Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocacy Group Blasts Democratic Lawmakers For Their Support Of Pharma's 'Doughnut Hole' Battle
Stat: Drug Pricing Advocates Take Aim At Democrats For Supporting Pharma
Fifty congressional Democrats signed on to a letter advancing the pharmaceutical industry’s talking points — and now a drug pricing advocacy group is calling them out. Patients for Affordable Drugs sent a letter this morning to Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, along with the 50 Democrats, condemning the members who signed on to a separate May 24 missive that supports one of the drug industry’s chief lobbying priorities: a change to their financial liability in the so-called “donut hole.” (Mershon, 6/11)
The Hill: Trump Officials Meet With Drug Companies To Push For Voluntary Price Cuts
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials have been meeting with pharmaceutical companies to seek voluntary cuts in drug prices, according to sources familiar with the meetings. Voluntary cuts in prices would allow the administration to immediately tout benefits of President Trump's drug pricing plan, which was announced last month, rather than having to wait for any regulatory actions to be put forward and take effect. (Sullivan, 6/11)
In other pharma news —
Stat: FDA Reprimands AbbVie For Failing To Properly Probe Death Complaints
In an unusual rebuke, AbbVie was reprimanded by the Food and Drug Administration for sloppy procedures when reviewing complaints of deaths that were reported in connection with three of its medicines, including the best-selling Humira rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Following an inspection at a North Chicago, Il., facility late last year, FDA examiners found the company failed to “thoroughly investigate” complaints over certain syringe kits for its Lupron medication that were associated with deaths, according to an inspection report that was issued by the agency last Dec. 15, and was obtained by STAT, but is not yet available on the FDA web site. Lupron is used to treat endometriosis and uterine fibroids, among other illnesses. (Silverman, 6/8)
Reuters: Biotech's Soon-Shiong Hiring Bankers For Nant Cancer Drug IPO
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong plans to take an experimental cancer treatment company public this year and has begun hiring bankers, the biotechnology entrepreneur told Reuters. The former surgeon said in a recent interview that the new company, to be called Nant, would use most of the money raised from the initial public offering to develop a pipeline of cancer drugs, although the amount of financing has yet to be determined. (Beasley, 6/11)
