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Generic drugs may remain lower-cost alternatives to brand-name medicines, but the Medicare Part D program could have saved roughly $1.7 billion in 2017 if doctors and patients had actively opted for these copycat treatments, a new study finds. (Silverman, 3/4)

Eli Lilly said Thursday that a study showed its experimental diabetes drug, tirzepatide, reduced patients’ blood sugar and body weight more than a rival medicine, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic. Investors had been nervously awaiting the result, which was reported in a press release. (Herper, 3/4)

Earlier this year, amid the increasingly bruising debate over Biogen’s controversial treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, Eli Lilly issued a six-paragraph press release extolling the promise of an under-the-radar therapy of its own — one that, if effective, would seem to support Biogen’s claims as well. Now the world is about to see detailed data that will illuminate whether Lilly’s work offers reason for hope after years of frustration — or more equivocal evidence in the search for a treatment to slow the mental decline that marks Alzheimer’s. (Garde, 3/5)

Ovid Therapeutics, months removed from a crushing clinical trial disappointment, said Wednesday that it is trading its most promising drug for enough cash to fund its ambitions in rare neurological diseases. (Garde, 3/3)

Kronos Bio said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration for a unique, late-stage clinical trial that will accelerate the development — and potentially the approval — of its drug for patients with a genetically defined type of leukemia. To demonstrate the efficacy of the drug, called entospletinib, Kronos will use highly sensitive sequencing tests to confirm undetectable levels of leukemic cells in patients. Achieving a negative finding for “measurable residual disease” is associated with longer remission and improved survival. (Feuerstein, 3/4)

Amgen said Thursday it will purchase Five Prime Therapeutics for $1.9 billion to obtain a potential treatment for gastric cancer, a move that will also expand the biotech giant’s focus in Asia. The deal represents a major victory for Five Prime, which traded as low as $2.17 last March. The company’s stock jumped in November, when key results from a study of its gastric cancer drug, bemarituzumab, were released, and have continued to rise since. (Herper, 3/4)

Marlboro parent Altria is asking the Food and Drug Administration to help it spread the word that nicotine doesn’t cause cancer. CNBC on Thursday obtained a copy of a letter Altria sent to the FDA asking the agency to help get the message out about nicotine as part of a proposed advertising campaign on the risks of tobacco use. (Tsai, 3/4)