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New research boosts hope that a highly anticipated, experimental class of cholesterol drugs can greatly lower the risk for heart attacks, death and other heart-related problems. The government will decide this summer whether to allow two of these drugs on the market. (Marchione, 3/16)

This year so far, only nine people have been approved for Sovaldi, racking up a bill of $264,927 for the state [of Illinois] in January and February. Meanwhile, 39 Medicaid patients were approved to receive Harvoni, the other promising Hep-C drug from Gilead, at a cost of roughly $1.8 million over that same time period, according to the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services. (Pianin and Ehley, 3/17)

In what the federal government says is the largest such settlement ever reached, Sandoz has agreed to pay $12.64 million to resolve allegations that it misrepresented pricing data on medicines that were provided to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (Silverman, 3/16)