CMS projects the year-over-year growth in retail prescription drug spending to jump from a negative to flat growth in 2012 and 2013 to more than 5% in 2014 and nearly 7% in 2015, largely due to expanded health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Three years into the ACA, the biopharma industry takes stock of its near-term wins and losses as the law’s critical expanded insurance coverage takes effect beginning in 2014. Pharma still isn’t sure whether the increase in covered lives from the exchanges will boost prescription sales enough to offset the rebates, taxes, and fees it agreed to pay out, or what kind of patients constitute this new market.

No device-related warning letters were released by the US FDA the week of 26 January.