal being women. For more on this concept, Courage Under Fire read journalist Ann Finkbeiner’s 2013 blog Woodcock: Biosimilars Program 21 Stockwatch: 9 on publishing a profile of an astronomer Will Explode 22 Pipeline Watch without writing about her “as a woman.” 9 Can ‘Moon Shot’ Lift FDA 23 Appointments This prompted her colleague Christie Out Of Its Silos? Aschwanden to devise The Finkbeiner Test for stories about women in science (along the 11 Alexion Rare Disease Launches Off To Slow Start lines of the Bechdel test, which was created to measure gender bias in film). Another tip: make sure you’re a credible champion. Pharmaguy illustrates his list of Scrip “digitally savvy women pharma pioneers” with an outpouring of colourful hearts Editor: [email protected] Managing Editor: [email protected] erupting from his headshot to garland those News Editor: [email protected] of his female line-up. He wants to bring these South Asia Editor: [email protected] women “into the forefront” – but does this Washington Editor: [email protected] US West Coast Editor: [email protected] forefront have to be decorated in such a Features Editor: [email protected] patronising way? It doesn’t help that he used Senior Reporter: [email protected] a shot of women in bikinis to accompany his Principal Analysts: [email protected]; piece on 2015 drug approvals. [email protected]; [email protected] We would love to hear your comments about Reporter: [email protected] Scrip’s coverage. Feel free to tweet us or post A third tip: be alive to the possible [email protected] Reporter: a discussion on our LinkedIn group, for your irony of your feminist activism. As a man Creative Content Reporter: [email protected] chance to interact with editor Editorial Assistant: [email protected] Eleanor Malone and chair of GlaxoSmithKline – with its Production: [email protected] and the rest of the Scrip Intelligence team. predominantly male leadership team – Sir Pharma Data Editor: [email protected] Philip Hampton could conceivably feel Global Content Director: [email protected] Follow us at: @scripnews a tiny bit awkward about leading a UK All stock images in this publication courtesy of www.shutterstock.com unless otherwise stated. Join us at: linkd.in/scripintelligence government-commissioned review into Customer Services female representation in the management Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 5540 or (US) Toll Free: 1 800 997 3892 and boards of FTSE350 companies. Email: [email protected] As a woman, I feel a tiny bit irritated that, To subscribe, visit scripintelligence.com To advertise, contact [email protected] ironically, a man is in charge of putting Scrip is published by Informa UK Limited. women in charge. ©Informa UK Ltd 2016: All rights reserved. ISSN 0143 7690. 2 February 12th 2016 @scripnews scripintelligence.com © Informa UK Ltd 2016 HEADLINE NEWS Shkreli’s Price-Hike Brag: ‘$1bn Here We Come’ Excerpts from more than 300,000 documents, In various emails, Shkreli said he expected including emails, from Turing Pharmaceuticals to make $200m in sales and later declaring Inc. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International that at the new price of $75,000 per bottle, Inc. painted a picture that’s anything but Turing could rake in $375m for 5,000 bottles pretty about how those firms went about “almost all of it is profit,” adding that he buying older drugs and jacking up their prices believed the firm could pull that in for at least – with the now-former head of one of those three years or more. companies, Martin Shkreli, declaring “$1bn beeboys/shutterstock.com “Should be a very handsome investment here we come.” for all of us. Let’s all cross our fingers that the Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking estimates are accurate,” Shkreli said in an email. member on the House Oversight and In his memo about Turing, Cummings said Government Reform Committee, asserted the the documents obtained by the committee documents, which were not made public in indicated the firm’s executives anticipated a their entirety, were proof the tactics used by potential backlash in response to Daraprim’s Turing and Valeant are “not limited to a few price increase, but believed that physicians ‘bad apples,’ but are prominent throughout funds, MSMB Capital Management and MSMB generally were not sensitive to price increases the industry.” Healthcare, and misappropriating more than and that HIV/AIDS advocates could be The two companies have for months been $11m in assets from another of his former managed, despite being vocal. in Cummings’ and other lawmakers’ bulls-eye firms, Retrophin Inc., in what prosecutors One email showed an outside consultant after Turing boosted the price of Daraprim called a Ponzi-like scheme.