Trending News Today: Study Links Opioid Marketing to Rise in Overdose Deaths

Walmart will remain in CVS Health’s prescription drug network following a dispute over reimbursement, the Associated Press reported. The new agreement comes after CVS announced that Walmart was leaving the pharmacy network after the 2 companies failed to come to an agreement on pricing. According to the article, CVS executive Derica Rice said in a statement that the companies had reached a “mutually agreeable solution” that would allow customers with pharmacy benefits managed by CVS Health’s Caremark business to have their prescriptions filled at Walmart locations.

A new study links opioid-related marketing to an increase in opioid overdose deaths, Kaiser Health News reported. According to the article, the study found that for each 3 additional payments made to physicians per 100,000 individuals in a US county, opioid overdoses were up 18%. The study also showed that drugmakers spent nearly $40 million from August 1, 2013, until the end of 2015 on marketing to 67,500 physicians across the country, the article reported.

AbbVie Inc announced its pancreatic cancer treatment Imbruvica failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage study, Reuters reported. According to the article, Imbruvica failed to show a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival or overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer compared with the combination of placebo and 2 chemotherapy agents. Imbruvica is currently approved by the FDA in 6 disease areas with 9 treatment indications, the article reported.