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In a closely watched meeting, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted against proceeding with a study to examine pharmacy benefit managers and how their controversial practices affect independent and specialty pharmacy operations. The decision came after impassioned testimony from numerous pharmacy owners who complained about problems with reimbursement, contract transparency, and assorted fees, among other issues. But the four commissioners deadlocked in a 2-to-2 tie over a last-minute effort to broaden the study to look at rebates collected by pharmacy benefit managers for negotiating coverage of prescription medicines. (Silverman, 2/17)

On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission voted 2-2 against studying how the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers effect independent pharmacies. Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson, who were both appointed by former President Donald Trump, voted against the study, arguing it should be more focused on consumers. The vote came after nearly two hours of testimony from independent pharmacies and advocates who claimed that PBM business practices have hurt their businesses and led to closures across the country. No one testified on the behalf of PBMs. (Hellmann, 2/17)

An over-the-counter pharmaceutical company is expanding its facilities in North Carolina and adding nearly 400 jobs, officials said Thursday. News outlets report BestCo LLC is investing another $177 million in expanding its Mooresville facilities, according to an announcement from the Iredell County Economic Development Corporation and state officials. (2/17)

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new drug from Agios Pharmaceuticals to treat people with a rare form of anemia. The Agios drug, mitapivat, is the first approved treatment for pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare, inherited disorder that results in the rapid destruction of red blood cells. Given as a pill, mitapivat is designed to activate an enzyme called pyruvate kinase-R that red blood cells use to convert sugars into energy. PK deficiency affects approximately 3,000 people in the U.S. (Feuerstein, 2/17)

Of all the wily ways tumors have to turn back attacks from therapies or the immune system, an immune protein called TGF-beta may be one of the most curious. In healthy tissues, it can trigger pre-cancerous cells to kill themselves, and helps the body heal from wounds. But cancer cells can take control of TGF-beta and use it to disable the immune system, protect itself, and spread across the body. That’s made it an alluring target for cancer researchers, who are keen to turn the tables on TGF-beta and use it to break down tumor defenses and, in turn, make cancer immunotherapy drugs more effective in more patients. (Chen, 2/17)

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and a group of states have not been able to agree on a multibillion-dollar settlement of lawsuits over the drug's role in the opioid crisis after more than a month of mediation. A mediator could call for still more talks between the parties, Purdue lawyer Marshall Huebner said at a hearing Thursday, indicating there could be a call for further mediation. (Mulvihill, 2/17)

Dr. Carlton Haywood Jr., an assistant professor in the Berman Institute of Bioethics and in the division of hematology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, died Dec. 31 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Baltimore resident was 45. A cause of death was unavailable... “For the first three years of his life, Dr. Haywood screamed so often and so terribly that his parents, Carlton Sr. and Harriett Haywood, thought they must be doing something wrong,” according to a 2013 Baltimore Sun profile of him. “By 1979, when his sister Tammy was born, they had moved to Alabama, a state that mandated sickle cell testing for all newborns. She didn’t have the disease but carried some traits, so doctors suggested they test their son.” (Rasmussen, 2/18)