Eli Lilly plans to acquire Dice Therapeutics — a biopharmaceutical company that develops oral therapeutics for autoimmune diseases — in a deal valued at $2.4 billion. 

Louisiana passed a bill that prevents drugmakers from restricting 340B-discounted drugs to safety-net hospitals' contract pharmacies. The law is effective Aug. 1. 

The Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs on June 20 unveiled the first and only accredited certification for nurses wanting to transition to the biopharmaceutical industry. 

FDA investigators discovered more quality issues at an Intas Pharmaceuticals factory in Ahmedabad, India, which halted some production after a November inspection found a truck full of shredded documents, Bloomberg reported June 15. 

In two days, two Cambridge, Mass.-based pharma companies have paused their cancer drug trials after six patients died. 

Major Pharmaceutical/Rugby Laboratories, based in Livonia, Mich., is recalling one lot of an anti-nausea drug because a distributor found it to be mislabeled as the drugmaker's schizophrenia drug.

A 52-week phase 3 clinical trial of Skyrizi, or risankizumab — a drug initially approved to treat Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis — was shown to also achieve clinical remission in 40 percent of patients with ulcerative colitis, AbbVie announced June 15. 

On Nov. 1, the new U.S. Pharmacopoeia standards on sterile and nonsterile compounding will be implemented. Here's what leaders need to know about USP 795 and USP 797: 

The Inflation Reduction Act could offer cancer patients annual savings of $7,590 on average, and some patients could save up to $19,296, according to a June 14 report from Patients for Affordable Drugs. 

Seattle Children's Hospital paused a sponsored clinical study of a leukemia drug candidate after the first patient to take the medication died, according to the oncology cell-therapy company 2seventy Bio. 

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. considered selling insulin but found the price doubled with shipping costs, CEO and co-founder Alex Oshmyansky, MD, PhD, said June 13 at the AHIP conference. 

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill June 13 allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control without a patient being required to visit a physician. 

Amid a shortage of amoxicillin and penicillin — the two main antibiotics for strep infections, which rose in early 2023 — Pfizer said it has "limited supply and [an] impending stock out situation" for some of its penicillin prefilled syringe products. 

Sanofi announced its latest endeavor into AI technologies with the use of an internal app, which company CEO Paul Hudson says is a move to align with its aim to become the "first pharma company powered by artificial intelligence at scale," according to a June 13 news release. 

The FDA approved Ironwood Pharmaceuticals' Linzess (linaclotide) capsules June 12, making it the first pediatric treatment for functional constipation. 

An over-the-counter topical treatment for men with erectile dysfunction on May 12 was authorized by the FDA for marketing. Futura Medical's Eroxon gel can now be marketed as a de novo medical device.

Novo Nordisk's Type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) shot up in popularity for its off-label use for weight loss. Here are six recent updates on the drug: 

The Alliance for Patient Access, a national advocacy group, has published a report outlining key ways employer-sponsored health plans can benefit from alternative funding programs at the expense of some patients.

Novartis announced June 12 that it will acquire Chinook Therapeutics, a Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company that develops novel kidney medicines, for a total value of $3.5 billion.

Francis deSouza, CEO of San Diego-based biotech company Illumina, stepped down from the role June 11 and will be an adviser through July.