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As U.S. policy makers grapple with ways to widen access to medicines, a new study suggests that a model used by the Department of Veterans Affairs could improve patient adherence and presumably lower health care costs. To wit, patients who obtain prescription drugs from the Veterans Health Administration were less likely than other insured Americans to skip doses or medicines altogether. They were also less likely to delay filling prescriptions because they were unable to afford them. Moreover, the VA system appeared to reduce racial and economic disparities in accessing medicines. (Silverman, 1/6)

Dozens of drugmakers are conducting human trials for a record 89 therapies that pair antibodies with toxic agents to fight cancer, evidence of renewed confidence in an approach that has long fallen short of its promise, an analysis compiled for Reuters shows. These antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, from companies including AztraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, are described by researchers as "guided missiles" packing a powerful anti-cancer punch. (1/6)

Compass is running a 216-patient Phase 2B ­clinical trial—typically the second-to-last stage before a drug gets the FDA’s nod—and has made enough synthetic doses of the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms to supply more than 30,000 patients. It’s raised $58 million in venture funding from powerful tech figures including Trump ally Peter Thiel, investor Christian Angermayer, and Bitcoin booster Michael Novogratz. Thomas Insel, former director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, and Paul Summergrad, former head of the American Psychiatric Association, are on its board of advisers. (Piore, 1/7)

The state of Florida is examining whether Sun Pharmaceuticals (SUNPHARMA) has distributed samples of medicines without the proper permits, the third U.S. state to take such a step in the past year concerning one of the world’s largest purveyors of generic drugs. Last month, the Division of Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics became aware that Sun may have been distributing samples without filing necessary paperwork and so asked the company to explain its practices, according to a source familiar with the matter. Walter Copeland, the division director, declined to comment. (Silverman, 1/6)