| |   | We have a deep dive today on executive compensation in biotech. Plus, we’ll see how GSK performs after its split from Haleon, and more.
- Meghana | | | 
No one gets paid like Len Schliefer
Biotech executives claimed some of the highest compensation in all of health care in 2021 — and no one was paid more than Regeneron CEO Len Schliefer, who took home an astounding $453 million.
But how, exactly, does Schliefer stack up against his peers?
A sweeping STAT analysis of executive compensation in health care found his compensation amounts to just shy of the entire combined compensation — $478 million — of the next nine highest-paid pharma and biotech CEOs.
For more on the top earners, check out the analysis here. | New data calls Vascepa approval into question Amarin’s fish-oil-based heart drug, Vascepa, was given the green light by an advisory committee in November 2019 — and subsequently approved. However, two members of that expert panel now say that recent data would have prompted them to reconsider their votes.
The data, published in the journal Circulation, suggest much of the drug’s benefit might actually be attributed to harm caused by the placebo used in the study. The placebo contained mineral oil, which the paper says could trigger a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes. “Certainly this changes my interpretation of the potential harms of mineral oil placebo,” one panelist told STAT. “This recent paper clearly shows that this mineral oil placebo is not inert, it’s not a placebo. If we had known this during the panel, that would have affected our assessment of the study result.” Read more. | From trials to triumph: The 2022 STAT Summit Join us as we host silo-breaking discussions on the most important topics in health care. Over two days this November, you’ll hear from some of the leading minds in the industry. Don’t miss out, and enjoy early-bird pricing on your pass until July 22. | Haleon goes public, as GSK looks to the future GlaxoSmithKline is spinning off its consumer health division, Haleon — a move that CEO Emma Walmsley says will help address the company’s “perennial underperformance,” the Financial Times writes. The new company will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange today under ticker symbol HLN.
The separation will allow Walmsley to focus on GSK’s pharmaceutical and vaccine business, strengthening its balance sheet considerably. But this is a bold new chapter for GSK, and will be a huge test of Walmsley’s abilities as its chief executive. “There’s a Gordian knot of GSK, in terms of balance sheet structure, funding for the future and [we can use] the separation as a great catalyst for setting up a new chapter for GSK,” she told FT. Walmsley’s vow, when she took the company’s helm in 2017, was to stop its scientists “drifting off in hobbyland.” In the past few years, GSK has increased its R&D investment by 50% and is zeroing in on drugs with the highest likelihood to become blockbusters. We’ll see how Walmsley continues to pursue that trajectory. | Some UnitedHealthcare members will pay nothing for vital meds For some of its members, UnitedHealthcare will begin charging no copays or out-of-pocket costs for five vital drugs — insulin, epinephrine, glucagon, naloxone, and albuterol. But these discounts will only be a guarantee for about 20% of the insurer’s subscribers. UnitedHealth Group has made quite the windfall recently — showing a $5 billion net profit in the second quarter that astounded Wall Street. Starting next year, fully insured employers will be able to choose plans that will make these drugs free for patients. The move could ultimately help boost the insurer’s bottom line, by preventing patients with diabetes, asthma, or severe allergies from ending up in the hospital. Read more. | More reads - NYC will use a one-dose monkeypox vaccine strategy to stretch supplies, despite FDA, CDC warnings against the move STAT
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| Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow,  | | | |
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