WASHINGTON – Since 2012, Americans at risk of HIV-1 infection from sex have had just a single option for reducing their odds of acquiring it: a daily dose of Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). Now, about a year before Truvada goes generic, at least some of them have a second option in Gilead's Descovy (emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide). On Thursday, the FDA approved Descovy for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to reduce the risk of HIV-1 infection from sex, excluding those who have receptive vaginal sex.

Rough times continued Friday at Arbutus Biopharma Corp. as it discontinued clinical development of AB-506, an oral capsid inhibitor, which is in a clinical trial for treating chronic hepatitis B. The decision was made when two healthy volunteers were found to have acute hepatitis.

LONDON – The U.K. government has placed an immediate ban on the export of certain drugs in a bid to prevent wholesalers taking advantage of the fall in the value of the pound against the euro by selling off U.K. stockpiles that have been built up to protect against an interruption in supplies in event of a no-deal Brexit.

Following a speech that seemed more campaign rhetoric than policy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that's his answer to the Democrats' proposed Medicare for All Act.

Medicare coverage of digital health is evolving, but there are those who have argued that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is moving too slowly to capitalize on significant opportunities. The Advanced Medical Technology Association (Advamed) said in comments to the docket for the draft physician fee schedule that an advisory panel should be regularly convened in order to exploit the potential for digital health to "transform the delivery of care and improve patient care outcomes."

While the U.S. House and Senate push forward with controversial legislative packages aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable for Americans, other bills that would impact the biopharma sector are making their own way through Congress, being absorbed into the larger pricing packages or getting tacked on to unrelated legislation.

SUZHOU, China – Under the "Healthy China" campaign, China has introduced a three-year action plan for preventing and treating cancer. The plan vows to speed up the marketing of cancer drugs in the country, even aiming for simultaneous marketing with other countries.