Terrific/terrifying read on how a contested US election result could descend into a constitutional nightmare
(with big implication for Congress, courts and military)
by
@KatrinaManson
and
@kadhim
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S DEBTS: Creditors are preparing for tricky negotiations with their debtors. They will be trickier still if the debtor is the president of the United States.
Trump loses his edge on the economy, per our new FT-Peterson poll (46% policies hurt; 44% help). The economy was one of few bright spots for the president.
1) In a scene that played out several times Monday, a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights confronted White diners outside D.C. restaurants, chanting “White silence is violence!” and demanding White diners show their solidarity.
#DCProtests
Pfizer has raised the prices of 100 products just weeks after Donald Trump claimed the pharma industry was about to implement “massive” voluntary reductions 🤔 $PFE
Canary Wharf is assumed to be a hotbed of Remainers. But some senior bankers are changing their tune post-Boris. One even told me he thought No Deal would be good for business.
SCOOP Strong signal from Fauci that Biden admin will *not* back waiver of Covid 19 vaccine patents (aka Trips waiver) in blow to developing countries (by
@kiranstacey
)
Biden, the big spender: lots of great detail in this deeply-reported piece on how the Democrat is spending his huge fundraising haul by
@courtney_ft
and
@christinezhang
Even for an extraordinarily litigious character, one well acquainted with lawsuits and courtrooms, this was a momentous legal week for Donald Trump (by
@stef_palma
and
@JoshuaChaffin
)
Scoop: Opioid billionaire Dr Sackler stands to profit from US epidemic after patenting a new... addiction treatment (file this under “you could not make it up”)
“From a political perspective, Trump does Biden a favour by pardoning himself and his family" -- excellent deep dive on the chances of Trump being prosecuted by
@kadhim
Delighted to become the new
@FinancialTimes
US news editor from next month, taking over from the inimitable
@GaryRSilverman
, who has taught me so much
Some life news: I'm moving back to London next month to become the FT's Banking Editor. Very excited about the new opportunity, but sad to say goodbye to the pharma beat. Thanks to everyone who helped me try to do it justice.
In 2018 Cathie Wood declared “monogenic stem cell therapy” a $2tn revenue opportunity. Scientists aren't sure what she was talking about. Nor is Google.
Some life news: I have moved back to New York to become the FT's first (and hopefully last) US Coronavirus Correspondent. The banking team is now in
@sjhmorris
's extremely safe hands.
Wealthy Chinese often travel to US for healthcare, but rare to hear of someone going other way: Craig Chase's remarkable story of how his myeloma was cured by a 'Made in China' cell therapy $JNJ $CELG $BLUE $CLLS $NVS $GILD
A patent officer worried about going bald
A "hustler" scientist from Hungary who would not give up
$1k stashed in a teddy bear
And a French CEO with a near magical ability to raise cash
The story of how the mRNA Covid vaccines succeeded against the odds
Suspect same people who say Scots in England shouldn't have indyref2 vote cheered
#HomeToVote
push for Irish expats to return and vote in refs on same-sex marriage and abortion
I'm not worried at all. I was merely asked how Scots in rest of UK could have a vote in another iScot referendum and showed how simple it would be. I don't say it should happen. But I can see how the prospect really worries you.
Our new analysis of short-term health insurance plans -- which the Trump administration wants to expand -- shows they often don't cover benefits required by the ACA.
Had lunch with Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO
- State Dept told him Russia masterminding effort to discredit Pfizer jab
- Insists patent waiver won't boost global supplies
- Ready for deal on lower US prices - only if 100% of savings go to patients not gov't
I think Delta CEO must be last person on the planet to refer to it as the B.1.617.2 variant.
Another neat solution? Rebrand the airline "B.1.617.2 Airways"
With six weeks to go before Americans head to the polls, the outcome of the midterms is far less predictable, partly due to the backlash against the Dobbs abortion ruling writes
@JamesPoliti
For those wanting an early night on election day: your best hope is that Biden wins a string of sunbelt states. If he doesn't, buckle up for a looooong ride. Find out more in our excellent on-the-night guide.
BREAKING NEWS from my local drugstore on the race to develop a Covid vaccine
(I pity the poor pharmacist who must get asked for it hundreds of times a day)
Bosses are back but workers are staying home: Lots of 'return to office' stories being run atm, but this from
@JoshuaChaffin
is one of the very best. Not many others with a C14th history parallels in there, for sure
Even if the profits of the top two PBMs were to go to zero and instead spent on drugs, it would not even foot the bill for Humira. I'm no defender of the PBM model, but they're a red herring $ABBV $CVS $ESRX
Brian Skorney of Baird is not drinking the Biogen/Eisai kool-aid: “The enthusiasm for a statistically unsound analysis of a failed Phase 2 study that utilizes a company-designed endpoint meant to detect negligible clinical effects is palpable but, in our view, misplaced.” $BIIB@
SPOT THE DIFF: GSK scrubbed all mention of director's tenure on Purdue Pharma board shortly before she was sued for alleged role in the epidemic. Full scoop here:
Given the ongoing interest and questions, today I requested that
@OIGatHHS
conduct an independent review and assessment of interactions between representatives of Biogen and FDA during the process that led to the approval of Aduhelm.
Ferraris, champagne-fueled parties, and stock-picking while riding horse-back: excellent reporting on the downfall of Neil Woodford by
@petersmithesq
and
@OwenWalker0
Five takeaways from first Trump-Biden debate:
- Trump unrestrained, even by his standards
- Biden held own, despite some ‘word salad’
- Trump refused to disavow white supremacists
- Doubt over next two debates
- Not a lot to change the race
Tesco Bank is first victim of HSBC-led price war in mortgages, after announcing it will stop new lending and offload existing book. (+ our recent analysis here )
After reading
@JohnCarreyrou
's riveting tale of Theranos downfall, hard not to conclude that Elizabeth Holmes' best hope of avoiding jail is insanity defence (my review)
Thrilled that our series on opioids and the Sackler family received an honourable mention at the
#SABEW19
awards. You can read it here. Congrats too to all my colleagues.
.
@FT
has won four awards at
#SABEW19
, as well as two honourable mentions, including General Excellence for a large news organisation. See the full list here
SCOOP: UBS is reinstating economist at centre of Chinese pig row, Paul Donovan, who was suspended in June after his remarks prompted outrage in Beijing
ICYMI: Our scoop that the Sackler family owns a *second* opioid drugmaker that is actually bigger than Purdue Pharma by volume: introducing the little-known Rhodes Pharma.
It's price gouging Monday: secretive Alabama drugmaker buys rights to cholesterol and respiratory drugs before implementing Shkreli-style hikes (~2,500% and 800%)
CDC chief won't rule out new lockdown as Covid rages in Brazil etc and likely to return to US. Also says:
-US Covid deaths so high b/c of levels of obesity, diabetes etc
- US health budget should be double/tripled
- Don't sit in the middle seat on a plane
Little reminder that there is one Labour leader who has won an election since 1974. His name is Tony Blair. Memo to Momentum: Blair is not a dirty word.
Ken Frazier, the Merck boss taking a stand against racial injustice: “He is quite comfortable keeping private until something passes his threshold of acceptance."
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla's mother was seconds away from being killed by a Nazi firing squad. The lesson she taught him years later: 'Life is miraculous. Nothing is impossible. You can do anything you want'
Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason. They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!
Celgene hunting for deals to offset loss of Revlimid patents, weighing offers for Agios and Jounce, per advisers (with
@JFK_America
) $CELG $AGIO $JNCE
Pfizer’s Ian Read has a tendency to underestimate political risk:
2018 - drug prices / Trump
2016 - Allergan tax inversion / Obama
2014 - AstraZeneca deal / UK gov’t
$PFE
Merck signals it will be more cautious with combo trials after Incyte failure (needs single-agent activity for both drugs), but AstraZeneca says risk still worth taking.
#ASCO18
$MRK $AZN
That noise you can hear is the sound of pharma companies lawyering up for a fight over the covid patent waiver
Am reminded of the joke that pharmacos are really law firms with drug factories attached
Remember that hepatitis drug Merck took a 60% price cut on so Trump could declare a huge win? Here's what the company has to say about it in its Q2 statement. $MRK 🤔
Scoop Scramble to make Covid vaccines causes US drug shortages at Pfizer and others (by
@hannahkuchler
)
aka Law of defense production act and unintended consequences
Struggling to keep track of Trump's legal efforts to challenge the vote?
@kadhim
has this great lawsuit tracker on where and how the president is fighting the result
Thanks to the small biz owners in MI, IL, GA, DE and MA for sharing their stories with
@JFK_America
and I for this magazine piece on the decline of Mom and Pops - very moving
"A historic day for patients, medicine, and certainly for Spark," $ONCE CEO tells me. "First time someone has taken the information and knowledge of the human genome project and turned the code we uncovered into an active agent in medicine."
McKinsey has turned a network of alumni at governments and top companies into lucrative business. But is it losing its mystique? Excellent deep dive by
@Edgecliffe
Purdue Pharma tried to profit from the opioid epidemic by buying an addiction treatment drugmaker (now known as Indivior). A 'you couldn't make it up' scoop w/
@hannahkuchler