51ÊÓƵ

Eleven health systems and the group purchasing organization Premier have acquired a stake in a specialty pharmaceutical company to ensure steady supplies of key drugs. The group now owns a minority stake in Exela Holdings, the holding company of Exela Pharma Sciences, which makes proprietary and generic sterile injectable products. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Bannow, 9/8)

French drug maker Sanofi said Wednesday that it will acquire Kadmon Pharmaceuticals for $1.9 billion, bolstering its transplant medicines business with a newly approved treatment for graft-versus-host disease. The all-cash transaction sees Kadmon shares worth $9.50 per share, or a 79% premium to Tuesday’s closing price. (Feuerstein, 9/8)

As a top-selling drug worldwide, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis is a major target for generic players looking to steal branded sales. But with a new court win, the partners are set for many more years of exclusivity in the lucrative U.S. market. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a prior win for the companies covering two Eliquis patents—the drug’s composition of matter patent and a 51ÊÓƵtion patent. While the case is subject to another potential appeal, this appeals win sets the companies up to retain U.S. exclusivity until April 1, 2028. (Sagonowsky, 9/7)

KHN: KHN Quiz: Drug Or Not A Drug? 

Face it: Drug names can be kooky. And Comirnaty — the brand-new brand name for the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine — is a candidate for the kookiest. Who hasn’t stumbled over names of prescription drugs, even those you take daily, when put on the spot by a doctor or pharmacist? Take this tongue-in-cheek quiz to see how many brand-name drug names you can pick out from the decoys. (Byrne, 9/6)