FDA OKs Chinese Drug Imports; Kid Cancers Down But Still Up; J&J Amps Up Talc Fight

The FDA agreed to allow additional imports of cancer drugs from China to help relieve current shortages of multiple drugs. (The Hill)

HHS has proposed $9 billion in payments to hospitals that were underpaid by the 340B drug pricing program implemented in 2018.

The annual rate of pediatric cancer has declined from a peak in 2016 but remains higher than 20 years ago. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute)

Turning the legal tables, Johnson & Johnson sued researchers who reported an association between the company’s talc-containing products and cancer.

A phase III trial showed that adding nivolumab (Opdivo) to cisplatin-based chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival versus chemotherapy alone in advanced, cisplatin-eligible urothelial cancer, Bristol Myers Squibb announced.

Caribou Biosciences announced its investigational CAR T-Cell therapy CB-010 achieved a 94% overall response rate in a preliminary study involving patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

ADC Therapeutics has voluntarily paused enrollment in a phase II trial of its antibody-drug conjugate loncastuximab tesirine (Zynlonta) plus rituximab (Rituxan) in advanced diffuse large B-cell lymphoma to investigate a potential signal of increased respiratory adverse events.

The largest-ever study of racial and ethnic differences in men with melanoma showed that men with skin of color had the worst survival. (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology)

New data suggest that even low-level alcohol consumption can increase the risk of chronic diseases, including cancer. (Alcohol Clinical & Experimental Research)

Doubling down on resistance to the HHS plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, Merck has submitted a request for a summary judgment — a ruling without a trial — in its previously filed lawsuit. (Seeking Alpha)