Federal government presses pause on $ 765 million Kodak loan to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients

CNN: Kodak’s $ 765 million loan suspended after insider trading allegations

Kodak stock plunged 30% on Monday after a $ 765 million loan from the U.S. government to help manufacture drug ingredients was suspended, as regulators reportedly investigate allegations of insider trading. The title was temporarily on hold after plunging as much as 43% earlier today. (Valinski, 8/10)

Stat: Critics Call for Overhaul of Transparency of Drug Approvals in India

As Indian regulators approve controversial treatments for Covid-19, group of top doctors and activists urge government to increase transparency around all drug approvals, release of clinical trial data and licensing issued for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. Critics have long complained about the Indian government’s lax oversight of its pharmaceutical industry, but the problem has intensified in recent weeks over the approvals of some drugs to fight the novel coronavirus. (Silverman, 8/10)

Stat: Association of Faculties of Medicine Supported Black Money Anti-Pharma Group

The black money group Citizens for Truth in Drug Pricing, which has run several large anti-drug campaigns on conservative radio shows, has received significant funding from the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to a recent review of tax documents federal. The AAMC, the nonprofit that administers the MCAT exam and lobbies on behalf of medical schools and teaching hospitals, gave the group $ 500,000 in 2018, according to a disclosure form. (Facher, 08/11)

WBUR: Opioid scandal haunts pharmaceutical companies as they respond to pandemic

As pharmaceutical companies rush to position themselves as key players in the fight against coronaviruses, the industry faces a new wave of civil lawsuits stemming from its role in the country’s deadly opioid epidemic. Thousands of cases arrested due to the COVID-19 pandemic are advancing again as local, state and federal courts reopen in the United States. (Mann, 8/10)

Also –

The New York Times: FDA chief Stephen Hahn caught between scientists and president

As the coronavirus swept through the Sunbelt, President Trump told a crowd gathered at the White House on July 4 that 99% of virus cases are “completely harmless.” The next morning on CNN, host Dana Bash asked Dr Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and one of the country’s most powerful health officials, “Is the president wrong? (Kaplan, 8/10)

Stat: Seres reports positive late stage results for its microbial drug

Four years after the devastating failure of a clinical trial, Seres Therapeutics appears to have met with success. The company announced positive results for its late-stage clinical trial of a microbial treatment for C. difficile on Monday. About 11% of patients who received Seres’ medication, a bacteria-based pill, always had a recurrence of C. difficile; about 41% of people who did not receive the medicine had their infection come back. (Sheridan, 8/10)