Feb 25, 2020 - Health

Mallinckrodt proposes $1.6 billion opioid settlement via bankruptcy

Mallinckrodt offices in New Jersey. Photo: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Mallinckrodt is floating a $1.6 billion proposal to settle allegations that it fueled the opioid crisis by pushing its painkillers. The drug company would make payments in the eight years after its generics business, which sells oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, emerges from bankruptcy.

Why it matters: The attorneys general from 47 states and territories, as well as the plaintiffs in the global opioid lawsuit, are supporting the deal, Mallinckrodt said. Mallinckrodt's brand-name drug business will not be affected, but its generics bankruptcy marks the third opioids bankruptcy, after Purdue Pharma and Insys Therapeutics.

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Orion Rummler

Jun 3, 2020 - Technology

Lawsuit alleges Google tracks users even in incognito mode

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Google faces a new lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion over accusations the company profits off of using its ad tech to track people across the internet, even when they take steps to mask their browsing.

The big picture: Google, like other tech giants, has faced rising scrutiny in recent years over its collection and use of private data, and policymakers and advocates have looked to how it uses ad tech as a possible avenue for curbing its power.

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Bob Herman

Jun 3, 2020 - Health

Hydroxychloroquine failed to prevent coronavirus infections

Photo: George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug that treats malaria and lupus, did not prevent people from getting COVID-19 if they were exposed to the virus, according to data from a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The bottom line: There has been widespread confusion about hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness — President Trump and other conservatives touted the pill with little sound evidence, while other flawed studies suggested it was harmful. But this trial authoritatively says the drug "didn't work" as a preventive medication for this coronavirus, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease doctor told the Washington Post.

Kyle Daly

Jun 2, 2020 - Technology

Zoom revenues and profit soar as pandemic propels videoconferencing

Zoom founder Eric Yuan in New York on the day of the firm's 2019 IPO. Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Zoom saw revenue more than double and bulked up what had been a razor-thin profit margin in the three months ending April 30, the company reported Tuesday.

The big picture: The report marks Zoom's first of the pandemic era, as the company went from insurgent enterprise video-conferencing startup to global powerhouse.