“Justice Dept. Investigating Claims That Drug Companies Funded Terrorism in Iraq.” That’s an actual headline in The New York Times this week. Also, Congress pushes for Medicare negotiations and an eye-opening look at patent games that cost patients.
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing.
1. Deep pockets, dark motives
After squeezing America for more profits, PhRMA’s reached into its deep pockets and pulled out piles of cash to throw at political activities. — (NYT)
2. Let Medicare negotiate
Claire McCaskill says it will save $3 billion. Mark Meadows says he’s having conversations about the policy change. Medicare negotiations get another look. — (Washington Examiner & The Hill)
3. Investigation underway
The Justice Department is investigating claims that Big Pharma money was used to underwrite terrorism in Iraq. –– (NYT)
4. Big Pharma, sky-high profit margins
The most disliked industry in America is the most profitable sector in health care. — (Axios)
5. Overpatented, overpriced
From the patent activists over at I-MAK, a new report that shows how excessive pharmaceutical patenting is extending monopolies and driving up drug prices. — (I-MAK)
Big Pharma CEOs are flush with cash. A bill that would help patients afford medicine clears a key hurdle. A mother’s desperation to afford her daughter’s insulin goes viral.
Welcome to the Week in Review in drug pricing.
1. It’s all about the Benjamins ?
Case study: Jeffrey Leiden of Vertex used charity dollars to create the drugs that are now priced out of reach for thousands of cystic fibrosis sufferers. He made $78.5 million in 2017. — (Axios)
2. Donald, Bernie, and 92% of Americans Agree
Let. Medicare. Negotiate. It will lower drug prices and benefit us all. — (STAT)
3. As soon as dad turns his back…
Pharma’s going to raise its prices again. — (The Washington Post)
4. The story behind one mom’s call for help to afford insulin
Doreen Rudolph tweeted that she is desperate to help her daughter afford insulin. It went viral because the public wants lower drug prices now. But GoFundMe is no way to pay for drugs.— (The Washington Post)
5. A small but important hurdle
Congress says it wants to lower drug prices. A gag clause ban is one of just a few bills to clear a key hurdle in the Senate. — (STAT)
P.S.
We released a digital ad this week in support of Medicare negotiation.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Temporary price freezes do not help patients afford drugs. A courageous woman wears a wire and exposes drug company corruption. And Congress puts AbbVie under the microscope.
Welcome to the week in review!
1. This is not a price decrease
Pfizer last week is not a price decrease. Novartis this week is not a price decrease. Merck’s announcement impacts 0.1% of its sales. This is not enough.
2. Peddling influence
A bombshell report details how drug companies seek to influence doctors, state officials, and keep drug profits flowing. — (Center For Public Integrity)
3. Up, up, up
Despite talk from the president, drug prices are continuing to rise. Here’s a look at 40 commonly prescribed drugs. — (Bloomberg)
4. Three’s a charm?
Under the cloud of Congressional scrutiny, drug maker AbbVie settled with a third biosimilar developer seeking to launch a competitive product to its billion-dollar blockbuster baby, Humira. Senators earlier this month asked the FTC to investigate and see if such practices are anticompetitive. We want to know too! — (Center for Biosimilars)
5. Importation?
It is not the long-term solution to lower drug prices. But it’s back on the table. — (The Washington Post)
Kim K blessing precedes price hikes. Transparency pays in Cali. And did we mention a new super duper PAC?
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing!
1. Just keeping up with the Kardashians’ drug sales
Kim K pushed a morning sickness pill, got a half mil, and the drugmaker bumped the list price. Oh, come on. — (STAT)
2. Elsewhere in California…
The impact of a new drug pricing transparency law ripples throughout the land. — (Bloomberg)
3. Pfizer thrashed, backtracks
Pfizer backed off of hikes because President Trump tweeted. Yeah, OK. But not exactly a long-term solution. — (NYT)
4. ? ? ?
Donut holes, medicare cliffs, and a shady PhRMA ad buy. — (STAT)
5. Look, ma, a patient-powered super PAC!
Patients revolt! — (NBC)
Summer temperatures and drug prices rise. PBMs see dramz. And a slap on the wrist that (hopefully) stings.
Short week. Short week in review. Enjoy!
1. Pfizer can’t stop won’t stop…hiking drug prices
Nosy reporters this week noticed the pharmaceutical behemoth ignored pleas from the nation’s top officials to stop hiking drug prices, and hiked prices. — (Washington Examiner)
2. PBM dramz
Myth or fact: PBMs keep prices high to maintain profits, instead of bargaining with drug corporations for lower prices. Inquiring senators want to know. — (FierceHealthcare)
3. A $488 million slap on the wrist
If it hurts, we’re sure there’s an overpriced pill to ease AbbVie’s pain. — (STAT)
4. Who invited the pharma CEOs?
President Trump invited heads of pharmaceutical corporations to a private dinner in London. — (Endpoints News)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
States want to lasso drug costs. Voters are basically screaming for Congress to lower drug prices — will anyone listen? And a top-10 list you want to avoid.
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing!
1. Make good choices
Most of us developed a sense of right and wrong by the age of 5. Drug corporations? Nah. That’s probably why Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a report this week outlining the causes and consequences of high drug prices in Medicare. — (Report)
2. Drugmaker defies state efforts to rein in costs
New York’s Medicaid program says Orkambi, a new Vertex drug to treat cystic fibrosis, is not worth the price. State officials identified 30 drugs that were priced too high and said those products’ manufacturers agreed to deeper discounts for a cool $60 million in taxpayer savings. Vertex was the only company that refused. The piece featured P4AD patient advocate Lora Moser, 40, who can’t afford Orkambi. — (The New York Times)
3. The problem is the price
Check out the top 10 most expensive drugs in the U.S. according to GoodRx’s 2018 rankings. — (Forbes)
4. Move over, pharma shills
Voters don’t like you much. — (KFF)
5. The Achthar scam
Medicare spent nearly $2 billion on H.P. Acthar Gel in five years during an aggressive marketing push from drugmakers to get the infant seizure medicine into the hands of America’s seniors. — (CNN)
See you next week!
Lies, deceit, and cartels!
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing!
1. The gift that keeps on taking
An investigation into patient assistance programs reveals the truth. They are a tool used by Big Pharma to drive up drug prices and keep cash flowing in. — (KARE11)
2. Former pharma exec makes jaw-dropping admission
Matt Eyles, the head of AHIP and former VP for Pfizer said, “I sat in many pricing committee discussions; not once did anyone ever say, ‘How much did we spend on research and development?’” We can’t even. — (Axios)
3. Murky money grab
Pharma sets drug prices super high. The middleman get really really rich. Patients get squeezed. Ohio reporters question our broken system. — (Columbus Dispatch)
4. Insulin cartel deserves a red card
The unjust and seemingly coordinated insulin price hikes have driven people on both sides of the aisle to demand answers. Congress must investigate the insulin drug cartel.— (The Hill)
5. Pharma pumps up stocks with corporate tax break cash
A new report by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says billions in tax cuts have been used to fatten pharma shares, not lower prescription drug prices. Womp womp. — (Report)
Heads up:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter Friday calling for a federal investigation into “pay for delay” deals of biosimilar drugs. Bipartisan ❤️ for lower drug prices.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Are “massive” drug price cuts around the corner? Novartis raises drug prices. And the CREATES Act jumps a key hurdle.
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug prices.
1. Negotiating price cuts?
Pharma CEOs coughed on their champagne when President Donald Trump said that major drugmakers would announce “massive” drug price cuts in mid-June. HHS officials have been making calls and meeting with pharma to push for price cuts. The government negotiating with drug companies is a good thing. Time for Medicare to do the same. — (The Hill)
2. Eli Lilly CEO says patients are “suffering”
If only he were the CEO of a major drug company who could do something about it. — (MSNBC)
3. Novartis raises the roof drug prices
Drug giant Novartis raised the prices of four drugs: Promacta, Mekinist, Tafinlar and Kisqali. If you’re keeping track, Novartis previous raised the price of Promacta in January.— (Politico)
4. CREATES jumps a key hurdle
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-6 to move forward the CREATES Act, a bill to police abuses by brand-name drugmakers that stall generics from hitting the market. The forward movement marked a small and rare victory for patients from the nation’s capital. Kudos to Chairman Grassley and Senator Leahy for their leadership. — (STAT)
5. This is not what we meant by transparency in drug pricing
BIO conference guests are partying with topless dancers while everyday Americans can’t afford their prescription drugs. So there’s that. — (Washington Examiner)
Have a great weekend!