DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ CVS posts big earnings miss, cuts profit outlook on higher medical costs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that missed expectations and slashed its full-year profit outlook, citing higher medical costs that are dogging the U.S. insurance industry. The drugstore chain expects 2024 adjusted earnings of at least $7 per share, down from a previous guidance of at least $8.30 per share. The company said its new outlook assumes that higher medical costs in its insurance business during the first quarter will persist throughout the year. Medicare Advantage, a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a key source of growth and profits for the insurance industry. Excluding certain items, such as amortization of intangible assets and capital losses, adjusted earnings per share were $1.31 for the quarter.

Persons: LSEG, Karen Lynch, Caremark, Tyson Foods, CVS's Caremark, Cuban's Organizations: CVS Health, CVS, Aetna, UnitedHealth, Medicare, LSEG, Blue, Amazon Pharmacy, Oak Street Health Locations: California

☆ Pot stocks soar on report DEA will ease restrictions on cannabis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Cannabis stocks soared on Tuesday after the AP reported that the DEA will soon reclassify marijuana. The move would ease restrictions on cannabis and acknowledge that it has medicinal benefits. According to the report, the DEA decision would be sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. AdvertisementCannabis stocks soared on Tuesday after the AP reported that the US Drug Enforcement Administration is on the verge of reclassifying marijuana. Shares of Canopy Growth soared 37%, Village Farms stock soared 20%, and the AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF jumped 18%.

Persons: — Organizations: AP, White, Office of Management, Service, US Drug, Village, Cannabis

☆ Millennials are a lot better off financially than you may realize
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at how millennials have seen their wealth explode over the past few years. Millennials, the oft-maligned generation , are a lot better off financially than you might realize. A new report found millennials saw their wealth double from the end of 2019 through 2023, writes BI's Juliana Kaplan. Whatever the case, millennials' wealth can keep growing. The Department of Justice is investigating the consultancy for its past work advising opioid companies about how to boost their sales , The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Persons: —, Iurii Garmash, Tyler Le, millennials, BI's Juliana Kaplan, Harry Potter fanfiction didn't, Millennials, Gen Xers, eyeing, Juliana Kaplan, Gen, Chelsea Jia Feng, Jamie Dimon, Devin Nunes, Mark Zuckerberg, they've, There's, Nathan Congleton, Blackstone, Donald Trump's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Studio, Getty, millennials, Slaven, The New York Times, Nvidia, Trump Media, House Republicans, Meta, Green, Getty Images Google, Apollo, KKR, Justice, Street, Wednesday, McKinsey, NFL, US Locations: That's, Chelsea, premarket, NBCU, New York, London

☆ McKinsey advised drug companies on how to 'turbocharge' opioid sales. Now it's under criminal investigation.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice is investigating McKinsey for advising opioid producers on boosting sales. The firm previously paid nearly $1 billion to resolve lawsuits related to its opioid work. The investigation is also looking at potential obstruction of justice by McKinsey and its employees. News of the investigation underscores how McKinsey's opioid work — which the firm said it stopped in 2019 — continues to plague the consultancy. In a 2018 email, for example, a since-fired McKinsey executive wrote to another senior executive about the firm's legal risk.

Persons: —, Endo, Martin Elling Organizations: Justice, McKinsey, Service, McKinsey & Company, US Department of Justice, Street, Purdue Pharma, DOJ, of, Purdue Locations: Virginia, Western, of Virginia, of Massachusetts, Seattle

☆ Here’s what marijuana researchers have to say about 420 or ‘weed day’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —It’s 420 or “weed day,” and people around the world will be paying homage to their favorite guilty pleasure: marijuana. “I worry when people are in an enclosed space because new data is beginning to show that secondhand marijuana smoke may be just as dangerous as the primary smoke,” Page said. “Approximately 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, some parents told doctors they believed vaping marijuana was safer than tobacco, Boyd told CNN earlier via email. A cloud of marijuana smoke rises as a clock hits 4:20 p.m. during the Mile High 420 Festival in Denver on "weed day" in 2022.

Persons: CNN —, Dr, Beth Cohen, Cohen, “, ”, Robert Page II, ” Page, Weed, It’s, ’ ” Carol Boyd, Ann Arbor, Peter Grinspoon, ” Young, Sam Wang, Boyd, Grinspoon, Patrick T, Fallon, Nixon, ” Boyd, ” Grinspoon, ’ ”, Page Organizations: CNN, District of Columbia, University of California, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center, Drugs, University of Michigan, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Massachusetts General Hospital, Marijuana, Children’s Hospital, Yale Medicine, Drug, University of Colorado’s, Getty, University of Mississippi, US Drug, Administration Locations: United States, San Francisco, Colorado, Aurora, Ann, Boston, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver, AFP

☆ Hot air balloon pilot had high level of ketamine in his system during crash that killed 4, toxicology report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Arizona in January, leaving four people dead, had high levels of the psychedelic drug ketamine in his blood system, according to a forensic examination report from the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office. Cornelius van der Walt, the 37-year-old pilot of the balloon, had ketamine levels of between 1.1 to 1.2 mg/L in his system, according to toxicology testing from the FAA and from NMS Labs. For comparison, the United Kingdom considers ketamine levels over .02 mg/L to be indicative of impaired driving ability, the report says. Van der Walt had no reported prescription for ketamine, and the drug was not used during resuscitation attempts, the report states. The medical examiner’s report stems from the hot air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona, on January 14 in which the pilot and three other people were killed.

Persons: Cornelius van der Walt, Van der Walt, van der Walt, Chayton Wiescholek, Kaitlynn Bartrom, Atahan Kiliccote, Valerie Stutterheim, Cameron Balloons Organizations: CNN, FAA, NMS Labs, US Drug Enforcement Administration, US Food and Drug Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, ” Police, NTSB Locations: Arizona, Pinal County, United Kingdom, Eloy , Arizona, Eloy, Union City , Michigan, Andrews , Indiana, Cupertino , California, Scottsdale , Arizona

☆ Exclusive: An investor in once-hot mental health startup Cerebral is suing the company
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAccess Industries, the investment firm founded by billionaire Len Blavatnik that invested in mental health company Cerebral, is suing the company and another of its backers as tensions mount inside the mental health company, according to documents obtained by Business Insider. It's the latest challenge to the once-hot mental health startup, which launched in 2020 to provide mental healthcare online. The lawsuit, filed by Access Industries on April 2 in Delaware, alleges an undercover power grab by WestCap, another Cerebral investor. A sinking shipOnce the hottest and fastest-growing mental health startup, Cerebral's fall from grace has been stunning. Since then, Cerebral hasn't raised any more venture funding, and the mental health company has conducted at least three rounds of layoffs.

Persons: —, Len Blavatnik, WestCap, David Mou, SoftBank Organizations: Service, Business, US Department of Justice, Access Industries, DOJ, Industries, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, US Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Locations: Delaware, WestCap

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ How the Cartels Launder Their Drug Money, According to a Former Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Kyle Desiderio | Ju Shardlow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Robert Mazur tells the full story of his time as a government agent investigating drug-money laundering. Mazur went undercover for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service intelligence division, and the Customs Service. In Operation C-Chase, Mazur successfully infiltrated the Medellín cartel by posing as a wealthy, mob-connected businessman named Robert Musella. At its peak, the Cali cartel is estimated to have produced 80% of the world's cocaine supply. It was controlled by Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, and José Santacruz Londoño.

Persons: Robert Mazur, Mazur, Robert Musella, Pablo Escobar's, Gonzalo Mora, Roberto Alcaino, Robert Baldasare, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, Londoño, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, B095BKWD8L Read Organizations: US Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Customs Service, New York Times, KYC Locations: Italian American, Cali

☆ Supreme Court medication abortion case threatens ‘seismic shift’ in FDA drug approval process, experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Meg Tirrell | Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

If the Supreme Court agrees with the appeals court, the approval of mifepristone could be reset to where it stood before 2016, limiting telehealth access to medication abortion and reimplementing other restrictions. “Nevertheless, drug developers invest in new medicines because, if their investments succeed, FDA’s rigorous drug approvals and subsequent regulatory actions are sturdy enough to facilitate reliable returns. “And without necessary investment, drug development would freeze, stifling innovation and limiting treatment options for patients.”Of course, if the Supreme Court upholds the appeals court decision, the most immediate impact would be to mifepristone itself. “It is both my hope and my ‘bet’ that the court doesn’t uphold the 5th Circuit on the standing argument,” Cohen wrote. “But I have learned the Supreme Court is hard to predict much of the time.”

Persons: thalidomide, mifepristone that’s, ”, Daniel Grossman, ” Grossman, ” PhRMA, Glenn Cohen, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Cohen, ” Cohen Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug, Federal Food, FDA, US, University of California San, Reproductive, Guttmacher Institute, Circuit, Appeals, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, Harvard Law School, CNN Health Locations: Massengill, University of California San Francisco, Texas

CNN —A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of the idea of a nationwide ban or new limits on mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions. At issue in the case are lower-court rulings that would have rolled back recent Food and Drug Administration decisions to ease access to the mifepristone. “What the court did … is enter sweeping nationwide relief that restricts access to mifepristone for every single woman in this country. Some anti-abortion activists see the law as an avenue to end medication abortion, and perhaps all kinds of abortions. Danco’s attorney said that this case was not an appropriate venue for the court to weigh the reach of the Comstock Act.

Persons: Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, ” Roberts, Erin Hawley, interjected, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s, ”, ” Gorsuch, Biden, …, Elizabeth Prelogar, Brett Kavanaugh, ” Kavanaugh, Prelogar, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “, Jackson, ” Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Alito, Thomas, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, ” Alito, Mifepristone, Comstock, mifepristone, Matthew Kacsmaryk –, Trump, –, Kacsmaryk Organizations: CNN, Drug Administration, Conservative, FDA, Justice Department, Amarillo Division, Court, Northern, Northern District of, US, US Judicial Locations: mifepristone, FDA’s, Amarillo, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Exclusive: Ex-Truepill CEO just scored $6 million to help health plans and pharma companies ditch middlemen and work closely with patients
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He's launched a new company, Foundation Health, to help them do that quickly and at a low cost. Foundation aims to make it easy for insurers to set up their own online pharmacies and pharma companies to sell drugs directly to consumers. "The main focus area for us is to help health plans disintermediate PBMs," Afridi said. Foundation Health wants to help customers ditch big PBMsFoundation's software enables a few different things. Finally, direct-to-consumer health companies can plug into Foundation's technology to power their services, instead of building their own pharmacies and hiring doctors.

Persons: Umar Afridi, disruptors, Afridi, He's, disintermediate, Garry Tan, Y, they've, pocketing, Eli Lilly's, Jack Altman Organizations: California, Cuban, Plus, Business, Foundation Health, Foundation, pharma, Alt, Liquid Ventures, Exceptional, Storm Ventures, PageOne Ventures, Federal Trade Commission Locations: drugmakers

☆ Novo Nordisk stock: The company behind Ozempic and Wegovy is now bigger than Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —First, Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, outgrew its native Denmark. Investors rushed into Novo Nordisk’s stock after the company reported early-stage results from a trial of amycretin, an experimental weight loss drug that can be taken in pill form. Novo Nordisk, once the little-known maker of diabetes drug Ozempic, has ballooned in value as the drug’s off-label use for weight loss has spread. By contrast, shares of Novo Nordisk are up by 30% this year, and by nearly 80% over the past 12 months. The companies have cornered the global market for weight loss drugs that mimic GLP-1, a naturally-occurring hormone that suppresses appetite.

Persons: Grégoire, ”, Jens Naervig Pedersen, “, Tesla, Elon Musk’s Tesla, China’s, Eli Lilly, “ Novo, Lilly, It’s, Musk, Jeff Bezos Organizations: London CNN, Novo Nordisk, Pictet, Management, CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, Nordisk “, Danske Bank, EV, Reuters, “, Amazon, Bloomberg Locations: Novo, Denmark, Novo Nordisk’s, Danish, United States, Berlin, Germany, Europe, Pictet, EVs

☆ Mark Cuban says he will vote for Joe Biden even if the president 'was being given last rites'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Cuban says he'll vote for Joe Biden — even if the president's on his deathbed. Cuban told BI that he expects a rematch between Biden and Donald Trump in November. AdvertisementMark Cuban says he's determined to cast his vote for President Joe Biden this November — even if Biden's on his deathbed. "If they were having his last wake, and it was him versus Trump, and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden," Cuban told Bloomberg on Monday. Cuban is the co-founder of the low-cost online pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Co.

Persons: Mark Cuban, Joe Biden —, Biden, Donald Trump, he'll, Nikki Haley, —, he's, Joe Biden, Biden's, Cuban Organizations: BI, Trump, Service, Bloomberg, White, Cuban

☆ El Chapo gave a briefcase with $1 million to the campaign of the ex-Honduras president now accused of US drug trafficking: witness
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Noah Hurowitz | Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the meeting, El Chapo told Tony Hernández he was looking to open new trafficking routes through Honduras. El Chapo then asked if, under his brother's administration, the Valle brothers or Ardon Soriano himself would be extradited for prosecution. AdvertisementAt that point, El Chapo offered $1 million to Hernández's campaign, Ardon Soriano testified. At a different meeting that year, Ardon Soriano and Tony Hernández met with El Chapo again, and El Chapo personally handed the briefcase with $1 million to Hernández, the convicted drug trafficker testified. "Juan Orlando Hernández told me that he had had them extradited because they had tried to have him killed," Ardon Soriano told the jury.

Persons: Joaquín, Guzmán, Juan Orlando Hernández, El Chapo, Amilcar Alexander Ardon Soriano, El Paraíso, —, Hernández, Ardon Soriano, Soriano, Miguel Arnulfo Valle, Luis Alfonso —, Tony, Tony Hernández, Valle, Juan Orlando, Ardon Organizations: Business, Prosecutors, Honduras —, National Party, El, Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle Locations: Honduras, Honduran, El, Manhattan, United States, America, Espíritu

NEW YORK (AP) — A man convicted in the notorious drug-related killing of a rookie New York City police officer at the height of the city's crack epidemic decades ago has been denied parole, a union representing NYPD officers said Sunday. Todd Scott had been serving 25 years to life for his role in the shooting death of Officer Edward Byrne in Queens. Scott was convicted of second-degree murder and has been serving his sentence at the maximum-security state prison in Shawangunk. Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement that the union was “relieved” Scott was denied parole. The union said it also will continue to oppose the release of two others convicted in the killing.

Persons: Todd Scott, Edward Byrne, Queens . Byrnes, Scott, Howard “ Pappy ” Mason, Byrne, couldn't, Patrick Hendry, “, ” Scott, David McClary, Phillip Copeland, Scott Cobb, ” Hendry, Byrne's, Kenneth Byrne, ” “, Eddie Organizations: New York, Police, NYPD, Police Benevolent Association Locations: New York City, Queens, Shawangunk, ”

Biogen will stop developing its Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm, a drug once seen as a potential blockbuster before stumbling soon after its launch a couple years ago. The company also is helping Japanese drugmaker Eisai sell another Alzheimer’s treatment, Leqembi, which already has full FDA approval. Leqembi is the first medicine that’s been convincingly shown to slow the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease, though only modestly. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesAduhelm was the first new Alzheimer’s disease drug introduced in nearly two decades. But doctors were hesitant to prescribe the intravenous drug, given weak evidence that the drug slows Alzheimer’s.

Persons: drugmaker, Biogen, that’s, Aduhelm Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, Regulators, FDA, Cambridge, Inc Locations: Japanese, Cambridge , Massachusetts

☆ Mark Cuban: Here's the moment I knew I wouldn’t succeed in corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Cuban once pictured himself running a major corporation — until he started his first job out of college. The experience "sealed" something he probably already knew, Cuban told CNBC Make It via email: If he wanted to run a company, he'd likely have to build his own. "I was a lousy employee because I was a know-it-all," Cuban told Wired last year. But not every prospective entrepreneur is as successful as Cuban, who launched a software company called Microsolutions in 1983 and kept it afloat through some turbulent early years. Cuban's second business, Broadcast.com, was acquired by Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999.

Persons: Mark Cuban, Cuban, Trevor Noah's, unkindly, he's, didn't, he'd Organizations: —, University of Indiana, Mellon Bank, CNBC, Software, Wired, Yahoo Locations: Pittsburgh, Cuban, America, Dallas

(AP) — Approximately 40 people with connections to multiple states and Mexico were arrested Tuesday after a four-year federal investigation exposed multiple drug trafficking operations in east Mississippi, federal prosecutors announced. In 10 federal indictments filed in the U.S. Southern District of Mississippi, those arrested are accused of distributing methamphetamine, cocaine and other illegal drugs. The indictments charge various drug trafficking crimes, including possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy. During the investigation, law enforcement agents seized large quantities of methamphetamine pills, liquid methamphetamine, crystal methamphetamine, powder cocaine and crack cocaine, Gee said. Some of the defendants were charged with committing a methamphetamine drug offense while children were present.

Persons: JACKSON, ” Todd W, Gee Organizations: U.S . Southern, U.S . Southern District of, U.S, Attorney, Southern, Southern District of Locations: Miss, Mexico, Mississippi, U.S, U.S . Southern District, U.S . Southern District of Mississippi, East Mississippi, Southern District, Southern District of Mississippi, Mississippi , California , Texas , Alabama

☆ Griselda Blanco's family says Netflix acted like her son, Michael Blanco, 'did not exist' after he shared his mother's story with the streamer
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Eve Crosbie | Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Griselda Blanco's son has sued Sophia Vergara and Netflix to block the release of "Griselda." In a statement to BI, the Blancos said Netflix should compensate Michael Blanco for sharing his story. In the suit, Michael Blanco says the show's creators used his "private artistic literary work" without permission or credit, which has created "irreparable harm." Representatives for Latin World Entertainment and Vergara did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider made outside regular working hours. Netflix"Make no mistake, Michael Blanco is humble and thrilled each and every time someone reaches out to shine a light on his mother and the Blanco family," the statement continues.

Persons: Griselda Blanco's, Sophia Vergara, Griselda, Michael Blanco, —, Griselda Blanco, Sofía Vergara, TMZ, Michael, Vergara, Blanco, Andres Hernando Lopez, Rafael Alfredo Rojas Vega, Lopez, Rojas Vega, Luis Balaguer, Melissa Escobar, Catherine Zeta, Jones Organizations: Netflix, Service, Dade, Business, Entertainment Locations: Colombian, Florida's Miami, Dade County, Spanish

☆ Sri Lanka to Continue Drug Crackdown Despite Rights Group Concerns - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Uditha JayasingheCOLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka vowed to continue an anti-narcotics campaign that has seen more than 35,000 people detained over the last few weeks despite concerns raised by multiple rights groups, top officials said on Thursday. Sri Lankan police have detained 38,525 people since the operation - code-named "Yuktiya" or "Justice" - began in December. Thirty-three rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International Commission of Jurists, this week expressed concerns over what they call "drastic intensification" of anti-narcotics operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations. There is no reasonable suspicion, the kind of people arrested have a lower marginalised economic status," said Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, a researcher for Amnesty International Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had over 97,000 drug-related arrests in 2020 with 53% of arrests for heroin and 42% for cannabis including possession offences, according to latest data from state-run National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.

Persons: Uditha Jayasinghe, Tiran, Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, Ruwanpathirana, Deshabandu Tennekoon, Sri, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, Sri, Public, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Drugs, Board Locations: Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen burst into a home in central Mexico and abducted one of the volunteer searchers looking for the country's 114,000 disappeared and killed her husband and son, authorities said Wednesday. Cano’s volunteer group, Salamanca United in the Search for the Disappeared, said late Tuesday the gunmen shot Cano’s husband and adult son in the attack the previous day. State prosecutors confirmed husband and son were killed, and that Cano remained missing. At least seven volunteer searchers have been killed in Mexico since 2021. The volunteer searchers often conduct their own investigations —often relying on tips from former criminals — because the government has been unable to help.

Persons: Lorenza Cano, Cano, —, José Cano Flores, Lorenza Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Salamanca United, Jalisco New, Volunteers Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Salamanca, Guanajuato, Cabo, brother's, Jalisco, Tlajomulco, America, Caribbean

☆ Walgreens is following Mark Cuban's blueprint as it embarks on a big strategy shift for prescription drugs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pharmacies are changing how they get paid, and Walgreens wants a piece of the action. It's a departure from the traditional, complicated way drugs are paid for, and proponents say it could make drug pricing more transparent and predictable. It's not a given patients will pay less for drugs at the pharmacy counter under this kind of model. These companies are taking cues from Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs, which is starting to gain traction in the market. The big question is whether Walgreens can compete with CVS and other pharmacies in delivering those extra pharmacy and healthcare services.

Persons: Tim Wentworth, Mark, Wentworth, Borja, Hojas, they're, Caremark, Brian Tanquilut, Tanquilut, CVS, Cigna, Mark Cuban's, It's, Rosalind Brewer Organizations: Walgreens, Business, CVS Health, Getty, CVS, Jefferies, Health Locations: California

☆ Matthew Perry's death means hard questions for the ketamine movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-20 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

AdvertisementWhen Charles Patti read that ketamine had been a major factor in the "Friends" star Matthew Perry's death, his heart sank. AdvertisementMultiple researchers told Business Insider that labeling ketamine as the sole cause of Perry's death is misleading. "Matthew Perry's ketamine overdose should be a lesson in expanded use of the dangerous drug," declared The New York Post. There's no data on how many people go from receiving ketamine treatment in clinics to using it without a prescription. Herzberg, the historian, said he's not particularly worried about Perry's death causing a moral panic.

Persons: Matthew Perry, —, Charles Patti, Matthew Perry's, Patti, Perry, Matthew, Joanna Moncrieff, Ryan Marino, Marilyn Monroe's, David Herzberg, Len Bias, Gerard Sanacora, it's, Chrissy Teigen, Elon Musk, We've, Herzberg, wasn't, Sanacora, I've, Sandhya Prashad, wouldn't, Keith Trujillo, Trujillo, he's Organizations: Service, Los, Business, New York, University of Buffalo, Yale, FDA, American Society, Physicians, Psychotherapists Locations: Florida, Los Angeles County, British, Swiss

☆ CVS will change the way it prices drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Tami Luhby | Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —CVS is revamping the way it reimburses its pharmacies for prescription medications, a move that could make prescription drug pricing simpler and change how much consumers pay for their medicines. It’s a similar model to the one entrepreneur Mark Cuban is pushing with his Cost Plus Drugs company. This shift in payment models could change the cost of prescription drugs for some patients, although it will not necessarily make all medicine cost less. Some drugs may cost less, while others might rise in price, CVS executives said. Americans spend around $1,200 a year on average for prescription drugs — more than any other country — according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Persons: Mark Cuban, ”, Prem Shah, Nick Fabrizio, Fabrizio, they’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, CVS, Plus, CVS Pharmacy, CVS Health, Cornell University, Organization for Economic Co, Kaiser Family Foundation, Amazon Pharmacy, Cuban, Plus Drug, Blue Locations: New York, California

Search resuls for: "US Drug"

25 mentions found