Bipartisan State AG Group Presses Supreme Court To Hear PBM Case
The state attorneys general are asking justices to reconsider an August 2023 ruling finding that federal laws supersede state laws regarding policing pharmacy benefit managers. Stat digs into how PBMs influence drug pricing, and the battle between drug costs and effectiveness as treatments.
Modern Healthcare:
PBM Case Should Be Heard, AGs Urge Supreme Court
A bipartisan group of state attorneys general is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case they allege wrongfully limits states' ability to police pharmacy benefit managers. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) led a group of 32 attorneys general who filed an amicus brief with the high court Monday, asking justices to reconsider an August 2023 ruling that found federal laws supersede state laws regarding PBMs. (Tepper, 6/11)
Stat:
How Pharmacy Benefit Managers Influence Drug Pricing
The point of prescription drugs is to help people improve their quality of life. When a doctor writes a prescription and sends it along to the pharmacy, oftentimes they’re more focused on the drug’s effectiveness than its cost. But when a patient picks up that drug, the price they will be asked to pay at the counter takes center stage — and it depends on a complex combination of factors. (Yeo, 6/12)
Stat:
High Prescription Drug Prices Examined In New STAT Video Series
Prescription drug costs are remarkably higher in the United States than in other countries, so it’s no surprise that more than half of U.S. adults say they are worried about being able to afford their medications. These high costs have led many people to skip doses, take less than the prescribed amount, delay filling prescriptions, and even go without treatment altogether. (Yeo, 6/12)
The Atlantic:
Is Ozempic An Obesity Drug, Or An Everything Drug?
There’s no such thing as a miracle cure for weight loss, but the latest obesity drugs seem to come pretty close. People who take Ozempic or other weekly shots belonging to a class known as GLP-1 agonists, after the gut hormone they mimic, can lose a fifth or more of their body weight in a year. Incessant “food noise” fueling the urge to eat suddenly goes silent. In recent months, the mystique of these drugs has only grown. (Tayag, 6/11)
CBS News:
Johnson & Johnson Reaches $700 Million Settlement In Talc Baby Powder Case
"Consumers rely on accurate information when making decisions about which products to purchase for their families," Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, one of 43 attorneys general involved in the lawsuit, said in a statement Tuesday. "Any company — no matter how large — must be held accountable when laws protecting consumers are broken and their trust is violated." (Brooks, 6/11)
Elizabeth Holmes wants her conviction overturned —
Reuters:
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Seeks To Overturn Fraud Conviction
Lawyers for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and company President Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions for defrauding investors in the failed blood testing startup, which was once valued at $9 billion. Amy Saharia, Holmes' lawyer, told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that Holmes believed she was telling the truth when she told investors that Theranos' miniature blood testing device could accurately run a broad array of medical diagnostic tests on a small amount of blood. (Pierson, 6/11)
Biochemist whose research changed the pharmaceutical world has died —
The Washington Post:
Akira Endo, Researcher Who Found Cholesterol-Fighting Statins, Dies At 90
Akira Endo, a Japanese biochemist whose fascination with the internal workings of fungi underpinned research that discovered cholesterol-lowering statins in blue mold, a find that revolutionized cardiovascular care and became one of the world’s most widely used drugs, died June 5 at age 90. No cause was given.
(Murphy, 6/11)
