Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
AMA Poised To Vote On Whether Birth Control Should Be Sold Without A Prescription
Stat: Pressure Mounts On Drug Makers To Move Birth Control Over The Counter
Drug makers are facing growing pressure to sell contraception without a prescription. And this weekend, the nation’s largest physicians group could join in the chorus calling to expand access to birth control. At the American Medical Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, delegates will vote on a resolution to encourage contraceptive makers to submit applications to the Food and Drug Administration to switch the status of their pills from prescription to over the counter. If it passes, the new policy would be directed more squarely at drug makers than the AMA’s current policy, which focuses on the FDA’s role. (Thielking, 6/8)
Stat: Lundbeck Will Pay $52 Million For Illegally Using A Charity To Assist Patients
Yet another drug maker has agreed in principle to pay a stiff fine to resolve an investigation into its relationships with patient charities. The latest company to do so is the U.S. subsidiary of Lundbeck (HLUYY), a Danish drug maker that will fork over $52.6 million. The announcement comes two years after the U.S. Attorney issued a subpoena in connection with an investigation of payments that Lundbeck made to an unspecified number of charities that provided financial assistance to patients taking various medicines. (Silverman, 6/7)
