Sanofi sues Novo over ‘misleading’ Tresiba marketing materials

Sanofi has sued Novo over the Danish drugmaker’s marketing materials for Tresiba, alleging that they falsely claimed Sanofi’s competing products—blockbuster Lantus and follow-up Toujeo—won’t be available to many U.S. patients down the line. The pharma giant is seeking an order to force Novo to pay unspecified money damages and pull the materials in question. According to Sanofi’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the materials urged doctors and patients to make the change in treatment because Sanofi’s meds would supposedly be “blocked” in January.

Acquisitive Allergan gets top-line help, cost-savings potential with $2.9B LifeCell buy

The Dublin drug maker has inked a pact to pick up regenerative medicine player LifeCell for $2.9 billion in cash. LifeCell racked up about $450 million in 2016 revenue that’ll boost Allergan’s own top line going forward, and it’s expanding at a mid-single digit rate. The addition of LifeCell’s product line—which includes human allograft tissue matrix AlloDerm, fat-grafting device Revolve and procine-based tissue matrix Strattice—will help Allergan create a world-class aesthetic and regenerative medicine business providing significant opportunity to enhance the overall product offering for plastic and general surgery customers globally.

Actelion snubs Sanofi and restarts talks with J&J

Swiss drugmaker Actelion is back at the negotiating table with Johnson & Johnson, appearing to have given Sanofi the cold shoulder just as the French drugmaker was thought to have figured out how to bring the biotech to ground. While investors were hoping for culmination of a deal before Christmas, a source pointed that it is “neither impossible nor unusual” to see big deals finally tied up around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Impax CEO Wilkinson out as company searches for new leadership

Under a “mutual agreement” with the board, Impax CEO Fred Wilkinson is departing the company, to be replaced by board member J. Kevin Buchi on an interim basis. The move comes as the company’s stock has steadily drifted down in recent years and now is trading at its lowest point since 2010. Wilkinson will depart after more than two years at the California-based generic and specialty Pharma Company. Buchi, who only joined the board last month, will serve until Impax can find a permanent leader. Buchi currently serves as CEO at TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, where he’s expected to step down by the end of the year.