Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pharma, Biotech Stocks Avoid Much Of Early New Year's Malaise
For investors, health-care stocks are a panacea in good and bad times. After helping to lead the market higher in 2014, shares of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have started off the new year avoiding much of the malaise afflicting other sectors. The broader market has stumbled in the early days of the New Year, with the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent. (Strumpf, 1/6)
The introduction in the U.S. of cheaper alternatives to complex biologic drugs faces a key test this week that could determine whether consumers and insurers will save billions of dollars on drugs to treat cancer and other ailments. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will decide Wednesday whether to recommend that the agency approve a drug known as EP2006 from Novartis AG 鈥檚 Sandoz unit. (Burton, 1/6)
