Drugmakers including Pfizer, Sanofi, and GlaxoSmithKline plan to raise US prices on more than 300 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. The hikes come as drugmakers are reeling from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs. They are also fighting new drug price cutting rules from the Trump administration, which would reduce the industry’s profitability. The companies kept their price increases at 10 percent or below, and the largest drug companies to raise prices so far, Pfizer and Sanofi, kept nearly all of their increases 5 percent or less, 3 Axis said. 3 Axis is a consulting firm that works with pharmacists groups, health plans and foundation on drug pricing and supply chain issues. GSK did raise prices on two vaccines – shingles vaccine Shingrix and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine Pediarix – by 7 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, 3 Axis said. Teva Pharmaceuticals hiked prices on 15 drugs, including Austedo, which treats rare neurological disorders, and asthma steroid Qvar, which together grossed more than $650 million in sales in 2019 and saw price hikes of between 5 percent and 6
Facebook urged staffers not to sport the company’s brand in public following its crackdown on President Trump and his supporters, a new report says. The social-media giant’s security team issued an internal memo Monday telling staffers to avoid wearing or carrying branded gear out of apparent concern for their safety, according to The Information. “In light of recent events, and to err on the side of caution, global security is encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time,” read the memo shared on an internal service available to Facebook’s more than 56,000 employees, the outlet reported. The notice came four days after Facebook indefinitely banned Trump from posting to his page with more than 35 million followers after he incited his supporters’ deadly riot at the Capitol last week. Facebook also said Monday that it would remove all posts containing the phrase “stop the steal,” which Trump supporters have used as a rallying cry to back the president’s baseless claims of election fraud since his loss to Joe Biden. Facebook is one of several tech titans that have sanctioned Trump and his supporters since the Capitol siege that left five people dead and forced lawmakers to
Legendary Greenwich Village hot spot Le Figaro Café is coming back from the dead with nearly the same name and hopefully with the same artsy vibe. Veteran restaurant man and former model Mario Skaric will launch Figaro Café (without the “Le”) this spring at the original location, 184-186 Bleecker St. at the MacDougal Street corner. “It will pay homage to the most famous tenant that was there and we’ll make it more upscale,” Skaric said. Le Figaro Café opened in 1957 and became a celebrity draw under several different owners until it closed in 2008. It drew Beat Generation pioneers such as Jack Kerouac and Lenny Bruce in the 1950s and early ’60s, and later, superstars Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Al Pacino. A scene from Pacino’s “Carlito’s Way” was filmed there in 1993. The revival’s a morale-booster for the Village, where the pandemic has wiped out scores of beloved eating and drinking spots. The Bleecker-MacDougal corner remains lively even though the Figaro site has been vacant for six years. A New York Times blog post lamented “The Lost Mystique of Le Figaro Café” when it closed in August 2008. Le
