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Alexander (Sasha) Opotowsky, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a cardiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital took time out to speak with BioSpace about advances in heart health, congenital heart disease (CHD), biopharma, and the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA).

In this week’s edition of Movers and Shakers, biopharma companies tap executives to serve in various leadership roles.

Despite a decline over the past year of class-action lawsuits, life science companies remain a popular target for securities fraud litigation.

During the president’s annual address to Congress and the nation, Trump said that as a result of his administration’s efforts to lower the costs of prescription drugs, “in 2018 drug prices experienced their single largest decline in 46 years.”

Investors are not happy after Austin, Texas-based Pain Therapeutics announced that it was no closer to seeing its drug candidate Remoxy ER, an abuse-deterrent, extended-release gel formulation of oxycodone, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

As a valued member of our BioSpace community, we are eager to hear more from you and other readers in 2019. What are the unique benefits your life sciences employer offers?

Although bioterrorism doesn’t get the kind of attention more traditional bombings and shootings receive, the biotech industry and the federal government are paying attention and actively funding and developing countermeasures to potential bioterror, military and public health emergencies.

The plan is aimed at providing new transparency to the prescription drug market and removing the veil of hidden rebates conducted between companies and pharmacy benefits managers.

As January ends, biotech and pharma companies tap new leaders to help drive strategic visions. New hires at Histogen, Indalo, Novartis Oncology, Calico, and more.

In November, Chinese researcher He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology of China announced he had used CRISPR to alter the embryos of seven couples to make them resistant to HIV. To date, a set of twins were born and there is another pregnancy. This was met by near-universal condemnation in the global scientific community.