Podcasts about valeant pharmaceuticals

Mohnish Pabrai's Guest Lecture at UNO's Maverick Investment Club on October 15, 2024. (00:00:00) - Introduction (00:02:02) - Charlie Munger: Costco (00:05:35) - Warren's rejection of opportunities on moral grounds (00:08:27) - Conwood Chewing Tobacco (00:13:52) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals (00:18:10) - Credit Acceptance (00:23:58) - TransDigm (00:30:23) - Berkshire's investment in Gen Re (00:32:38) - Charlie Munger is irreplaceable (00:36:18) - Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffett (00:37:44) - Early start to investing journey (00:40:17) - My daughter's introduction to compounding and investing (00:45:01) - Blackstone (00:45:59) - My journey to investing (00:51:15) - Poor Charlie's Almanack (00:53:13) - Advice for beginners; Be a harsh grader  The contents of this website are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and do not purport to be, and are not intended to be, financial, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice. Investments or strategies that are discussed may not be suitable for you, do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and are not intended to provide investment advice or recommendations appropriate for you. Before making any investment or trade, consider whether it is suitable for you and consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.  

Synopsis: In this episode of Biotech2050, host Alok Tayi engages in a profound conversation with Craig Chambliss, CEO and co-founder of Neurellis, delving into their strategic advancements in precision therapies for CNS diseases. Chambliss shares his journey, highlighting his finance and accounting background and pivotal roles in pharmaceutical companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Alza Pharmaceuticals. His passion for impactful drug delivery technologies led to the launch of life-changing products, including an intranasal diazepam program for seizure emergencies, ultimately culminating in the founding of Neurellis in 2008. With the approval of their product Altoco in 2020, Neurellis addressed unmet needs in the epilepsy market, emphasizing the significance of a passionate team and a foundational product for successful clinical trials and market access. The conversation emphasizes the importance of precision therapies in the CNS space, collaboration for innovative solutions, and the potential of Neurellis' pipeline in addressing severe epileptic encephalopathies. Chambliss's insights into the strategic management of a biotech company, the utilization of platform technologies, and the evolving landscape of the biotech industry offer compelling takeaways for biotech executives seeking strategic insights. This episode provides a valuable opportunity to gain strategic insights into precision therapies for CNS diseases and the journey of a successful biotech company. Biography: Craig Chambliss' 30-year tenure in the biopharma and drug delivery sectors has largely specialized in rare diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and epilepsy. As the co-founder, CEO, and President of Neurelis, he has orchestrated the company's growth, securing over $300M in funding and guiding its evolution into a fully integrated organization, spanning from early-stage development to commercialization. Before his current role at Neurelis, Mr. Chambliss played a key part in reshaping NextWave Pharmaceuticals into a CNS-focused entity, serving as its Chief Business Officer. Under his leadership, NextWave secured $45M in Series C financing and was later acquired by Pfizer in a deal value exceeding $700M in 2012. Prior to NextWave, he also helped rebuild Questcor Pharmaceuticals as a CNS-focused organization, where he led commercial operations supporting the relaunch of Acthar® Gel for the treatment of a rare epilepsy disorder in pediatric patients. Mr. Chambliss's pharmaceutical journey began in sales at Bristol Myers Squibb and continued through various roles at Alza Pharmaceuticals and Elan Pharmaceuticals. In 2001, he helped launch Xcel Pharmaceuticals, a CNS startup focusing on epilepsy treatment, leading to a successful acquisition by Valeant Pharmaceuticals in 2005 for $280M. His academic foundation includes Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Accounting from Missouri State University.

Dr. Robert Seik is known for his cutting edge and forward-thinking solutions to traditional medical treatment challenges. He owns and operates the Partell Independent Compounding Pharmacy in Las Vegas, NV, which is the preferred independent pharmacy partner of The Wellness Company. Dr. Seik has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries working with national networks of research physicians for companies including Schering-Plough, InterMune, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. During his career Dr. Seik was involved in the research and marketing of novel agents for the treatment of various infectious diseases, endocrine, and immune disorders. Huge thank you to The Wellness Company for connecting us to have this meaningful conversation. Learn more about The Wellness Company and enjoy a discount on their products and services by going to https://www.twc.health/freemind.

Dr. Robert Seik is known for his cutting edge and forward-thinking solutions to traditional medical treatment challenges. He owns and operates the Partell Independent Compounding Pharmacy in Las Vegas, NV, which is the preferred independent pharmacy partner of The Wellness Company. Dr. Seik has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries working with national networks of research physicians for companies including Schering-Plough, InterMune, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. During his career Dr. Seik was involved in the research and marketing of novel agents for the treatment of various infectious diseases, endocrine, and immune disorders. Huge thank you to The Wellness Company for connecting us to have this meaningful conversation. Learn more about The Wellness Company and enjoy a discount on their products and services by going to https://www.twc.health/freemind.

I'm at the funeral of a friend who drank himself to death.I was not the only one who warned him. Alcoholics are notorious deniers and have decades to save themselves before their liver goes. At some point, they have nothing left to do but die. Jim signed up for hospice, and they killed him within five hours using intravenous sedatives.* Hospices are paid a fixed fee for care that can last between a few hours and a month.** For my friend, all they had to do was make his bed, start an IV, put his body on a gurney, and wheel it to the morgue. It is a profitable business model if you have a taste for it, and Jim knew the score because he was once a nursing home administrator. *This is a common enough practice with COVID patients, but he did not have that.**This is close, but not exactly how it works. The following might be TMI (Too Much Information). In California, physician-administered intravenous drugs for suicide were frowned upon until recently. Terminal patients had to somehow swallow 100 secobarbital capsules (or their contents mixed with syrup) through dry mouths and then struggle to avoid barfing. Although this medication was invented in the 1930s, Valeant Pharmaceuticals recently managed to re-patent it. They charge $3000-$7000 for a fatal dose that should cost only a few dollars.As I reflected on my friend, I realized that our relationship was the story of my life. Even when I was prancing around my office in a white coat seeing patients, they were nearly all already sure what they needed. Thousands of people passed by me, and they mostly ignored whatever I said.I do not advocate blindly following anyone's words or knowledge. Everyone must come to their hard personal truths. But if you listen only to your biases, you are playing Russian Roulette with your health—and everything else. Although a lot of what physicians believe is wrong, and cynicism about them is justified, ignore them entirely at your peril. Changing your mind is painful, but dying is worse.I am not a sage, a guru, or an original thinker. All my insights are derivative of others' work and hard-won after years of dogged study. Any art I bring is simple synthesis, and I share everything I learn in real time. This endears me to some but is hard on those closest to me. I am an acquired taste for most.And so I am a Cassandra. My failures include the following:I was willing to torch my relationship with my kids to warn them about the COVID vax, but I had little influence. My wife knew the score but refused to tell them anything. They took the jab several times each and are finally smelling the rat. My prayer is that they all received placebos or near-placebos. The chances of this were 199/200 each time they spun the wheel, but by the end, they would have been safer if they each had open heart surgery. It is on me if they are infertile or die young of cancer, heart disease, or neurological problems. Three of my close friends dropped dead within a week after getting the vax. They thought my warnings were political and paid the price. For more see here:  https://robertyoho.substack.com/p/211-people-do-not-freaking-listen#detailsSupport the show

In today's episode of The No Limits Selling Podcast, we have Vanessa Oake Hogan, Broker/Owner at CENTURY 21 United Realty Inc. Brokerage. Guest Bio: Vanessa is the Broker/Owner of her family business, CENTURY 21 United Realty. She holds a Commerce Degree from McMaster University. She has had the great opportunity of working for Loblaw Companies, Summit Foods and Valeant Pharmaceuticals in various roles including Human Resources, Union Management Relations, Project Management, Marketing, Merchandising and Sales. Vanessa was a stay-at-home mom for 8 years. She feels the combination of all of those experiences has led her to where she is today.  She is passionate about the Real Estate Industry. Vanessa has been invigorated by the role she plays at her office. She feels grateful to work with such an amazing management team, support staff and sales representatives. She loves the CENTURY 21 brand and all it offers as well as the family that comes with it. She plans on maintaining what her father has worked so hard to build over a period of almost 50 years. It is also her intention to be a progressive, forward-thinking organization that provides her business partners with all of the tools necessary to not only succeed but to thrive in this business and create their best life possible. Find Vanessa Oake Hogan: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram [EDITOR'S NOTE: This podcast is sponsored by No Limits Selling. It is a fun, fast-paced podcast that delivers hard-fought business advice that you can implement today to improve your sales and performance] Interested In Our Real Estate Coaching Services? Explore Our Website: Link Feeling Not Well Today? You Can Use Our Mindset Boosters App To amp Up Your Mood: Link Find us on Social Media: LinkedIn | Facebook community | Instagram Like what do you listen to? Subscribe to our podcast! Ready to become fearless? We can help you become fearless in 60 days so you accomplish more in your career Schedule A 15 min Call with Umar

Cindy Eckert is a highly regarded entrepreneur, a strong advocate for female entrepreneurship, a pharmaceutical leader and one of the few women to have ever sold a company for a billion dollars. The New York Times called her pharmaceutical product the “drug of a generation” and Fortune called her a “tireless force of nature.” Associates of hers call her unapologetically pink.Over a distinguished 24-year career in healthcare, she started and sold two businesses for more than $1.5 billion. Having co-founded and sold Slate Pharmaceuticals, which redefined long lasting testosterone treatment for men, she launched Sprout Pharmaceuticals immediately thereafter. As Co-Founder & CEO of Sprout, the company broke through with the first ever FDA-approved drug for low sexual desire in women named Addyi — dubbed “female Viagra” by the media. In 2015, Cindy sold the company to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1b cash.  Everyone that was a part of the original Slate team was gifted shares in Sprout.Shortly after the sale, Valeant became the subject of media scrutiny for the rampant price inflation of their drugs and an SEC investigation related to accounting practices. Not one to sit idly by, Cindy negotiated to reacquire Addyi at no cost, in order to properly launch it into marketplace on her own terms. Not only did she reacquire the drug, she also secured a $25m loan from Valeant to fund initial operating expenses.Today, Cindy is focused on mentoring, investing in, launching and building other women-led or focused businesses. In 2016, she opened the doors to The Pink Ceiling — a cross between a VC firm, a ‘pinkubator,' and a consulting enterprise — where she is CEO.  At The Pink Ceiling, she has personally invested $15m across 10 different health tech companies at various stages of development.Cindy's work has been featured in countless major publications including The New York Times, Fast Company, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS, Fox, Yahoo and on the cover feature of Entrepreneur Magazine. Cindy has been an invited speaker at Fortune's Most Powerful Women, the Fast Company Innovation Festival, Ad Week, Inc. Magazine, and many more. She is on a mission to speak to as many women as possible about what it takes to achieve breakthrough business success. It's no surprise that JJ Ramberg, the host of MSNBC's Your Business says that “Cindy is one of our favorite guests. Though she has reached a level of success as a founder that most can only dream of, she is incredibly relatable and honest about what it takes to run a business.  She offers the perfect combination of inspiration and advice and it's hard to come away from listening to Cindy speak without wanting to hear more.”https://thepinkceiling.com/ Podcast Link: https://link.chtbl.com/FemTechFocusSocial HandlesLinkedin: @FemTech Focus @Brittany BarretoTwitter: @Femtech_Focus @DrBrittBInstagram: @FemTechFocus @DrBrittanyBarretoFacebook: @FemTech Focus @Dr. Brittany BarretoFemTech Focus Bio:FemTech Focus is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded to bring awareness externally and internally for the FemTech industry and to empower the key stakeholders including entrepreneurs, investors, physicians, governments, and biopharma with resources and research to elevate women's health and wellness globally. Subscribe and Donate: www.femtechfocus.orgFemTech Focus Podcast Description:The FemTech Focus Podcast with Dr. Brittany Barreto is a meaningfully provocative conversational series that brings women's health experts - including doctors, scientists, inventors, and founders - on air to talk about the innovative technology, services, and products that are improving women, female, and girl's health and wellness, collectively known as FemTech. The podcast gives the host, Dr. Brittany Barreto, and guests an engaging, friendly environment to learn about the past, present, and future of women's health and wellness.  

It was a somewhat ordinary day for David Pyott, the CEO of Allergan, back in April 2014. That is until his eyes glanced over at the TV screen in his office, where he learned that billionaire hedge fund manager and activist investor Bill Ackman was about to back the takeover of his company by way of a hostile takeover. The acquirer was none other than the infamous and controversial pharmaceutical company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Valeant was a Wall Street darling and one of Canada's largest companies. So why and how did this transaction lead to Valeant's downfall only a year later? Listen to Episode 53 of The Great Fail to hear the story. Special thanks to Joe Nocera for his contributions to this segment. Valeant Pharma Sources The rise and fall of Valeant Pharmaceuticals The Roll-Up Racket What Valeant's fall from grace can teach the drug industry THE VALEANT MELTDOWN AND WALL STREET'S MAJOR DRUG PROBLEM Valeant CEO didn't tell investors real story about sales growth Explaining Valeant: The Main Theories A Buried Scandal, Shedding Of Assets, And Forthcoming Spinoff Means Substantial Upside For Bausch Health The Demise of Valeant Pharmaceuticals: A Case Study in Rotten Culture and Business Ethics Valeant Makes Hostile Bid For Allergan Inside A Hostile Takeover: The Allergan-Valeant War Wikipedia: Milan Panić Special Guest: Joe Nocera, Business Columnist at Bloomberg Joe Nocera is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He has written business columns for Esquire, GQ and the New York Times, and is the former editorial director of Fortune. He is the host and writer of the Bloomberg-Wondery podcast "The Shrink Next Door." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul is the CEO & Co-founder of Locus Biosciences. With a career that spans manufacturing, research & development, information technology and corporate transformations, Paul brings a broad range of experience and capability to deliver on the Locus vision. Prior to Locus, Paul was Chief Technology Officer at Patheon Pharmaceuticals and also held the role of Global Head of Operations for Patheon's Pharmaceuticals Development Services business unit. Paul previously served as Global Head of Manufacturing and Chief Information Officer at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, amount other roles. Paul was a Visiting Professor at North Carolina State University's Poole College of Management and volunteered as an executive-in-residence for the HiTEC Graduate Program, NCSU's Entrepreneurship Collaborative, where he identified the technology that would form the basis for Locus. Paul earned a BSBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

This week includes former Valeant/Bausch investors bring fraudulent transfer claims in NJ; Talen bonds plunge; analysis of US credits with heavy exposure to Russia/Ukraine; Incora reaches deal on uptier exchange.

Locus Biosciences CEO Paul Garofolo built his biotech leadership career on the back of an MIS degree, having learned the business from the inside out via the tentacles of the IT networks at companies including Genentech, The Broadlane Group, Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Patheon. On today's episode of the Business of Biotech, Garofolo shares how a technologist's approach has helped shape the effort to develop precision therapeutics for infectious diseases at Locus, the company's decision to build its own cGMP manufacturing facility in Research Triangle, and the massive business opportunity the field addresses in the effort to overcome antibiotic resistance. 

Brent Saunders has over 25 years of experience in various aspects of healthcare and has been in leadership roles at several prominent global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Until May 2020, when it was acquired by AbbVie Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $63 billion, Mr. Saunders served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Allergan plc. His role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Allergan began in July 2014 and his added role of Chairman began in October 2016. Mr. Saunders first role as an executive officer in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors began in 2003, as a member of the executive management team at Schering-Plough Corporation, where he held several key roles, including President of the company’s Global Consumer Health Care division. While at Schering-Plough, Mr. Saunders led the integrations of the company’s $14 billion acquisition of Organon Biosciences N.V in 2007 as well as the merger between Schering-Plough and Merck & Co., Inc. in 2009. From March 2010 until August 2013, Mr. Saunders served as Chief Executive Officer of Bausch + Lomb Incorporated, a leading global eye health company, until its acquisition by Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2013. He then became the Chief Executive Officer of Forest Laboratories Inc., a role he held until the company’s merger with Actavis plc in 2014. Following the merger with Actavis, Mr. Saunders was named Chief Executive Officer of the combined business. In 2015, he led Actavis’ acquisition of Allergan, renaming the combined company Allergan Plc. Learn more about Vesper Health: https://www.vesperhealth.com/ Follow Brent Saunders on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brentlsaunders/?hl=en Follow Brent Saunders on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brentlsaunders - Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/casey

Aly v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals

Valeant Pharmaceuticals v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals

Five years on from a now legendary short of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a bet that brought a $90 billion company to its knees - and which has since been documented in the critically acclaimed Netflix series, Dirty Money - I'm catching up with Fahmi Quadir, the 29 year-old short-seller shaking up Wall Street. 2020 brings with it a new foe, Wirecard, a German payments company currently embroiled in a market manipulation probe, and one that's been firmly in Quadir's crosshairs since the start of 2018.I ask how Fahmi identifies these high-conviction bets; how she battles discrimination in an industry marred by inequality; and which fraudulent, unethical business is next on her hit list.Want further Opto insights? Check out our daily newsletter:https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/opto/newsletter

Fahmi Quadir ascended to fame in 2015 when she played a pivotal role among investors shorting Valeant Pharmaceuticals. She appeared on Netflix's Dirty Money series in 2018, discussing her successful short position against the company. At the time, Fahmi was an analyst at Krensavage Asset Management. Her concentrated, aggressive short book of fraudulent healthcare and biotechnology companies that she developed at Krensavage propelled her towards launching her own short-only fund in 2017. She was 27 years old. Safkhet Capital, where Fahmi is founder and CIO, is a concentrated, short-only fund focused on identifying and exposing fraudulent companies and companies with misleading business practices. Safkhet achieves this via diligent investigative research, unblinking defiance in the face of opposition, and a strong propensity for moral justice. Fahmi's penchant for sniffing out and acting against fraud has even earned her the nickname, "the assassin." And as she describes in this episode, "It's not uncommon for me to be in a room with executives and then they start sweating—even if I'm not saying anything." She attributes much of her drive to her upbringing, and the sacrifice her parents made for her in moving to the US from Bangladesh. Born and raised on Long Island, Fahmi Quadir graduated in mathematics and biology from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. Her rigorous STEM background and love of mathematics has shaped her approach to the world and markets.

WTF Moments: The pharmaceutical and health product industry is by far the biggest spender in terms of lobbying American politicians. Collectively they have spent more than $3.1 billion dollars attempting to influence our elected lawmakers- I wonder what their expense reports look like...9 out of 10 pharmaceutical companies spend more than twice as much on marketing and advertising than research and development. In extreme cases, pharmaceutical companies have raised their prices over 1,000% - In 2015, Valeant Pharmaceuticals raised the price of their drug Daraprim over 5,000%.Halitosis was invented by Listerine. The son of the owner came up with the plan in order to increase direct sales to consumers- they shamed you so hard. Have y’all seen these Listerine ads? They are amazing. According to TIME Magazine- The price of 60 prescription drugs doubled during a recent 12-month span, and prices for 20 of these medications at least quadrupled.Prescription drug spending hit $425 billion in the U.S. last year, before discounting, and the total is expected to reach $640 billion by 2020, according to data from IMS Health Incorporated. Check out our website!Contact us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/join/cocktailsandconspiracies?)

Porter gets immediately to the heart of Netflix’s recent woes in this 60th episode of Stansberry Investor Hour. It may have 100 million subscribers (including Porter) but the $163 billion company could be doomed thanks to one simple corporate calculation. “I have yet to call for the end of Netflix… but I can see the ending on the horizon.” Buck asks about Elon Musk’s head-scratching decision to call a British rescue diver he didn’t know a “pedo” and Porter explains the method to his madness. When your whole career is a “Wizard of Oz” style act, you want people talking about anything, even outrageous behavior, before they look at your balance sheets. Buck introduces Roddy Boyd, an independent journalist who not only eschews advertisers but also paid subscribers, choosing to distribute his findings for free. His Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation has exposed some of the biggest abuses on Wall Street since 2012, and head’s been credited by New York Magazine for exposing “perhaps the worst Ponzi scheme ever.” Now he has a new warning about a company masquerading as a promising pharmaceutical company and head’s ready to explain how he knows it could be the next Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which he was working to expose in 2014, when the high-flying stock was still fooling thousands of investors.  What’s truly amazing - and what makes Porter “slightly suspicious“ - is that this incredible research, which could have made hedge funds fortunes from shorting the paper tigers Boyd uncovers, is being offered to readers for free. We think, after the epic fraud Boyd has uncovered that was often hiding in plain sight, you won’t want to miss his latest warning.

In episode 8, presented by LawVu, hear from Chad Hallberg of Valeant Pharaceuticals, a $9 billion, international pharma company that, until Chad joined the firm less than two years ago, didn't have an organized legal operations function. Chad talks about building the operations function from scratch, implementing matter management tools so that the legal team has real data to work from, and how he has a strong, and growing, seat at the table when it comes to selecting outside counsel.

Rene Thomas Folse, JD, Ph.D. is the host for this edition which reports on the following news stories. California Settles with Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1.875M, 30 California Counties Join Opiate Litigation, U.S. Attorneys Sue California Stem Cell Treatment Center, Security Company Owner Arrested for $3.2M Fraud, Michael E. Barri D.C. Sentenced to One Year in Prison, Feds Provide Example of Fleshing Out Kickbacks, DWC to Amend Med-Legal Fee Schedule, Walmart and Sam's Club Impose Opioid Prescription Fill Limits, Former Zenefits CEO Surrenders Insurance License, Commercial Lines Premiums Increase - Except for Comp.

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A lively discussion of the sometimes-lengthy wait for investment ideas to come to fruition 1:53 #GE in 1990 7:50 Mortgage #bonds in 2006 11:52 Valeant #Pharmaceuticals in 2014 Subscribe to Grant’s Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, iHeart Radio and Google Play Music. Grant’s Interest Rate Observer is available at http://www.grantspub.com

The much-maligned company is making progress on its restructuring plan, but it's not out of the woods yet. Plus, why Keryx Pharmaceuticals shares tumbled despite winning an FDA approval that more than doubles its addressable market.

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Former Congressman Tom Price is our new Secretary of Health and Human Services, making him the chief law enforcement officer of health care policy in the United States. In this episode, hear highlights from his Senate confirmation hearings as we search for clues as to the Republican Party plans for repealing the Affordable Care Act. We also examine the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law in December. Please support Congressional Dish: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD048: The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) CD123: Health or Profits Bill Outline H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act Bill Highlights Title I: Innovation Projects & State Response to Opioid Abuse Authorizes funding for research programs, if money is appropriated Authorizes $1 billion for grants for States to deal with the opioid abuse crisis The effects of this spending on the Pay as you Go budget will not be counted Title II: Discovery Creates privacy protections for people who participate as subjects in medical research studies Orders the Secretary of Health and Human Services to a do a review of reporting regulations for researchers in search of regulations to cut, including regulations on reporting financial conflicts of interest and research animal care. Allows contractors to collect payments on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Title III: Development Gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services additional data options for approving drug applications Expedites the review process for new "regenerative advanced therapy" drugs, which includes drugs "intended to treat, modify, reverse or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition" or is a therapy that involves human cells. Allows antibacterial and antifungal drugs to be approved after only being tested on a "limited population" The drugs will have have a "Limited Population" label Speeds up the FDA approval process for new medical devices that help with life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating conditions and that have no existing alternatives. Devices addressing rare diseases or conditions are allowed be approved with lower standards for effectiveness; this provision expands the definition of "rare" by doubling the number of people affected from 4,000 to 8,000. Each FDA employee involved in drug approvals will get training for how to make their reviews least burdensome. Title IV: Delivery The new Secretary of Health and Human Services will have to develop a strategy to "reduce regulatory and administrative burdens (such as doucmentation requirements) relating to the use of electronic health records" Prohibits health information technology developers from certification if their system allows information blocking. Developers, networks, or exchanges caught blocking information can be fined $1 million per violation. "Public-private partnerships" will develop the rules for exchanging health record information. Creates a job in the Medicare & Medicaid Services department for an investigator of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer complaints. Title V: Savings Reduced funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund Sells more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Title VII: Ensuring Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Programs Keep Pace With Technology Authorizes money to be used for mental health services and substance abuse treatment Title IX: Promoting Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Care Creates a telephone and online service to help people locate mental health services and substance abuse treatment centers. Title XIV: Mental health and safe communities Creates a pilot program to test the idea of having court cases with mentally ill defendants heard in "drug or mental health courts" Title XVII: Other Medicare Provisions Prevents the government from canceling contracts with Medicare Advantage organizations due to their failure to achieve a minimum quality rating before 2019. Additional Reading Article: Trump's HHS Nominee Got A Sweetheart Deal From A Foreign Biotech Firm by Jay Hancock and Rachel Bluth, Kaiser Health News, February 13, 2017. Article: Tom Price belongs to a doctors group with unorthodox views on government and health care by Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post, February 9, 2017. Article: New stock questions plague HHS nominee Tom Price as confirmation vote nears by Jayne O'Donnell, USA Today, February 8, 2017. Article: HHS Pick Price Made 'Brazen' Stock Trades While His Committee Was Under Scrutiny by Marisa Taylor and Christina Jewett, Kaiser Health News, February 7, 2017. Article: Tom Price, Dr. Personal Enrichment by David Leonhardt, The New York Times, February 7, 2017. Article: Donald Trump's Cabinet Pick Invested in 6 Drug Companies Before Medicare Fight by Sam Frizell, TIME, January 17, 2017. Article: First on CNN: Trump's Cabinet pick invested in company, then introduced a bill to help it by Manu Raju, CNN, January 17, 2017. Publication: How Repealing Portions of the Affordable Care Act Would Affect Health Insurance Coverage and Premiums, Congressional Budget Office, January 17, 2017. Article: Under 21st Century Cures legislation, stem cell advocates expect regulatory shortcuts by Kelly Servick, Science, December 12, 2016. Article: Highlights of Medical Device Related Provision in the 21st Century Cures Act by Jeffrey K. Shapiro and Jennifer D. Newberger, FDA Law Blog, December 8, 2016. Article: Republicans reach deal to pass Cures Act by end of year, but Democrats pushing for changes by Sheila Kaplan, STAT, November 27, 2016. Article: Introduction to Budget "Reconciliation" by David Reich and Richard Kogan, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 9, 2016. Article: PhRMA companies push hard on House bill to ease testing of new drugs by Alex Lazar, OpenSecrets.org, June 16, 2015. References Financial Disclosure: Periodic Transaction Report: Thomas Price, United States House of Representatives, September 6, 2016. OpenSecrets: Senator Mitch McConnell 42 U.S. Code: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Cornell University Law School. Senate Vote: H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act Innate Immunotherapeutics:Top 20 Shareholders Innate Immunotherapeutics: Company Overview GovTrack: H.R. 4848 (114th): HIP Act Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Health and Human Services Secretary Confirmation, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, January 18, 2017 (Part 1) and January 24, 2017 (Part 2). Watch on CSPAN Part 1 Part 2 Timestamps & Transcripts Part 1 47:45 Senator Patty Murray: I want to review the facts. You purchased stock in Innate Immunotherapeutics, a company working to develop new drugs, on four separate occasions between January 2015 and August 2016. You made the decision to purchase that stock, not a broker. Yes or no. Tom Price: That was a decision that I made, yes. Murray: You were offered an opportunity to purchase stock at a lower price than was available to the general public. Yes or no. Price: The initial purchase in January of 2015 was at the market price. The secondary purchase in June through August, September of 2016 was at a price that was available to individuals who were participating in a private-placement offering. Murray:It was lower than was available to the general public, correct? Price: I don’t know that it was. It was the same price that everybody paid for the private-placement offering. Murray: Well, Congressman Chris Collins, who sits on President-elect Trump’s transition team, is both an investor and a board member of the company. He was reportedly overheard just last week off the House floor, bragging about how he had made people millionaires from a stock tip. Congressman Price, in our meeting, you informed me that you made these purchases based on conversations with Representative Collins. Is that correct? Price: No. What I— Murray: Well, that is what you said to me in my office. Price: What I believe I said to you was that I learned of the company from Congressman Collins. Murray: What I recall our conversation was that you had a conversation with Collins and then decided to purchase the stock. Price: No, that’s not correct. Murray: Well, that is what I remember you hearing it—say—in my office. In that conversation, did Representative Collins tell you anything that could be considered “a stock tip?” Yes or no. Price: I don’t believe so, no. Murray: Well, if you’re telling me he gave you information about a company, you were offered shares in the company at prices not available to the public, you bought those shares, is that not a stock tip? Price: Well, that’s not what happened. What happened was that he mentioned—he talked about the company and the work that they were doing in trying to solve the challenge of progressive secondary multiple sclerosis which is a very debilitating disease and one that I— Murray: I’m well aware of that, but— Price: —had the opportunity to treat patients when I was in practice. Murray: I’m aware— Price: I studied the company for a period of time and felt that it had some significant merit and promise, and purchased the initial shares on the stock exchange itself. Murray: Congressman Price, I have very limited time. Let me go on. Your purchases occurred while the 21st Century Cures Act, which had several provisions that could impact drug developers like Innate Immunotherapeutics, was being negotiated, and, again, just days before you were notified to prepare for a final vote on the bill. Congressman, do you believe it is appropriate for a senior member of Congress actively involved in policymaking in the health sector to repeatedly personally invest in a drug company that could benefit from those actions? Yes or no. Price: Well, that's not what happened. 1:06:50 Senator Bernie Sanders: The United States of America is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee healthcare to all people as a right. Canada does it; every major country in Europe does it. Do you believe that healthcare is a right of all Americans, whether they’re rich or they’re poor? Should people, because they are Americans, be able to go to the doctor when they need to, be able to go into a hospital, because they are Americans? Tom Price: Yes. We’re a compassionate society— Sanders: No, we are not a compassionate society. In terms of our relationship to poor and working people, our record is worse than virtually any other country on earth; we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any other major country on earth; and half of our senior, older workers have nothing set aside for retirement. So I don’t think, compared to other countries, we are particularly compassionate. But my question is, in Canada, in other countries, all people have the right to get healthcare, do you believe we should move in that direction? Price: If you want to talk about other countries’ healthcare systems, there are consequences to the decisions that they’ve made just as there are consequences to the decision that we’ve made. I believe, and I look forward to working with you to make certain, that every single American has access to the highest-quality care and coverage that is possible. Sanders: “Has access to” does not mean that they are guaranteed healthcare. I have access to buying a ten-million-dollar home; I don’t have the money to do that. Price: And that’s why we believe it’s appropriate to put in place a system that gives every person the financial feasibility to be able to purchase the coverage that they want for themselves and for their family, again, not what the government forces them to buy. Sanders: Yeah, but if they don’t have any—well, it’s a long dissert. Thank you very much. Price: Thank you. 1:46:34 Senator Michael Bennet: So, I ask you, sir, are you aware that behind closed doors Republican leadership wrote into this bill that any replacement to the Affordable Care Act would be exempt from Senate rules that prohibit large increases to the deficit? Tom Price: As you may know, Senator, I stepped aside as chairman of the budget committee at the beginning of this year, and so I wasn’t involved in the writing of— Bennet: You have been the budget committee chairman during the rise of the Tea Party; you are a member of the Tea Party Caucus; you have said over and over again, as other people have, that the reason you’ve come to Washington is to reduce our deficit and reduce our debt. I assume you’re very well aware of the vehicle that is being used to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This is not— Price: Yes. Bennet: —some small piece of legislation. This is the Republican budget. Price: Yes, I'm aware of the bill. Yes. Bennet: But do you support a budget that increases the debt by $10 trillion? Price: No. What I support is an opportunity to use reconciliation to address the real challenges in the Affordable Care Act and to make certain that we put in place at the same time a provision that allows us to move the healthcare system in a much better direction— Bennet: Do you support the budget that was passed by the Senate Republicans— Price: I support— Bennet:—to repeal the Affordable Care Act that adds $10 trillion of debt to the budget deficit? Price: Well, the reconciliation bill is yet to come. I support the process that allows for and provides for the fiscal year ’17 reconciliation bill to come forward. 2:38:37 Senator Chris Murphy: But do you direct your broker around ethical guidelines? Do you tell him, for instance, not to invest in companies that are directly connected to your advocacy? Because it seems like a great deal: as a broker, he can just sit back, take a look— Tom Price: She. Murphy: —at the positions that you’re taking— Price: She. She can sit back. Murphy: She can—she can sit back— Price: Yeah. Murphy: —in this case—look at the legislative positions you’re taking, and invest in companies that she thinks are going to increase in value based on your legislative activities, and you can claim separation from that because you didn’t have a conversation. Price:Well, that’s a nefarious arrangement that I’m really astounded by. The fact of the matter is that I have had no conversations with my broker about any political activity at all, other than her— Murphy: Then why wouldn’t you tell her— Price: —other than her congratulating— Murphy: Why— Price: —me on my election. Murphy: But why wouldn’t you at least tell her, “Hey, listen; stay clear of any companies that are directly affected by my legislative work”? Price: Because the agreement that we have is that she provide a diversified portfolio, which is exactly what virtually every one of you have in your investment opportunities, and make certain that in order to protect one’s assets that there’s a diversified arrangement for purchase of stocks. I knew nothing about— Murphy: But you couldn’t have— Price: —those purchases. Murphy: But you couldn’t have a diversified portfolio while staying clear of the six companies that were directly affected by your work on an issue? Price: Well, as I said, I didn’t have any knowledge of those purchases. Murphy: Okay. 2:54:20 Senator Elizabeth Warren: One of the companies—it’s the company raised by Mr. Franken, Senator Franken—and that is Zimmer Biomet. They’re one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hip and knees, and they make more money if they can charge higher prices and sell more of their products. The company knows this, and so do the stock analysts. So on March 17, 2016 you purchased stock in Zimmer Biomet. Exactly six days after you bought the stock, on March 23, 2016, you introduced a bill in the House called the Hip Act that would require HHS secretary to suspend regulations affecting the payment for hip and knee replacements. Is that correct? Tom Price: I think the BPCI program to which I think you referred I’m a strong supporter of because it keeps the decision making in the— Warren: I’m not asking you about why you support it. I’m just asking, did you buy the stock, and then did you introduce a bill that would be helpful to the companies you just bought stock in? Price: The stock was bought by a direct—by a broker who was making those decisions. I wasn’t making those decisions. Warren: Okay, so you said you weren’t making those decisions. Let me just make sure that I understand. These are your stock trades, though. They are listed under your name, right? Price: They’re made on my behalf, yes. Warren:Okay. Was the stock purchased through an index fund? Price: I don't believe so. Warren: Through a passively managed mutual fund? Price: No. It’s a broker— Warren: Through an actively managed mutual fund? Price: It’s a broker-directed account. Warren: Through a blind trust? So, let’s just be clear. This is not just a stockbroker, someone you pay to handle the paperwork. This is someone who buys stock at your direction. This is someone who buys and sells the stock you want them to buy and sell. Price: Not true. Warren: So when you found out that— Price: That’s not true, Senator. Warren: Well, because you decide not to tell them—wink, wink, nod, nod—and we’re all just supposed to believe that? Price: It’s what members of this committee, it’s the manner of which— Warren: Well, I’m not one of them. Price: —members of this committee—Well, I understand that— Warren: So, let me just keep asking about this. Price: —but it’s important to appreciate that that’s the case. Warren:Then, I want to understand. When you found out that your broker had made this trade without your knowledge, did you reprimand her? Price: What—what I did was comply— Warren: Well, you found out that she made it. Price: What I did was comply— Warren: Did you fire her? Did you sell the stock? Price: What I did was comply with the rules of the House in an ethical and legal and— Warren: I didn’t ask whether or not the rules of the House— Price: —above-board manner— Warren: —let you do this. Price: —and in a transparent way. Warren: You know, all right. So, your periodic transaction report notes that you were notified of this trade on April 4, 2016. Did you take additional actions after that date to advance[audio cuts out] the company that you now own stock in? Price: I’m offended by the insinuation, Senator. Warren: Well, let me just read what you did. You may be offended, but here’s what you did. Congressional records show that after you were personally notified of this trade, which you said you didn’t know about in advance, that you added 23 out of your bill’s 24 co-sponsors; that also after you were notified of this stock transaction, you sent a letter to CMS, calling on them to cease all current and future planned mandatory initiatives under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation; and just so there was no misunderstanding about who you were trying to help, you specifically mentioned— Unknown Speaker: Your two minutes are up, Senator Warren. Thank you. Warren: —hip and knee replacement. 2:58:20 Senator Johnny Isakson: This is very important for us to all understand under the disclosure rules that we have and the way it operates, any of us could make the mistakes that are being alleged. I’m sure Senator Franken had no idea that he owned part of Philip Morris when he made the statement he made about tobacco companies, but he has a WisdomTree Equity Income Fund investment, as disclosed in his disclosure, which owns Philip Morris. So, it’s entirely possible for any of us to have somebody make an investment on our behalf and us not know where that money is invested because of the very way it works. I don’t say that to, in any way, embarrass Mr. Franken but to make a point that any one of us who have mutual funds or investment managers or people who do that, it’s entirely possible for us not to know, and to try and imply that somebody’s being obfuscating something or in otherwise denying something that’s a fact, it’s just not the fair thing to do, and I just wanted to make that point. Senator Al Franken: This is different than mutual funds. Isakson: It’s an investment in Philip Morris. Unknown Speaker: Alright. Unknown Speaker: Thank you. Warren: And my question was about what do you do after he had notice. Unknown Speaker: Senator Warren, your time has been generously… Senator Kaine. 3:21:09 Senator Tim Kaine: Do you agree with the president-elect that the replacement for the Affordable Care Act must ensure that there is insurance for everybody? Tom Price: I have stated it here and— Kaine: Right. Price: —always that it’s incredibly important that we have a system that allows for every single American to have access to the kind of coverage that they need and desire. Kaine: And he’s— 3:31:52 Senator Patty Murray: You admitted to me in our meeting that you, in your own words, talked with Congressman Collins about Innate Immuno. This inspired you to you, in your own words, study the company and then purchase its stock, and you did so without a broker. Yes or no. Tom Price: No. Murray: Without a broker. Price: I did not. Murray: You told me that you did this one on your own without the broker. Yes? Price: No, I did it through a broker. I directed the broker to purchase the stock, but I did it through a broker. Murray: You directed the broker to purchase particularly that stock. Price: That's correct. Murray: Yeah. 3:34:42 Senator Patty Murray: Will you commit to ensuring all 18 FDA-approved methods of contraception continue to be covered so that women do not have to go back to paying extra costs for birth control? Tom Price: What I will commit to and assure is that women and all Americans need to know that we believe strongly that every single American ought to have access to the kind of coverage and care that they desire and want. 3:36:38 Senator Patty Murray: The Office of Minority Health was reauthorized as part of the ACA. So will you commit to maintaining and supporting this office and its work? Tom Price: I will commit to be certain that minorities in this country are treated in a way that makes certain—makes absolutely certain—that they have access to the highest-quality care. Murray: So you will not commit to the Office of Minority Health being maintained. Price: I think it’s important that we think about the patient at the center of all this. Our commitment, my commitment, to you is to make certain that minority patients and all patients in this country have access to the highest-quality care. Murray: But in particular—so you won’t commit to the Office of Minority— Price: We—Look, there are different ways to handle things. I can’t commit to you to do something in a department that one, I’m not in—I haven’t gotten it yet— Murray: But you will be. Price: —and— Murray: You will be, and— Price: Let me put forward a possible position that I might find myself in. The individuals within the department come to me and they say, we’ve got a great idea for being able to find greater efficiencies within the department itself, and it results in merging this agency and that agency— Murray: I think—I think that— Price: —and we’ll call it something else. Murray: Yeah. I—okay. Price: And we will address the issues of minority health— Murray: I just have a minute left, and I hear your answer. Price: —in a big, big way— Murray: You’re not committed, okay. Price: —and make certain that it is responsive to patients. Part 2 14:50 Senator Ron Wyden: Congressman Price owns stock in an Australian biomedical firm called Innate Immunotherapeutics. His first stock purchase came in 2015 after consulting Representative Chris Collins, the company’s top shareholder and a member of its board. In 2016 the congressman was invited to participate in a special stock sale called a private placement. The company offered the private placement to raise funds for testing on an experimental treatment it intends to put up for FDA approval. Through this private placement, the congressman increased his stake in the company more than 500 percent. He has said he was unaware he paid a price below market value. It is hard to see how this claim passes the smell test. Company filings with the Australia’s stock exchange clearly state that this specific private placement would be made at below-market prices. The treasury department handbook on private placement states, and I will quote, they “are offered only to sophisticated investors in a nonpublic manner.” The congressman also said last week he directed the stock purchase himself, departing from what he said was typical practice. Then, there’s the matter of what was omitted from the congressman’s notarized disclosures. The congressman’s stake in Innate is more than five times larger than the figure he reported to ethic’s officials when he became a nominee. He disclosed owning less than $50,000 of Innate stock. At the time the disclosure was filed, by my calculation, his shares had a value of more than $250,000. Today his stake is valued at more than a half million dollars. Based on the math, it appears that the private placement was excluded entirely from the congressman’s financial disclosure. This company’s fortunes could be affected directly by legislation and treaties that come before the Congress. 30:49 Senator Orrin Hatch: First, is there anything that you are aware of in your background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to which you have been nominated? Tom Price: I do not. 51:36 Senator Ron Wyden: Will you commit to not implementing the order until the replacement plan is in place? Tom Price: As I mentioned, Senator, what I commit to you and what I commit to the American people is to keep patients the center of healthcare, and what that means to me is making certain that every single American has access to affordable health coverage that will provide the highest-quality healthcare that the world can provide. 1:24:34 Senator Richard Burr: Are you covered by the STOCK Act, legislation passed by Congress that requires you and every other member to publicly disclose all sales and purchases of assets within 30 days? Tom Price: Yes, sir. Burr: Now, you’ve been accused of not providing the committee of information related to your tax and financial records that were required of you. Are there any records you have been asked to provide that you have refused to provide? Price: None whatsoever. Burr: So all of your records are in. Price: Absolutely. Burr: Now, I’ve got to ask you, does it trouble you at all that as a nominee to serve in this administration that some want to hold you to a different standard than you as a member of Congress, and I might say the same standard that they currently buy and sell and trade assets on? Does it burn you that they want to hold you to a different standard now that you’re a nominee than they are as a member? Price: Well, I—we know what’s going on here. Burr: Oh, we do. Price: I mean— Burr: We do. Price: It’s—and I understand. And as my wife tells me, I volunteered for this, so… 1:26:49 Senator Richard Burr: As the nominee and hopefully—and I think you will be—the secretary of HHS, what are the main goals of an Obamacare replacement plan? Tom Price: Main goals, as I mentioned, are outlined in those principles, that is imperative that we have a system that’s accessible for every single American; that’s affordable for every single American; that is incentivizes and provides the highest-quality healthcare that the world knows; and provides choices to patients so that they’re the ones selecting who’s treating them, when, where, and the like. So it’s complicated to do, but it’s pretty simple stuff. 1:34:58 Senator Johnny Isakson: Any one of us can take a financial disclosure—and there’s something called desperate impact, where you take two facts—one over here and one over there—to make a wrong. Any one of us could do it to disrupt or misdirect people’s thoughts on somebody. It’s been happening to you a lot because people have taken things that you have disclosed and tried to extrapolate some evil that would keep you from being secretary of HHS when, in fact, it shouldn’t be true. For example, if you go to Senator Wyden’s annual report, he owns an interest in BlackRock Floating Rate Income Fund. The major holding of that fund is Valeant Pharmaceuticals. They’re the people we jumped all over for 2700 percent increases last year in pharmaceutical products. But we’re not accusing the ranking member of being for raising pharmaceutical prices, but you could take that extrapolation out of that and then indict somebody and accuse them. Is that not true? 1:51:30 Senator Michael Bennet: I wonder whether you also believe that it’s essential that there be a floor for insurance providers. You know, some of the things that the Affordable Care Act require for coverage include outpatient care; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; prescription drugs; rehab services; lab services; preventative care, such as birth control and mammograms; pediatric services, like vaccines; routine dental exams for children younger than 19. I’m not going to ask you to go through each one of those, but directionally, are we headed to a world where people in rural America have to settle for coverage for catastrophic care; are we headed to a place where there is regulation of insurance providers that say if you are going to be an insurance market, you need—particularly if we’re in a world where your son had crossed state lines —there has to be a floor of the services you’re willing to pay for? Tom Price: I think there has to be absolutely credible coverage, and I think that it’s important that the coverage—that individuals ought to be able to purchase this coverage that they want. 1:56:45 Senator Pat Toomey: When we talk about repeal, sometimes I hear people say, well, we’ve got to keep coverage of pre-existing conditions because, you know, we’ve got to keep that. And when I hear that, I think that we’re missing something here, and here’s what I’m getting at. There’s obviously a number of Americans who suffer from chronic, expensive healthcare needs. They’ve had these conditions sometimes all their lives, sometimes for some other period of time. And for many of them the proper care for those conditions is unaffordable. I think we agree that we want to make sure those people get the healthcare they need. Now, one way to force it is to force insurance companies to provide health-insurance coverage for someone as soon as they show up, regardless of what condition they have, which is kind of like asking the property casualty company to rebuild the house after it’s burned down. But that’s only one way to deal with this, and so am I correct: is it your view that there are other perhaps more effective ways—since, after all, Obamacare’s in a collapse—to make sure that people with these pre-existing chronic conditions get the healthcare that they need at an affordable price without necessarily having the guaranteed-issue mandate in the general population? Tom Price: I think there are other options, and I think it’s important, again, to appreciate that the position that we currently find ourselves in, with policy in this nation, is that those folks, in a very short period of time, are going to have nothing because of the collapse of the market. 2:18:05 Tom Price: Every single individual ought to be able to have access to coverage. 2:29:45 Senator Tim Scott: My last question has to do with the employer-sponsored healthcare system that we’re so accustomed to in this country, that provides about 175 million Americans with their insurance. In my home state of South Carolina, of course, we have about two and a half million people covered by their employer coverage. If confirmed as HHS secretary, how would you support American employers in their effort to provide effective family health coverage in a consistent and affordable manner? Said differently, there’s been some conversation about looking for ways to decouple having health insurance through your employer. Tom Price: I think the employer system has been absolutely a remarkable success in allowing individuals to gain coverage that they otherwise might not gain. I think that preserving the employer system is imperative. That being said, I think that there may be ways in which individual employers—I’ve heard from employers who say, if you just give me an opportunity to provide my employee the kind of resources so that he or she is able to select the coverage that they want, then that makes more sense to them. And if that works from a voluntary standpoint for employers and for employees, then it may be something to look at. Scott: That would be more like the HRA approach where— Price: Exactly. Scott: —employer funds an account, and the employee chooses the health insurance, not necessarily under the umbrella of the employer specifically. Price: Exactly. And gains the same tax benefit. 2:58:00 Tom Price: What I’m for is making certain, again, that the Medicaid population has access to the highest-quality care possible, and we’ll do everything to improve that because right now so many in the Medicaid population don’t have access to the highest-quality care. 3:20:50 Tom Price: Our goal is to make certain that seniors have access to the highest-quality healthcare possible at an affordable price. Senator Bob Menendez: Well, access without the ability to afford it, and I’ll end on this— Price: That's what I said, affordable price. 3:28:45 Senator Sherrod Brown: If you and he are working together, are you going to suggest to him that we find a way in repeal and replace to make sure there is guaranteed healthcare for our nation’s veterans? Tom Price: Well, I think it’s vital, again, as I’ve mentioned before, that every single American have access to affordable coverage that’s of high quality, and that’s our goal, and that’s our commitment. 3:30:52 [regarding a disabled child coverd by Medicaid] Tom Price: We are absolutely committed to making certain that that child and every other child and every other individual in this nation has access to the highest-quality care possible. Senator Bob Casey Jr.: Okay, so not an access—he will have the medical care that he has right now or better—if you can come up with a better level of care, that’s fine—but he will have at least the coverage of Medicaid and all that that entails that he has right now. And that’s either a yes or no; that’s not— Price: No, it’s not a yes or no because the fact of the matter is that in order for the current law to change, you all have to change it— Casey: No, but here’s— Price: —and if I’m given the privilege of leading at the Department of Health and Human Services— Casey: Here’s why it’s yes— Price: and I respond to— Casey: You should stop talking around this. You have led the fight in the House, backed up by Speaker Ryan, for years— Price: To improve Medicaid. Casey: —to block grant Medicaid, okay? Price: To improve Medicaid. Casey: To block grant Medicaid. What that means is, states will have to decide whether or not this child gets the Medicaid that he deserves. That’s what happens. So you push it back to the states and hope it works out… Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations

Beaten-up biotech has some work to do to restore investor confidence. Here's how Gilead Sciences, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and the entire industry can get back on track in 2017.  

How one of the smartest minds on Wall Street was blinded by belief and abandoned due diligence   VRX, CP, MTN, HLF, CMG   Welcome to Mind Over Money. I’m Kevin Cook, your field guide and story teller for the fascinating arena of Behavioral Economics.   I’m back after a 3-week bout with bronchitis. I’ve got a funny story about what I learned at the doctor that ties into a great neuroscience topic: how we acquire new skills. But first, let me preview our main topic for the show today...   As 2016 winds down, I want to re-cap one of the biggest stock market implosions of the past 18 months and the big name investor who last week began some tax loss selling after a 95% drop in the shares.   The stock is that of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX). And the big investor is Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management. His funds have lost billions of dollars because the Valeant implosion. And the story I am going to tell you will definitely interest you if you are at all curious about how smart people make really disastrous decisions.   Okay, so what happened at the doctor? As part of my exam, they gave me a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia. The good news is that I didn’t have pneumonia. The more interesting news the doctor shared on her way out… “Oh, by the way,” she said. “You have two cracked ribs.”   Be sure to listen to today's podcast to hear where those cracked ribs came from and what it has to do with "carving" new neural pathways. I'll give you a clue: I had to retire from snowboarding at the ripe young age of 37.   The Valeant Implosion   Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock was trading around $260 per share at its peak in the summer of 2015. Today, it’s trading $15. The story of the collapse has to do with an ambitious CEO named Mike Pearson and his company’s strategy to quickly become one of the top 10 pharmaceutical corporations in the world. Buying Bausch & Lomb for over $8 billion dollars was solid proof that they were very serious.   Pearson’s stated goal was actually to get Valeant in the top 5, among the likes of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Merck.   I know a little about this story because I was an investor in VRX in 2013 and 2014, catching several pieces of its rise from $65 to $145. The fundamental growth story, both in terms of sales and profits, was impressive. But I was also following on the coattails of some of the smartest money on Wall Street, including legendary investors like Ruane, Cunniff, and Goldfarb who ran the Sequoia fund.   In many investments, I often trust the research skills and judgement of several big investors more than my own analysis. Based on Pearson’s goal, he would have to grow Valeant from a $20 billion company, in terms of its market capitalization, to a nearly $200 billion company. That would be a 10X feat. Everything I saw showed that he might have a shot.   And the only reason I didn’t ride the stock higher in 2015 when it vaulted from $145 to $175 in a few weeks was because I was waiting for a pullback to get in.   Enter Bill Ackman who, it was revealed through SEC filings in February of 2015, was acquiring a sizable nearly 10% stake in Valeant and partnering with the company to buy another pharmaceutical firm, Allergan. Shares of VRX shot up to $200 in late February and never looked back until they peaked in August of 2015 just over $260.   So what happened? Why did Valeant, as an investment and as a company, begin to fall apart? The details of the collapse are complicated and part of a much longer story that involved accounting irregularities, egregious drug pricing practices, and questionable pharmacy partners cooperating in questionable sales reporting practices.   In the Mind Over Money podcast I share a timeline of the events of August through October by Stephen Gandel writing for Fortune magazine on October 31, 2015.   And the most interesting questions I'm trying to answer are about how Bill Ackman ignored the clues about Valeant's messy business practices and rode the stock -- with a position in the tens of millions of shares -- to stunning losses.   Not only that, even when the wolves were out, from Congress to research firm Citron, and shares were quickly collapsing to $100, all Bill could think of was massively increasing his position by buying tens of millions of dollars’ worth of options.   You can learn more about those options strategies in this video...   Synthetic Stock: How Ackman Double-Down on VRX   This whole Valeant-Ackman saga will be studied for years for its lessons in behavioral finance and decision-making. I hope I've helped you understand it better so you can see how we can all be blinded by our hope and greed.   Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research.

For Cindy Whitehead, looking through rose-colored glasses is a way of life. Known for her liberal use of the color pink across her businesses as well as her wardrobe, Whitehead is passionate about equalizing the playing field between genders when it comes to sexual health. It was precisely this issue which got Whitehead, a lifelong pharma-tech entrepreneur, thinking about the disparities in the sexual health industry, and how she could effectively address them with a pink-hued pill she launched via her parent company, Sprout Pharmaceuticals. Once she finally received FDA approval in August, 2015, Whitehead decided to sell her company to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion, with the hope that her brand would be built into a women’s healthcare platform, which she says “didn’t end up happening.” According to various medical sources, Addyi has been disappointing in terms of sales, attributed in part to a lack of support from Valeant. Listen to find out about her billion-dollar acquisition, her new venture the pink ceiling and her thoughts on entrepreneurship trends.

CVS Health shares fall 13% as Walgreens gets serious about taking market share.  Bryan Hinmon and Bill Barker from Motley Fool Funds analyze that story, plus the latest results from Priceline, Hertz and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

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Trading Block: Earnings today include (before): Dean Foods, Sotheby's, Tyson Foods; (after) Hertz Global Holdings, Rackspace, WebMD Health Corp. Options bears descend on Valeant ahead of earnings. Traders are betting shares are due for even more pain. Nonfarm payroll brightens the U.S. economic outlook. Odd Block: Puts trade in Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), puts trade in SM Energy Co. (SM), calls trade in Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP) Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses money management Around the Block: Earnings highlights for the week. Tuesday: Coach, Exelon Corporation, Tribune Media Company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Walt Disney Company, Yelp Wednesday: Michael Kors Holdings, JD.com, Ralph Lauren, Shake Shack, The Wendy Company Thursday: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Kohls Corporation, Macys Inc., Nordstrom Inc. Friday: JC Penney Company

Trading Block: Earnings today include (before): Dean Foods, Sotheby's, Tyson Foods; (after) Hertz Global Holdings, Rackspace, WebMD Health Corp. Options bears descend on Valeant ahead of earnings. Traders are betting shares are due for even more pain. Non-farm payroll brightens the U.S. economic outlook. Odd Block: Puts trade in Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), puts trade in SM Energy Co. (SM), calls trade in Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP) Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses money management Around the Block: Earnings highlights for the week. Tuesday: Coach, Exelon Corporation, Tribune Media Company, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Walt Disney Company, Yelp Wednesday: Michael Kors Holdings, JD.com, Ralph Lauren, Shake Shack, The Wendy Company Thursday: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Kohls Corporation, Macys Inc., Nordstrom Inc. Friday: JC Penney Company

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Today in FirstWord:

Today in FirstWord:

Michael Covel breaks apart Bill Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. He reads from a MarketWatch article that highlights documents that came from a Senate committee investigating the Valeant scandal, and the various reactions of top people involved. Michael also outlines and comments on various interchanges between Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and news outlets. This episode is a “behind the curtain look” at billionaire traders and the seduction of fundamentals. In this episode of Trend Following Radio: Fundamentals Valeant vs. Enron The Deep State Fixing the media Trading off price

The Crocs turnaround isn’t turning around just yet. Valeant Pharmaceuticals gets a visit from the SEC. Plus, we’re heading to Austin, Texas for SXSW!

Today in FirstWord:

In this lecture from the Annual Fall SDPA Conference in Orlando, FL, Linda Stein Gold, MD, presented product theater for Valeant Pharmaceuticals called

Today in FirstWord:

Today in FirstWord:

Alphabet, Amazon, McDonald's and Microsoft hit new highs. Valeant Pharmaceuticals plummets. And Oprah gives Weight Watchers a boost. Our analysts discuss those stories and share three stocks on their radar. Plus, CNBC's Kayla Tausche talks big banks, Square IPO, and Star Wars.

Today in FirstWord:

Chipotle’s growth slows down. Valeant Pharmaceuticals gets hit with allegations of fraud. GM crushes 3rd-quarter earnings, while the Ferrari IPO revs its engine.  Plus, we celebrate “Back To The Future” day by sharing 3 stocks we would hold for the next 30 years.

Sprout Pharmaceuticals earlier this week won a controversial U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Addyi, the first drug approved in the United States to treat female sexual dysfunction. Following the news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals said it would acquire Sprout for $1 billion. We spoke filmmaker Liz Canner, director of the documentary Orgasm, Inc., about Addyi, the drug industry's long standing pursuit of a female Viagra, and why its approval is troubling to many people.

Today in FirstWord:

Today in FirstWord:

On today’s show the guys break down earnings reports from TJX Companies and Home Depot. Plus they take a look at the deal between Allergan and Actavis, and what it all means for the future of Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

This podcast was recorded live at the 2014 SDPA conference in Indianapolis where Dr. Charles Hudson gave a product theater from Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Hudson discussed the benefits of Acanya Gel and Solodyn Tablets for acne treatment.

Netflix rises on strong 1st quarter numbers and a well-executed price increase.  Valeant Pharmaceuticals makes a $45 billion bid for Allergan.  Plus, we analyze the latest results from McDonald’s and the new “Pay To Quit” program at Amazon.