Consumers Left Paying For Pricey Brand-Name Drugs Even As Generics Approvals Jump. What’s Going Wrong?

The Wall Street Journal: Generic-Drug Approvals Soar, But Patients Still Go Without
Record numbers of generic drugs for cancer, heart ailments and other conditions have received U.S. approval in recent years, raising hopes that the new competition would reduce high drug costs. But many of the lower-price medicines haven’t hit the market, a Wall Street Journal review found. The result: Many patients are forced to take high-price medicines, and a widely touted remedy for reining in drug costs has failed to live up to its promise. (Hopkins, 11/19)

Bloomberg: Doctors Who Helped Develop Heart Drug Now Balk At $225,000-A-Year Price
Wearing a revolutionary-era tricorn hat, doctor Mathew Maurer stood at a lectern in front of an audience of fellow cardiologists in Philadelphia, decrying the price of a new medication that had the potential to help many of his heart-failure patients. The drug, Pfizer Inc.’s tafamidis, cost $651 a day, Maurer told them—equal to a patient’s food budget for a month. Drugs don’t work if people can’t afford to take them, he said, and the pharmaceutical company’s $225,000-a-year price was well out of bounds. (Court, 11/19)

Axios: Lower Drug Prices Would Obliterate Profits And Research? Maybe Not
Drug pricing regulations would not decimate the pharmaceutical industry, according to an analysis from health policy researchers at West Health and Johns Hopkins. Why it matters: This throws some cold water on Big Pharma's claims that new drug research and investments would evaporate if the federal government limits what they can charge for medications — the proposal du jour in Congress and the White House. (Herman, 11/15)

Stat: Mysterious Anti-Pharma Group Is Backed By Hospital Lobby And CVS Health
The dark-money group that has spent over $1 million on mysterious, pharma-bashing radio ads was formed by a top executive and a top lobbyist for the American Hospital Association and a former political consultant for CVS (CVS) Health, according to a 2018 tax filing released to STAT this week. The secretive group, known as Citizens for Truth in Drug Pricing, has blanketed airwaves with radio advertisements and sponsored commentary that sharply criticizes drug companies for high prices. (Facher, 11/20)

Stat: Biotech VCs Form A Lobbying Coalition To Join The Drug Pricing Debate 
Venture capitalists aren’t exactly the most political types, but one group is trying to change that: Meet Incubate, a new lobbying coalition with the goal of correcting what the group’s executive director is calling Congress’ “fundamental misunderstanding” of the world of venture capital and biotech. The group is just getting off the ground — it’s not yet listed in the Senate lobbying database, and it hasn’t even filed formal tax paperwork yet. Instead, it’s being run out of the D.C. lobbying firm Prism Group. But it’s already speaking out vociferously against Democrats’ marque drug pricing bill. (Florko, 11/19)

The Hill: Top GOP Senator: Drug Pricing Action Unlikely Before End Of Year 
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said Tuesday that it is unlikely the Senate will pass legislation to lower drug prices before the end of the year. “I think it would be the triumph of hope over experience to think that we could get it done before the end of the year, but there's a lot of interest in doing something on drug pricing,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday.  (Sullivan, 11/19)

Fox Business: Doctors Call For Lower Drug Prices With These Changes Aimed At Health Care Industry
One of the largest groups for doctors in the U.S. is calling for new health care oversight in an effort to counter high prescription drug costs. A new paper published by the American College of Physicians makes several recommendations the group said are aimed at improving transparency around pharmacy benefit managers — called PBMs for short — in order to provide patients and physicians with “reliable and timely information” on drug pricing. (Leggate, 18)

Stat: Novo Nordisk’s Parent Company To Launch Research Incubator In Boston
Novo Holdings, the investment firm behind pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NVO), is committing $25 million over five years to a new, early-stage biotech incubator at the Broad Institute, a research center affiliated with both Harvard and MIT. Novo Holdings’ commitment is the latest example of an ongoing push among biotech venture capitalists to invest in younger and younger startups. (Sheridan, 11/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Novo Holdings To Fund Biotech Research From Broad Institute
Novo Holdings A/S plans to invest $25 million in biotechnology research done by scientists with ties to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in another indication of the close ties forming between venture-capital and academic groups. (Gormley, 11/19)

Reuters: Novartis Eyes Medicines Co To Boost Cardio Franchise-Report
Novartis is considering an offer for U.S. biotechnology firm The Medicines Co, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, a deal that could broaden the Swiss drugmaker's cabinet of heart medicines and shore up growth threatened by patent expirations. Novartis, which declined to comment on the report, is hunting for a $5 billion acquisition in the United States, two banking sources told Reuters separately without identifying a target. (11/19)

Bloomberg: Bristol-Myers Poised To Close Celgene Deal After U.S. Nod
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. won U.S. antitrust approval for its acquisition of Celgene Corp., the last regulatory approval needed for the blockbuster pharmaceutical deal. The Federal Trade Commission signed off on the tie-up after Bristol-Myers earlier this year agreed to sell one of Celgene’s most lucrative drugs to resolve concerns the deal would otherwise harm competition, the agency said Friday. Bristol-Myers said it expects to close the purchase Nov. 20. (McLaughlin, 11/15)

Reuters: Former Drug Executive Shkreli's Appeal Denied By U.S. Supreme Court
Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli will remain in prison after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected his effort to overturn his conviction and seven-year sentence for securities fraud and conspiracy. The justices refused to hear Shkreli's appeal of his August 2017 conviction and $7.36 million forfeiture for cheating investors in two hedge funds he founded, and trying to prop up the stock price of biotechnology company Retrophin Inc, which he once ran. (11/18)