Valeant Pharma (VRX) Confirms Name Change to Bausch Health (BHC)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) announced that the Company will change its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc., effective in July 2018.

“Becoming Bausch Health Companies is a major step forward in our transformation,” said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Valeant. “The Bausch name embodies the rich history of innovation, fortitude and dedication to patient health dating back to when J.J. Bausch opened his first optical goods shop more than 165 years ago. These qualities form the foundation of who we are today as we continue to build an innovative company striving to improve the health of patients globally.”

Since joining Valeant in May 2016, Mr. Papa and his leadership team have embarked on a multi-year effort to turnaround the Company. In the past two years, the Company has completed more than a dozen divestitures to strategically streamline operations, has reduced debt by more than 20%, and has resolved numerous legacy issues.

“Now is the right time in our turnaround to unite our Company’s core businesses, subsidiaries and brands under the Bausch Health name,” continued Mr. Papa. “We believe Bausch Health Companies more accurately represents the full scope of the Company today – a leader in the development and manufacture of a wide range of pharmaceutical, medical device and over-the-counter products, primarily in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology and dermatology.”

Because the Company’s businesses and subsidiaries have strong brand equity, all entities that have separate established brands will continue to operate under the corporate umbrella using their existing names.

As part of the name change, the Company will roll out a new corporate brand identity in July 2018, which will include new imagery and web site, and will trade under a new symbol, BHC. Until that time, the Company will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange under its present symbol, VRX.

“We completed an extensive assessment of the name entities available from within our portfolio and also assessed several potential new names. As our review progressed, it became clear that Bausch Health Companies best represents the company we are today,” said Mr. Papa. “With a history that ranges from creating revolutionary Vulcanite eye glass frames in 1861 to being the first to mass produce and market soft contact lenses globally in 1971, the Bausch brand is synonymous with innovation and quality.”

Notice of the name change has been submitted to both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the effectiveness of the name change is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions of such exchanges.

https://bit.ly/2I397dX

It’s Official: Takeda Reaches Agreement To Acquire Shire For $62 Billion

Initial reports of a pending M&A deal involving Shire PLC (ADR) SHPG 1.2% dates back to late March, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals was interested in the Ireland-based pharmaceutical giant. The two companies reached a merger agreement Tuesday.

What Happened

As part of the merger agreement, Shire shareholders will be entitled to receive $30.33 in cash for each Shire share owned and 0.839 shares either 0.839 new Takeda shares or 1.678 new Takeda ADSs, according to Takeda. The transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards and values Shire at around $62 billion.

Why It’s Important

The rationale of the transaction is fivefold, the companies said in a press release:

• Combining complementary positions in gastroenterology and neuroscience.
• Creating a global giant based in Japan with an attractive geographic footprint.
• A robust and modality-diverse pipeline.
• Enhancing Takeda’s cash flow profile.
• Maximizing value from the combination of Shire.

“We firmly believe that this combination recognizes the strong growth potential of our leading products and innovative pipeline and is in the best interests of our shareholders, our patients and the communities we serve,” Shire Chairman Susan Kilsby said in the statement.

What’s Next

Takeda and Shire expect the transaction to close in the top half of 2019; upon completion, Takeda shareholders will own around 50 percent of the combined entity.

Shire’s stock was up about 1 percent to $163 in Tuesday’s pre-market session.

https://bit.ly/2K2SjV6

More Bad News for BBQ Lovers: Grill at Your Own Risk

I’m Dr Charles Vega, and I am a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of California at Irvine. Welcome to Medscape Morning Report, our 1-minute news story for primary care.

Just as our patients are looking forward to firing up their barbecue grills, we have more bad news for them.

A high consumption of meat, poultry, or fish cooked by grilling, broiling, or roasting at high temperatures may raise blood pressure. A study of 87,000 adults showed that eating these foods more than 15 times per month was associated with a 17% higher risk for hypertension. The risk was also increased by eating more “well-done” meats.

The link between hypertension and grilled foods is a new finding. The carcinogenic potential of grilling is already known. The same hazardous chemicals that might cause cancer are also believed to cause hypertension. It may be time to tell patients to go easy on those grilled foods and well-done meats.

https://wb.md/2HYYDAm

2019 premium hike requests at Maryland ObamaCare exchange top 91%

Following in the footsteps of their mid-Atlantic neighbors, individual marketplace insurers in Maryland are proposing massive premium hikes for 2019.

According to preliminary filings posted Monday, some of the state’s largest ACA insurers are asking to nearly double their premiums.

CareFirst is requesting a 91.4% premium increase for their individual PPO Plans, while Kaiser is asking for a more modest 37.4% increase. The filings are only proposals and approved rate increases could be higher or lower, as they were in 2018.

The filings represent the early stages of what could be a pattern of double-digital hikes in states across the country, following filings from insurers in Virginia late last week. Maryland’s two Democratic U.S. Senators were quick to blame President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.

“This underscores what the administration has done to adversely affect the individual market,” Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., told the media in a press call. “There has been intentional action by the Trump administration that has made the marketplace lose the stability it needs.”

The senator also called out the administration for refusing to issue cost-sharing reductions, and congressional Republicans for repealing the individual mandate as part of its tax overhaul.

“This is clearly the result of an ongoing campaign by the Trump administration and Republicans to sabotage the individual market,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said.

The junior senator also brought up former HHS Secretary Tom Price, who recently said the GOP tax bill’s repeal of the individual mandate would increase premiums. Price later walked back his remarks.

The Senators called for Congress to pass legislation to regularly issue cost-sharing payments without presidential action, as well as fund reinsurance programs.

“Congress could act on these issues,” Cardin said. “But Republicans have been reluctant to issue these reforms.”

Cardin added that he expects these increases to be a major issue in the November midterm elections, where Republicans are already fighting against public opinion on the ACA issue.

https://bit.ly/2KM1ieK

Cerner resets earnings outlook as lawmakers urge review of VA contract

A group of House Democrats is calling for an investigation into a delayed contract between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Cerner. Meanwhile, the delay caused Cerner to revise its full-year revenue and earnings outlook given the size and scope of the pending deal.

Citing a recent Politico report that the Cerner contract is being held up by an obscure Florida doctor with access to President Donald Trump, lawmakers in the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Subcommittee on Health called for the VA Inspector General to investigate outside attempts to interfere with EHR modernization efforts.

“Simply put, updating the VA’s EHR is too important to the health and wellbeing of the 9 million veterans enrolled in VA healthcare for the process to by stymied by interference from outside political forces,” the representatives wrote (PDF) to Inspector General Michael Missal. “The process must be completely transparent and accountable, while ensuring the highest standards of patient care and responsible use of taxpayer resources.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., Annie Kuster, D-N.H., Mark Takano, D-Calif., and J. Luis Correa, D. Calif.

The group also wrote a letter (PDF) to Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie asking for additional information about the agency’s inability to finalize the contract. The letter asked whether the VA disagreed with any of the 51 recommendations provided through MITRE Corporation’s independent assessment of Cerner, and whether any VA attorneys voiced concerns in executing a contract following Secretary David Shulkin’s departure.

Last week, Cerner was forced to revise its expectations for the year after missing revenue expectations in the first quarter, with $1.293 billion, coupled with a drop in net earnings from $173.2 million during the first quarter last year to $160 million this year.

Cerner officials said they still expect the deal to commence, but wouldn’t commit to a specific timeframe.

“We are still confident we will sign an agreement with the VA, but we are now anticipating it will be in the second half of the year and will have less impact on our results,” Cerner chief financial officer Marc Naughton said in an earnings call last week.

Cerner dropped its year-end revenue expectations from between $5.45 billion and $5.65 billion to between $5.325 billion and $5.45 billion.

Cerner President Zane Burke added that the company continues “to believe we have broad support from key stakeholders” noting that House Appropriations Committee recently earmarked $1.2 billion in funding for the EHR modernization.

“That gives us the confidence in that,” he said. “But obviously, it’s been very challenging for us to predict the actual completion of that contract.”

https://bit.ly/2K0VGff

Valeant colonoscopy prep agent gets FDA OK

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX 0.78% shares gained 2 percent Monday morning after the company confirmed the Food and Drug Administration approved its bowel-cleansing preparation product.

What Happened

Valeant said the FDA granted approval for PLENVU, the company’s polyethylene glycol-based bowel preparation. Plenvu, made by the company’s fully owned subsidiary Salix, is intended to be used ahead of colonoscopies for the early detection and prevention of colon cancer.

Why It’s Important

Most patients indicate the preparation for colonoscopies are more burdensome than the medical process itself, Valeant said in the press release. The large volume of liquid required to drink coupled with the “unpleasant” taste is among the among the biggest barriers to colonoscopies. The company’s Plenvu is a low volume — 1-liter — polyethylene glycol based bowel preparation that focuses on the ascending colon.

Approximately 97,000 new cases of colon cancer and 43,000 cases of rectal cancer are found each year, Valeant said. Successful and early detection of colorectal cancer screening helps to save lives, and the company hopes to play a role with the lowest total-volume preparation bowel cleanser available in the U.S.

What’s Next

Plenvu’s approval by the FDA gives Valeant the right to begin marketing its product in the U.S. product as soon as the third quarter of 2018.

https://bit.ly/2jDs2l5

Addus HomeCare reports Q1 increase in same-store revenue of 4.6%

The company, commented, “Q1 revenues reflected continuing organic growth, with an increase in same-store revenue of 4.6%, within our target range of 3% to 5%. As a result of tax reform, we also benefited from a reduction in our income tax rate for the Q1. Also, clearly evident in the Q1 was the acceleration of the impact of our acquisition strategy. Our financial results for the quarter included the impact of the Options Home Care acquisition in August last year. As we previously announced, we purchased the Arcadia Home Care & Staffing business on April 1st and subsequently closed the Ambercare acquisition – announced February 28th – on May 1st. Ambercare and Arcadia produced combined 2017 revenue of over $100M and are expected to be immediately accretive to earnings. Our Q1 results and acquisition pipeline position Addus for continued growth during 2018.”

https://bit.ly/2FUF1Yi