Trending News Today: Regulators to Review Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Patent

Highmark Inc is suing the federal government on claims they failed to pay almost $223 million owed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) risk corridors program. The goal of the program was to limit the financial risks borne by insurers that entered the new health law markets, reported The Wall Street Journal. However, the suit claims that the mandatory risk corridor payment obligations prescribed in the health law were violated. “All we’re asking is for the federal government to do what they promised,” said David Holmberg, chief executive of Highmark Health.

Novartis’ announcement to separate its cancer unit from the rest of the pharmaceuticals business came with that additional news that David Epstein, head of pharmaceuticals, will depart from the company. According to The Wall Street Journal, Epstein’s decision to leave the company was so he could explore new challenges from the United States. The restructuring comes after declining sales of the cancer drug Gleevec, which lost exclusivity earlier this year. A Novartis spokesman states the restructuring would help simplify decision-making within the cancer unit.

Federal regulators from the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed to review a patent for AbbVie Inc’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, reported The Wall Street Journal. The decision to review Humira came from a petition of AbbVie’s rival Coherus BioSciences, Inc. The decision lowered the shares of AbbVie, while increasing those of Coherus BioSciences.