> AbbVie ($ABBV) expects its hepatitis C drug sales to top $3 billion this year, with CEO Richard Gonzalez predicting Viekira Pak can grab a "meaningful share" of the U.S. market despite competition from Gilead Sciences ($GILD). Report
> The FDA conferred its "breakthrough" designation on Roche's ($RHHBY) anti-PDL1 drug as a treatment for lung cancer; the field is heating up as Merck ($MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) vie to be the first with an approved NSCLC immunotherapy. Release
> Keen on emerging markets growth, Merck KGaA took back Russian marketing rights to its diabetes and thyroid franchises from its partner Takeda. Release
> An Arizona court said it would allow a woman with lupus to sue Scottsdale-based Medicis Pharmaceuticals, now a Valeant ($VRX) unit, over alleged risks of its acne drug Solodyn. Report
> The pharma market in France will grow hardly at all over the next several years, GlobalData says, with sales there hitting $48.2 billion by 2020. Report
And Finally... Just how prevalent is "non-personal promotion" in pharma marketing these days? Report