Overnight Healthcare: New tax rules threaten Pfizer merger

IS PFIZER MERGER IN TROUBLE? The $160 billion merger between drug giants Pfizer and Allergan appears in jeopardy after the Obama administration’s most recent crackdown on tax-evading deals.

Pfizer is now considering pulling out of its massive merger with the Dublin-based company Allergan, according to an explosive report Tuesday afternoon by Reuters. The two companies were reportedly in talks throughout the day Tuesday about abandoning, not altering, the deal.

{mosads}The Treasury Department’s tough new rules on tax inversions have been widely seen as trying to block the Pfizer-Allergan deal, which would be the largest of its kind. The administration’s latest tax-inversion plan is its most aggressive to date, coming as a surprise to some with less than a year left in President Obama’s term.

Pfizer’s decision to move its tax address to Dublin, Ireland – saving billions in tax revenues, according to its CEO – has faced sharp political scrutiny from candidates ranging from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump. Read more here.

DRUG PRICING BILL MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) says that her bill aimed at fighting high profile drug price spikes will likely not be considered as part of a health committee session on Wednesday.

“I don’t think it’s going to come up tomorrow, but I’m assured by the chairman that it will be considered at some point,” Collins said Tuesday, referring to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

The bill would seek to speed up the FDA’s approval of certain generic drugs to allow them to compete with older drugs for rare diseases that no longer have patent protection but that still have little or no competition.

The idea is that the added competition from the generic will help guard against price spikes.

Collins indicated, though, that the bill could find another vehicle besides the innovation bill.

“I’m not sure exactly what the vehicle will be,” she said. Read more here. 

PROVIDERS CLAIM SPIKE IN ABORTION VIOLENCE: The National Abortion Federation (NAF) said Monday it saw an “unprecedented” increase in death threats in 2015, a year dominated by undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood.

Providers reported 94 death threats last year, up from just one in 2014, as well as an “unprecedented increase” in hate speech.

“In my more than 20 years with NAF, I have not seen such an escalation of hate speech, threats, and calls to action against abortion providers,” Vicki Saporta, the group’s president and CEO, wrote in a statement. Read more here. 

TRUMP TO TAKE A CRACK AT POLICY: Donald Trump is preparing a series of policy speeches that his campaign hopes will cement his spot as the conservatives’ top choice at the ballot box this fall.

He’ll specifically talk about the military, education and his hopes for a Supreme Court justice. But our big question is when will he talk about how the GOP should replace ObamaCare? Read the Post’s story on his planned speeches here.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

The Senate HELP Committee holds its final markup on its medical innovation package.

The Senate Aging Committee holds a hearing on ending Alzheimer’s disease.

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Insulin cost in U.S. more than doubles between 2002-2013 (Reuters)

U.S. Treasury rules put Pfizer-Allergan deal in question (Reuters)

When in pregnancy is Zika the most dangerous? (The Atlantic)

Food shippers in the U.S. face new rules (Wall Street Journal)

IN THE STATES:

Fentanyl-laced painkillers, the ‘super pill,’ emerge in Florida, agents say (Orlando Sentinel)

Change in tribal healthcare relieves states’ financial burdens (Governing)

ICYMI FROM THE HILL:

Clinton: ‘You can be a feminist and pro-life’ http://bit.ly/205g2q9

Medicare Advantage payments to tick up slightly http://bit.ly/25HovDP

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