Humira

AbbVie Inc. agreed to pay $24 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged insurance fraud by the drugmaker in promoting the company’s blockbuster drug Humira, California’s insurance regulator said.

Pharmaceutical companies are no strangers to digital technology, either in the science that creates their products or in the business of bringing them to the people who prescribe them. As the use of digital-first experiences intensifies and the pharmaceutical industry is forced to evolve, companies will need to lean on their data and technologies in their engagement efforts to deliver elevated human experiences.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to healthcare providers against administering the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine in combination with Gilead Sciences’ experimental COVID-19 drug, remdesivir.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Evofem Biosciences Inc.’s Phexxi (lactic acid, citric acid and potassium bitartrate) vaginal gel for the prevention of pregnancy in females of reproductive potential for use as an on-demand method of contraception.

Over the last few years, there has appeared to be big interest on the part of biopharma in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to improve trial design and speed up drug development. Another related category is digital therapeutics (DTx), which the Digital Therapeutics Alliance says, “deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients that are driven by high quality software programs to prevent, manage or treat a broad spectrum of physical, mental and behavioral conditions.”

Imagine a financial ecosystem that interconnects payers and providers. It’s essential to the financial well-being of any provider organization, but the current claims and payment system is inefficient and outdated. Transparency, technology and trust are 3 critical elements to evolve the payer-provider relationship for fewer denials, patient payment estimations, reduced administrative costs and more.

Novartis AG won U.S. approval for the company’s experimental sickle cell disease drug Adakveo.

The Trump administration will announce plans to change healthcare regulations to loosen anti-kickback provisions that restrict the kinds of outside services providers can refer patients to, administration officials said.

Innovations in diabetes care go beyond new therapeutic classes. Pharmaceutical companies are continuing to invest in new technology to help improve diabetes treatment and patient adherence with progress ranging from artificial pancreases to smart insulin pens and pumps.

Syapse, which accelerates precision medicine through insights derived from the company’s global health system network, announced a strategic collaboration with Pfizer Inc. to advance cancer outcomes research using real-world evidence toward the ultimate goal of improving patient health.