Market Skeptical Following Sen. Warren's Antitrust Allegations

 The market appears indifferent to a letter sent by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to FTC commissioners Wednesday voicing concerns about Amgen and Indivior’s plans to buy Horizon Pharmaceuticals and Opiant Pharmaceuticals, respectively. 

Citing the companies’ “records of anti-competitive business practices,” Warren’s chief concern was how the acquisitions would “threaten competition, reduce innovation or increase costs for American families.”

In response, Jessica Akopyan, head of global media relations at Amgen, told BioSpace Friday that the company’s leadership disagrees with Warren’s characterization.

“We have been working cooperatively with the Federal Trade Commission and remain confident there are no anti-competitive aspects of this transaction,” Akopyan said. “Amgen’s commercial, medical and manufacturing capabilities will make it possible for Horizon’s life-changing medicines to reach many more seriously ill patients.”

The market appears to be of a similar mind as shares of Horizon and Opiant were down just 1.6% and 2% as of market open Friday.

In her letter, Warren warned of the dangers of “extensive consolidation,” stating that between 1995 and 2015, the 60 “most dominant” pharmaceutical companies consolidated into 10 firms.

Though she conceded the Inflation Reduction Act contained provisions to control drug prices, Warren argued additional measures could be taken, including “robust FTC enforcement of antitrust law.” 

A Rocky History

In November, Indivior agreed to acquire opioid overdose therapy maker Opiant for $145 million, which Warren said is problematic given the company’s legal trouble.

When Indivior and its former parent company knew the patent on their opioid addiction treatment Suboxone was set to expire, the companies illegally maintained a monopoly over the drug by marketing a dissolvable film version of the drug as safer when it was not. 

Ultimately, Indivior was ordered to pay $60 million in a settlement with the FTC and $2 billion in fines due to separate cases with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a statement released Thursday regarding the acquisition, Indivior did not directly reference Warren’s claims. Instead, Nina DeLorenzo, chief global impact officer, emphasized the positive effect of the treatment.

“Opiant’s nalmefene rescue therapy medication, which is currently not approved by the FDA, will be an important additional option to help those who suffer an opioid overdose…together, our companies can fight this problem,” DeLorenzo said.

Warren also stated that Amgen and Horizon have engaged in “brazen price increases on drugs that face little or no competition.” Warren cited what she called a “most egregious price hike” on Amgen’s drug Enbrel as evidence of this.

After singling out Amgen and Indivior, Warren cited other recent acquisitions as proof of their negative effect on patients. Specifically, she stated Merck’s recent buyout of Imago BioSciences shows big pharma companies are prioritizing acquisitions over innovation. 

An Ongoing Battle

To back up her claims about Amgen and Indivior, Warren highlighted other recent acquisitions she viewed as harmful. 

Specifically, she stated Merck’s buyout of Imago BioSciences in December shows big pharma companies are prioritizing acquisitions over innovation. 

She also highlighted AbbVie’s $63 billion buyout of Allergan in 2019. As AbbVie was set to lose patent protection over Humira in 2023, she argued the acquisition allowed the company to maintain its monopoly on the drug and add “almost 1.4 billion dollars to costs for U.S. patients between 2019 and 2020.” 

Wednesday’s missive follows another letter Warren wrote with 24 other senators asking HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra to take action to lower the price of Xtandi (enzalutamide), a prostate cancer therapeutic. This was Warren’s sixth letter in the past two years urging HHS to establish march-in rights for Xtandi.

Warren’s plight is not only with biopharma but also with large mergers. In March, she introduced the "Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act" that would block deals worth more than $5B or lead to high market shares.

https://www.biospace.com/article/sen-warren-s-scrutiny-of-recent-biopharma-m-and-a-falls-on-impervious-market/

Left-wing think tank responsible for thousands of fake Russia stories: new Twitter Files

 A left-wing think tank erroneously claiming to track Russian online activity was responsible for thousands of bogus stories asserting the nation’s influence in US politics, according to the latest batch of Twitter Files.

The Hamilton 68 “dashboard” was the brainchild of former FBI special agent and MSNBC contributor Clint Watts and operated under the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a think tank founded in 2017 — shortly after former President Trump took office.  

The ASD Advisory Council included such figures as top Clinton ally John Podesta, Obama-era acting CIA Director Michael Morell, former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, and former conservative activist Bill Kristol.

The latest Twitter Files disclosure, the 15th so far, revealed how Hamilton 68’s Russian bot dashboard repeatedly insisted there was widespread and deep Russian penetration of social media and unveiled that Twitter executives frequently challenged those claims internally.

“I think we need to just call this out on the bulls–t is,” Twitter’s then-head of trust and safety Yoel Roth wrote in an October 2017 email. “Hamilton dashboard falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots,” he added in January 2018.

Emails in the disclosure show that Twitter’s own internal audits repeatedly showed that accounts flagged by Hamilton 68 were not Russian bots.

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Morell was also on the ASD Advisory Council.

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John Podesta was on the ASD Advisory Council.

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Yoel Roth Roth wanted to publicly push back against Hamilton 68.

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“It was a scam. … Hamilton 68 simply collected a handful of mostly real, mostly American accounts, and described their organic conversations as Russian scheming,” wrote Matt Taibbi, who released the latest tranche of files Friday.

Hamilton 68’s pronouncements were used to allege a hidden Russian hand in US politics from hundreds, and possibly thousands, of news stories during the Trump years.

While Roth wanted to publicly push back against Hamilton 68, he was warned against taking on the politically connected group by Twitter’s then-head of global policy communication, Emily Horne.

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An email from Yael Roth revealed in the new Twitter Files.

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Another email from Roth that was revealed in the latest info dump.

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The Hamilton 68 “dashboard” was the brainchild of Clint Watts.

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“We have to be careful in how much we push back on ASD publicly,” she wrote.

The private sector Russia-baiting followed a similar approach from the United States government, which repeatedly demanded the company find Russian influence which its internal audits consistently revealed to be nonexistent, other Twitter Files tranches showed.

In the run-up to The Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden, Twitter executives worked in close concert with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other intelligence agencies, where the company was warned to be on guard against foreign hacking operations — specifically surrounding President Biden’s son.

https://nypost.com/2023/01/28/left-wing-think-tank-responsible-for-fake-russia-stories/

Amazon beats claim that warehouse quotas are biased against older workers

 Amazon.com Inc on Friday won its bid to dismiss a proposed class action claiming its strict production quotas for warehouse workers discriminate against older employees.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore in Oakland said the 2021 lawsuit, which alleges the online retailer's hourly quotas place older workers at a higher risk of injury, was too vague and failed to identify specific policies that are discriminatory.

"Simply because physical strength declines with age does not automatically mean that older workers are more likely to get injured or fail to keep up with the quotas," Westmore wrote.

Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait in a statement said the claim that the company imposes quotas on workers was a misconception, and employees are able to take informal breaks during their shifts to stretch or use the bathroom.

"We do not require employees to meet specific productivity speeds or targets," Agrait said. "We assess performance based on safe and achievable expectations."

Lawyers for the plaintiff did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit says Amazon requires warehouse employees to move 150 to 300 items through their work posts each hour, depending on their job duties. Workers can be disciplined or fired for missing quotas or spending too much time off task.

The lawsuit claimed that because workers who are 49 and older are more susceptible to injuries, including those resulting from highly repetitive motions, the quotas amount to age discrimination in violation of California law.

Westmore in granting Amazon's motion to dismiss the case said it would be improper to infer that older workers are more likely to be injured merely because of their age.

Amazon has been criticized by employees, lawmakers and union organizers for putting profits over worker safety by enforcing the production quotas.

Last week, the U.S. workplace safety regulator said it had cited Amazon for placing workers at three warehouses at risk by exposing them to ergonomic hazards that resulted in serious injuries.

Amazon, which faces up to $60,000 in fines, has said it invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually to ensure worker safety.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-amazon-beats-claim-warehouse-004218745.html

U.S. four-star general warns of war with China in 2025

 A four-star U.S. Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.

"I hope I am wrong," General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members. "My gut tells me will fight in 2025."

The letter was dated Feb. 1 but had been sent out on Friday.

The general's views do not represent the Pentagon but show concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military over a possible attempt by China to exert control over Taiwan, which China claims as a territory. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote.

"These comments are not representative of the department's view on China," a U.S. defense official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.

China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing's rule. Taiwan's government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.

Reuters reviewed a copy of Minihan's memo, which was first reported by NBC News.

In response to a request for comment, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that military competition with China is a central challenge.

"Our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-four-star-general-warns-160744651.html

Pro-Life Activists Face Prison Time As DOJ Increases FACE Act Prosecutions

 by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Holding bullhorns and sometimes graphic signs depicting aborted babies, sidewalk ministers around the United States have seconds to reach the hearts of pregnant women moments before they walk into abortion facilities.

“We had one mother who came up to me on the sidewalk. She saw some signs of ours, stopped, and said, ‘Is that real?’ It was a photo of a baby that had been aborted,” Denny Green, 56, of Cumberland, Virginia, told The Epoch Times. “We let her know, ‘Yeah, that is real.’ She said, ‘If that’s real, I can’t do that to my baby,’ and she decided not to take her baby’s life.”

Green said the group followed up with the woman, helping with food and other needs but eventually lost contact, until five years later.

“She saw us out on the street again, stopped and let us meet her little girl,” he said. “That has happened numerous times. We’re there for the long haul, if they need us, as a friend or as a help. We’re there to walk with them.”

Denny Green with his daughter Charity and his grandson Hudson on the sidewalk in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Charlottesville, Va., in 2021. (Courtesy of Denny Green)

Green is among 11 people federally charged with the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for a March 2021 pro-life demonstration at a now-closed abortion facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The FACE Act prohibits interference with obtaining or providing abortions.

In this case, the abortion facility was inside a larger medical building that had other, unrelated medical offices. Some of those charged stood in the hallway, blocking the door, while others stood down the hall, closer to an elevator. They sang Christian songs, prayed, and spoke to women seeking to enter the facility, which is shown in a video captured by one of the group members.

“Sir, that baby is a blessing from God,” one of the 11 told a couple who walked toward the abortion facility door, saw the people in the hallway, then got back on the elevator.

“Yeah. More power to you,” the man with the woman said as the elevator doors closed.

Local police arrested some members of the group and charged them with trespassing. Once the trespassing charges were handled, those arrested thought the incident was behind them. But 19 months later, in October 2022, they were charged by the FBI.

By this time, the abortion facility was closed due to a change in Tennessee law that now bans abortion after a baby’s heartbeat is detected.

The landscape on the frontline of abortion is changing.

While sidewalk counselors preach, most often from the sidewalk, abortion facilities have volunteer escorts to walk women from their cars to the facility doors. The escorts sometimes try to drown out the voices of preachers and counselors by blowing whistles, running loud leaf blowers, or screaming vulgarities at them.

Shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden issued an executive order for his administration to address “the heightened risk related to seeking and providing reproductive health care.” He formed the Reproductive Rights Task Force, a Justice Department-led group focused, in part, on enforcing the FACE Act.

Passed in 1994, the FACE Act chilled some pro-life activity at abortion facilities. Starting in the late 1980s, thousands of pro-life activists willing to face low-level trespassing charges used to hold sit-ins, pray, and carry signs at abortion facilities around the country. But after the fatal shootings of two abortionists and three facility workers in the early 1990s, the FACE Act—which calls for federal prison and fines—was implemented. Fewer people were willing to risk federal charges and left the movement.

Still, some pro-life activists are willing to risk their freedom to save babies headed for death.

Now, the Biden administration is cracking down on them. In the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, the Department of Justice criminally charged 17 people with FACE Act violations, according to the DOJ website. In 2022 alone, the DOJ charged 26 people. The Epoch Times requested comment from the DOJ.

Stiffer Penalties

Paul Vaughn, 55, reads a story to his youngest child at their home in Hickman County, Tenn., in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Paul Vaughn)

Paul Vaughn, a father of 11 in Centerville, Tennessee, was preparing to take his children to school on Oct. 5, 2022, when the FBI pounded on his door with their guns drawn, terrifying the children, he said. FBI agents put him in handcuffs, drove him to Nashville, put him in a holding cell, and charged him with violating the FACE Act and with conspiracy to violate civil rights for his participation in the Tennessee event.

By 2 p.m., he said, they released him onto the streets of Nashville with no phone or wallet to find his way home and with a new list of pretrial restrictions to follow, such as where he was allowed to travel.

In addition to there being more FACE Act arrests recently, the penalties are higher. Vaughn faces 11 years in federal prison because of the added conspiracy charge.

“I’ve got an 18-month-old at home and several other children that will spend a good part of their developing years without dad at home, if I end up going to prison for an extended time,” Vaughn told The Epoch Times.

He said he and his wife have cried and prayed about the situation many times.

“God is in control,” he said. “He knows the beginning from the end. My children will see their dad at least had the courage to stand for what’s right.”

There are two federal conspiracy statutes for these kinds of cases, Stephen Crampton, Vaughn’s attorney and senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, told The Epoch Times. One requires that, for a conspiracy violation, the penalty cannot be greater than the penalty for the underlying crime.

“In this case, a first offense, nonviolent FACE violation, you only have a misdemeanor charge, up to one year in prison. So if they were to use that particular generic conspiracy statute, all they could get for the conspiracy part is another one year,” Crampton said, stressing that this is the first time he recalls a conspiracy charge in connection to a FACE charge.

“They dug deep in their little bag of tricks and found the conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights statute and charged us with that one, which carries a sentence up to 10 years,” Crampton said. “What was the civil right we were talking about with FACE? It was abortion. So now they’re going to pretend that the civil rights they’re dealing with, is the right to access to so-called reproductive health care. … Civil rights was always abortion, not the right to go in and get a pregnancy test. Nobody in the pro-life movement is going to engage in concerted activities to prohibit that action. So there’s all these little white lies that they’re using to try to throw the book at Paul and other folks since Roe v. Wade has been overturned.”

The conspiracy charge that some in this case face stems from using Facebook to communicate about meeting and live-streaming the group standing in the hallway.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/pro-life-activists-face-prison-time-doj-increases-face-act-prosecutions