Raphael Stevens

Recalled baby products that have been linked to more than 100 infant deaths are still for sale on Facebook Marketplace, lawmakers said in a letter to Meta.
Four members of Congress want to know how Facebook parent Meta handles product safety and how many staff are dedicated to trust and safety teams.
Meta has been in the midst of sweeping layoffs, which have disproportionally affected its teams dedicated to safety, CNBC previously reported.

Recalled baby products linked to more than 100 infant deaths are still widely sold on Facebook Marketplace despite thousands of requests from federal regulators to take down the items, four members of Congress said.
In a letter sent Friday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers said the Boppy lounger, which was recalled in 2021, and the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play, an infant sleep product that was recalled in 2019, are among the items still sold on the platform.

Lawmakers wrote that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has sent Facebook parent Meta about 1,000 requests a month since 2022 to remove the recalled Boppy Newborn Lounger, but the product keeps cropping up for sale on the platform.
“To date, the volume of takedown requests has not slowed, and CPSC staff is unaware of any proactive measures Meta has taken to prevent these postings in the future,” said the letter, signed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican; the House Energy and Commerce Committee chair, Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat; the panel’s ranking member, Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. 
“Meta’s failure to prevent recalled products from being posted for sale on its platform has resulted in your users and their children being placed at risk of purchasing and using a product that CPSC has found to pose a serious risk of injury and potential death,” the lawmakers wrote.
Meta didn’t return a request for comment. 
In June, the CPSC’s commissioners sent a letter to Zuckerberg calling on him to do more to prevent the sale of the recalled products. But new postings aren’t slowing down, according to the lawmakers.

In the letter, the members of Congress asked for more information about Meta’s product safety policies, how it monitors recalls and how many staff members are dedicated to consumer-product safety issues.
Recently, the tech company announced plans to cut about 21,000 jobs, and the layoffs have had an outsized effect on Meta’s trust and safety work, CNBC previously reported. Some experts and former employees said the layoffs will make it harder for the social media giant to deal with safety-related issues in a timely manner because the teams will have to do more with less, CNBC reported. 
Lawmakers sent similar letters seeking information on safety protocols and compliance to more than a dozen retailers with online marketplaces, including Target, Walmart, Amazon, Shein and eBay. But they did not accuse the companies of selling recalled products. 
The lawmakers asked Meta to respond by Aug. 31. More

Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $225 million in criminal fines over five years to resolve charges related to price fixing three medications, including a generic cholesterol drug that it will now divest, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals will pay $30 million to resolve charges alleging that it conspired with Teva to fix prices for that cholesterol drug, called pravastatin. Glenmark will also divest its version of that drug.
It’s the latest resolution in a string of cases related to price fixing, which refers to competitors banding together to artificially set the price of a product. 

Boxes of tablets produced by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $225 million in criminal fines to resolve charges related to price fixing three medications, including a generic cholesterol drug that it has agreed to divest, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals will pay $30 million to resolve charges alleging that it conspired with Teva to fix prices for that cholesterol drug, called pravastatin. Glenmark will also divest its version of that drug.

Teva’s fine is the largest to date for a domestic antitrust case. Both settlements are the latest resolution in a string of cases related to price fixing, which refers to competitors banding together to artificially set the price of a product. 
Since 2020, the DOJ’s antitrust division has charged five other pharmaceutical companies for participating in similar schemes affecting several generic drugs. Monday’s agreement means seven companies have resolved their criminal charges and collectively agreed to pay more than $681 million in criminal penalties. 
“Today, the Antitrust Division and our law enforcement partners hold two more pharmaceutical companies accountable for raising prices of essential medicines and depriving Americans of affordable access to prescription drugs,” Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s antitrust division, said in a release. 
The deals are deferred prosecution agreements, which means the two companies will not face trial or criminal punishment in the case if they abide by the terms of the agreements. If Teva and Glenmark are convicted, they will likely face mandatory debarment from federal health-care programs, according to the DOJ. 
Teva has also agreed to donate $50 million worth of two generic drugs affected by price fixing to humanitarian organizations that provide medications to Americans in need. The company said during an earnings call earlier this month that it has set aside $200 million to resolve the DOJ’s price-fixing allegations. 

Teva, in a press release Monday, said it will pay $22.5 million each year between 2024 and 2027, and $135 million in 2028. 
“Teva has robust and consistent compliance controls in place designed to prevent this type of activity from reoccurring, and has committed, as part of the [deferred prosecution agreement], to maintain those controls going forward,” the company said, adding it is “pleased to put these charges behind us.”
Glenmark, in a statement, said it is “committed to being a socially and ethically responsible company and has devoted considerable resources to strengthen our compliance practices, ensuring the highest ethical operating standards.
As part of Monday’s agreements, Glenmark admitted to participating in a scheme to fix the price of pravastatin. Meanwhile, Teva admitted to participating in three price-fixing schemes that affected pravastatin and two other drugs: skin infection treatment clotrimazole and tobramycin, a medication commonly prescribed to treat eye infections. 
The DOJ in June 2020 charged Glenmark with one count of price fixing in a filing in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. That complaint alleged that Glenmark and other companies raked in $200 million from the illegal scheme.
In August, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a superseding indictment against Glenmark and Teva for the same conduct and similar actions. 
One count alleged that Teva conspired with Glenmark, another company called Apotex Corp. and others to increase prices of pravastatin and other generic drugs. Apotex admitted to its role in the scheme and agreed to pay a $24.1 million penalty in May 2020.
Another count alleged that Teva conspired with Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. and its former executive Ara Aprahamian, among other parties, to price fix clotrimazole and other generic drugs. Taro admitted to its role in the conspiracy and agreed to pay a $205.7 million penalty in July 2020. Aprahamian was indicted in February 2020 and is awaiting trial.
A third count alleged Teva conspired with Sandoz and other companies to price fix tobramycin and other generic medicines. A former Sandoz executive pleaded guilty for his participation in the conspiracy in February 2020. Sandoz admitted to its role in the conspiracy and agreed to pay a $195 million penalty in March 2020. More

The Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine from Pfizer that protects infants from respiratory syncytial virus, the leading cause of hospitalization among babies in the U.S.
The company’s RSV shot is already approved and available nationwide for older adults.
Pfizer hopes that the vaccine will be available to the public by the end of October or the beginning of November.

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a vaccine from Pfizer that protects infants from respiratory syncytial virus, the leading cause of hospitalization among babies in the U.S.
Pfizer’s RSV shot is already approved and available in the U.S. for older adults.

It’s now the second treatment approved by the FDA to prevent RSV in infants and the first vaccine. It uses maternal immunization, which refers to vaccinating pregnant mothers so they can pass protective antibodies to their fetuses.
Pending a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pfizer hopes the vaccine will be available to the public by the end of October or the beginning of November, which marks the beginning of RSV season, according to Alejandra Gurtman, the company’s senior vice president of clinical research and development for vaccines. 
“When you think globally, this vaccine could potentially have a huge public health impact,” Gurtman told CNBC. “After 50 years of trying to find a way where we can protect babies during the first three or especially six months of life, this vaccine is something I’m very proud of.” 
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine head, added in a release that the approval provides another option for health care providers and pregnant individuals to “protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease.”
The FDA in mid-July approved an RSV monoclonal antibody from Sanofi and AstraZeneca that is directly administered to infants. The CDC recommended that drug to all infants under eight months of age and some older babies.  

The agency’s panel of advisors is expected to meet and consider a recommendation for Pfizer’s vaccine in October, but it’s unclear how it will compare to the guidelines set for the first treatment since it isn’t given to infants.
Pfizer’s jab is specifically administered to expectant mothers in the late second or third trimester of their pregnancy. The single-dose vaccine triggers antibodies that are passed to the fetus, which provides it with protection against RSV from birth through the first six months of life.
RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. But younger children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to more severe RSV infections. 
Each year, the virus kills a few hundred children younger than 5, and 6,000 to 10,000 seniors, according to the CDC. 
The shot would help the U.S. combat the upcoming RSV season as it comes off an unusually severe year. 
Cases of the virus in children and older adults overwhelmed hospitals across the country, largely because the public stopped practicing Covid pandemic health measures that had helped contain the spread of RSV. 

Safety and efficacy data

The FDA’s approval of Pfizer’s vaccine was based on data from a phase three trial, which found that the shot was nearly 82% effective at preventing severe disease from RSV in newborns during the first 90 days of life. 
The vaccine was also about 70% effective during the first six months of the baby’s life.
In May, the FDA’s panel of advisors unanimously said the data showed Pfizer’s vaccine was effective. 

Respiratory syncytial virus – viral vaccine under research
Hailshadow | Istock | Getty Images

But some advisors expressed concerns about safety. 
A slightly higher number of premature births occurred among mothers who took the shot compared to those who received a placebo: 5.7% versus 4.7%, respectively. 
The FDA, following the approval Monday, said the available data “are insufficient to establish or exclude a causal relationship between preterm birth” and Pfizer’s vaccine.
Pfizer’s Gurtman also said the difference in premature birth rates was “not statistically significant.”
She noted that most premature births occurred 30 days after vaccination, which means “a very close causal relationship between the vaccine and preterm birth couldn’t be identified.” 
“We couldn’t find any reason why this really happened,” Gurtman said. 
She added that some upper middle-income countries, including the U.S. and Japan, didn’t see a higher rate of premature births in mothers who took the vaccine. 
Still, Gurtman said Pfizer is going to examine the risks in a post-marketing study on the vaccine. “Post-marketing” refers to research conducted on a product after it receives FDA approval.
The company’s post-marketing will also involve evaluating any pregnancy-related complications following vaccination, she added. That includes eclampsia, which refers to seizures that develop during pregnancy or shortly after birth. 
Pfizer will launch a pregnancy registry that will allow women and obstetricians to call and report any adverse events after receiving the vaccine, according to Gurtman. More

Covid vaccine stocks rose as new variants of the virus emerge in the U.S. ahead of the rollout of updated shots this fall
Novavax, Moderna, BioNTech and Pfizer are slated to roll out new shots designed to target the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.
Those shots are expected to provide protection against newer variants of the virus, including EG.5, or Eris.

Nikos Pekiaridis | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Covid vaccine makers’ shares rose Monday as new variants of the virus emerge in the U.S. ahead of the rollout of updated shots this fall.
Shares of Novavax closed more than 13% higher. Moderna’s stock closed more than 9% higher. Shares of BioNTech, which jointly develops Covid vaccines with Pfizer, closed more than 6% higher. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s stock ended around 1% higher. 

It’s been a rocky few months for those stocks as sales of Covid shots and treatments plummet in the U.S.: Shares of all four companies are down more than 20% for the year. But Wall Street’s enthusiasm for Covid vaccine makers is getting a fresh boost with the upcoming launch of brand-new shots this fall and the emergence of new variants of the virus. 
That includes EG.5, also known as “Eris,” which is now the dominant Covid strain in the U.S. Health experts told CNBC that Eris may be slightly better at evading immunity from previous vaccinations and infections, but the variant isn’t expected to be more severe. 
Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have also said that their new shots, which are designed to target a related omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5, should provide protection against Eris. 
But it’s unclear how well the new shots will protect against a new omicron strain of the virus called BA.2.86, which has been identified in very small numbers in the U.S., U.K., Denmark and Israel.
Last week, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are tracking that strain because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant.
So far, there is no evidence that BA.2.86 spreads faster or causes more serious infections than previous versions. But the emergence of BA.2.86 could potentially increase demand for vaccines and treatments that will likely provide some degree of protection against the highly mutated variant. More

A $30 million Ferrari led the parade of trophy cars sold during Monterey Car Week last week.
Total sales and the “sell-through rate,” or percentage of cars that sold for their reserve price or minimum bid, both fell from last year.
Here are the top three most expensive cars sold at auction at Monterey and Pebble Beach.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe sold at auction at the 2023 Monterey Car Week.
Credit: Gooding & Company

A $30 million Ferrari led the parade of trophy cars sold during Monterey Car Week last week, although the classic-car market showed further signs of slowing.
Total sales for the more than 1,200 cars sold over five auctions at Monterey and Pebble Beach reached $397 million, the second-highest total ever for the auctions according to Hagerty, the classic-car insurance company.

Yet the sales marked a 16% drop from last year’s record total of $473 million. Combined with a series of high-profile disappointments on the auction block, the results suggest that inflation, higher interest rates and volatile financial markets prices are putting the brakes on the classic-car market.
“The cooling market we’ve observed for the past 15 months finally reached the Monterey auctions after having little impact last year,” Hagerty said in a report. The company cited “increased discipline at the higher end of the market, weakening demand from new collectors, and higher prices that have given pause to buyers at the upper end of the market.”
Classic cars have been among the worst-performing collectible assets in 2023, according to a new report from Knight Frank. Values have fallen 7% so far this year, while art values are up 12%, according to data from Knight Frank. Jewelry and watch values have also increased.
The rise of online auctions sites is adding to the pressure on live classic-car auctions, emerging as popular alternatives to sales events like Monterey. Sales at online auction forum Bring a Trailer reached $841 million in the first half of 2023, according to the company. Total online collector-car auctions pulled in around $1.9 billion last year, just below the $2.4 billion from live auctions, according to Hagerty.
The most important sign of weakness at Monterey Car Week was the “sell-through rate,” or percentage of cars that sold for their reserve price or minimum bid. This year’s sell-through rate fell to 68%, down from 78% last year, which means nearly a third of the cars auctioned failed to sell at their minimum price.

The highest-profile flop on the auction block was a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM auctioned by RM Sotheby’s. The car was expected to sell for between $18 million and $20 million. But the highest bid only reached $17 million, below the reserve price.
A 1960 Ferrari California Spyder was also a no-sale at auction, with the highest bid reaching $8.25 million. RM Sotheby’s said the car later sold in a private sale after the auction. The auction house didn’t disclose the price.
The most expensive car also fell below its expected range. Bonhams sold a 1967 Ferrari 412P for $30.25 million, which made it the the fourth most expensive Ferrari ever sold. Yet the “whisper number” or expected sales price, was over $40 million, and bidding for the car was light.
“The top of the market has proven resilient until recently, as demonstrated by slowing prices for Ferrari prototype racecars from the 1960s,” Hagerty said.
Some experts say Monterey and the overall classic-car market may be suffering from too much supply. Older collectors, especially from the baby boom generation, are starting to sell entire collections as they age, and it’s unclear if the new wave of younger collectors has the same appetite for similar classics, or if they prefer more modern cars from the 1990s and 2000s.
“As expected, there were just too many cars, auctions and venues,” according to K500, the classic-car intelligence firm.
Here are the three most expensive cars sold and what they went for.

1. 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta

A 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta sold at auction at the 2023 Monterey Car Week.
Credit: Bonhams

Sold for $30.25 million, by Bonhams
The 412P was the road or “customer version” of Ferrari’s celebrated 330 P3 and P4 race cars. Only two 412P Berlinettas were originally built, and Ferrari converted another two 330 P3s to 412Ps. The car sold was the second of the original 412P models off the factory line and raced at the highest level.

2. 1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster

A 1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster sold at auction at the 2023 Monterey Car Week.
Credit: RM Sotheby’s

Sold for $13.2 million, by RM Sotheby’s
The XKSS was essentially a converted race car, after Jaguar withdrew from racing following the 1956 season. The company decided to turn its D-type racers into customer road cars, adding a passenger door and weather protection. Jaguar only made 25 of them. Nine were destroyed by a factory fire, so only 16 remained, which makes them one of the classic-car world’s ultimate trophies.

3. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe sold at auction at the 2023 Monterey Car Week.
Credit: Gooding & Company

Sold for $9.5 million, by Gooding & Company
The 250 GT SWB Berlinetta captured wins at Le Mans and Sebring, along with numerous other races around Europe. Between 1960 and 1963, Ferrari made just 165 SWB Berlinettas. This car was in “remarkably original condition,” according to Gooding, since it had never been restored. Finding Ferraris in such good condition without major restorations is highly rare, adding to its value. More