News Briefs: AbbVie Leaves PhRMA Lobbying Group

AbbVie Inc. is leaving several lobbying organizations, including the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), widely regarded as the most powerful drug industry trade group, according to Politico. PhRMA has had a tough year. In August, the trade group faced its most notable political failure in a generation when Democrats passed Medicare drug price negotiation as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. In the months since, PhRMA has launched an internal review of that episode and has dismissed several of its most prominent executives.  

Amgen Inc. plans to acquire Horizon Therapeutics plc. for $27.8 billion, or $116.50 per share, according to regulatory filings; the deal is the largest health care merger of the year, per the Wall Street Journal. Horizon develops specialty drugs for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The firm’s best-seller is Tepezza (teprotumumab-trbw), a treatment for thyroid eye disease. If, as expected, Tepezza earns approval in the European Union and Japan, Horizon projects $4 billion in global annual revenue from the drug.