The US FDA commissioner called recent initiatives to get drug rebates to patients at point-of-sale "healthy" public policy, and suggested insurance premiums have been subsidized by sick patients, addressing CNBC's health care conference.

Warner-Lambert's Fajardo, P.R. plant will be cleared under FDA's application integrity policy in the near future, the company said following its guilty plea in a case stemming from failure to report stability failures of drugs, some of which were manufactured in the plant.

Health technology assessment body NICE wants Kite to collect more evidence to prove that Tecartus can cure relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. But in the meantime, it says the CAR-T therapy should be made available on the National Health Service, making UK patients among the first in the world to be offered access to the treatment.