Amazon Wants To Cut PBMs Out Of Drug Sales Pipeline By Contracting Directly With Health Plans, Employers
By contracting directly with health plans and employers, Amazon-PillPack would essentially become its own pharmacy benefit manager, which, given Amazon’s distribution capabilities, could quickly shake up the nation’s prescription drug market. Court documents in a case about personnel revealed the strategy that many in the industry fear. In other pharmaceutical news: a drug-price watchdog group with ties to pharma; Merck's expansion into cancer treatments; and more.
Stat:
Court Documents Reveal Amazon Strategy For Disrupting U.S. Drug Business
Amazon is seeking to contract directly with health plans and employers to sell prescription drugs through its PillPack subsidiary, a move that would cut out existing pharmacy benefit managers and potentially reshape the sale and distribution of medicines in the U.S., according to newly surfaced court documents. The revelations are contained in a lawsuit CVS filed in April seeking to prevent one of its former executives from taking a job at PillPack, an online pharmacy based in New Hampshire. In its complaint, CVS notes that Amazon-PillPack has “already begun aggressively approaching CVS Caremark’s clients,” including Blue Cross Blue Shield, “to provide its members with prescription home delivery.” (Ross, 6/19)
Boston Globe:
Boston Drug-Pricing Watchdog Group Has Pharma Companies’ Attention
ICER researchers spend about eight months studying how well a medicine works and whether it might reduce other health care costs, then publicize their findings in the hopes of getting drug makers to set a fair price. In the past two years or so, the nonprofit persuaded a partnership of two drug firms to charge far less for an injectable eczema treatment than analysts had expected; pressured the same partnership and a third firm to cut the costs of two competing cholesterol-lowering drugs; and saw the Department of Veterans Affairs adopt the institute’s pricing guide for medicines prescribed to military veterans. (Saltzman, 6/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Merck Seeks More Deals As It Expands Its Cancer Treatments Portfolio
Merck & Co. is searching for small and midsize deals, including more transactions aimed at expanding its portfolio of cancer treatments beyond the company’s top-selling product Keytruda, according to people familiar with the matter. Merck has been buying cancer drugmakers with promising therapies and technologies. This month, Merck bought Tilos Therapeutics Inc. for $773 million. In May, it agreed to acquire Peloton Therapeutics Inc. for $1.1 billion. (Hopkins, 6/19)
Reuters:
GSK Kicks Off Sale Of $1.2 Billion Consumer Health Drugs-Sources
GlaxoSmithKline has kicked off the sale of some consumer health brands as it seeks to raise about £1 billion before pressing ahead with a spinoff of its consumer healthcare business, sources told Reuters. The drugmaker has bundled the non-core drugs into three different portfolios and has hired boutique investment bank Greenhill to market the products to separate bidders, said three sources familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity. (6/19)
Modern Healthcare:
Premier Pharmacy Labs Recalls Drugs After FDA Inspection
Premier Pharmacy Labs, a sterile compounding pharmacy, has issued a nationwide recall of nearly two dozen unexpired drugs following a recent inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The voluntary recall applies to medications that are intended to be sterile. Premier Pharmacy Labs is recalling the drugs due to a lack of sterility assurance, based on concerns voiced at the FDA inspection. (Cohen, 6/19)
