How Mark Cuban And Others Are Trying To Cut Our Prescription Costs
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN's Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
CNN:
Prescription Drugs Are Too Expensive For Many Americans. These Companies Are Trying To Change That
It's an experience millions of Americans have had: you go to the doctor, get a prescription, take it to the pharmacy and get hit with a staggering bill, sometimes running into hundreds of dollars even if insurance covers a part of the cost. "In the US, we're unique in letting drug companies basically set their own prices," Andrew Mulcahy, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation who focuses on prescription drugs, told CNN Business. Americans spend around $1,200 a year on average for prescription drugs — more than any other country — according to the latest available OECD data. (Iyengar and Gonzalez, 7/22)
The Washington Examiner:
Prescription Drug 'Sticker Prices' May Rise In 2021 After Years Of Decline
The number of list price increases of prescription drugs is expected to rise in 2021, reversing a trend of the past five years. A study from 46brooklyn Research, an organization tracking drug prices, found the number of list price increases of brand-name drugs in 2021 has already exceeded the number in 2020, and it is likely to exceed 2018 and 2019. (Hogberg, 7/21)
The Boston Globe:
Biogen In A Bind: The High-Stakes Fight Over Alzheimer’s And What Makes A Drug Worthwhile
Biogen’s new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease is heading to market blessed by regulators but dogged by controversy that there’s no conclusive evidence that it works — and a fair amount of evidence that it doesn’t. A polarizing decision by the Food and Drug Administration last month has only intensified a yearslong fight over the treatment: The Cambridge company and some doctors hail the medicine as a pivotal step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s, the fifth-leading cause of death among Americans over 65. Critics say the FDA should never have allowed Biogen to seek approval based on a less rigorous standard of efficacy, after the drug produced muddled results in two late-stage clinical trials. (Edelman, 7/25)
