Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Analysis Shows Drugmakers Lifted Prices 6.6% So Far This Year
The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Raised Prices By 6.6% On Average Early This Year
Drugmakers raised list prices by an average of 6.6% in the first few weeks of this year on cancer, diabetes and other prescription medicines, sticking with more moderate increases while lawmakers scrutinize pricing practices. In all, about 150 drugmakers raised prices on 866 products in the U.S. through Jan. 20, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least-expensive medicines. (Walker, 1/30)
And some senators want to extend the shelf life of some drugs —
AP: Senators: Extending Drug Shelf Life Could Ease Supply Woes
Senators from Maine and Maryland want the federal government to extend the shelf life of prescription drugs that are in short supply to try to help address shortages. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin introduced the bill, which would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the change. The FDA has said amending expiration dates of some drugs could help alleviate shortages, according to the senators. (1/30)
In other pharmaceutical industry news —
The Mercury News: Popular ’80s Party Drug Slowly Gains Respect As PTSD Treatment
Retired Army Sgt. Jonathan Lubecky couldn’t get the year he spent in Iraq out of his head. Loud noises and people wearing backpacks triggered flashbacks, and he regularly woke up from nightmares in a cold sweat. He tried to take his own life five times between 2006 and 2013. Afraid that his next suicide attempt would succeed, Lubecky signed up to participate in a clinical research study investigating whether MDMA, commonly known as Molly or Ecstasy, could help tame the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. “I thought it’d be fun to do and it might help for a month or two,” said Lubecky, 45. “I was wrong. It’s a f—— miracle.” (Prillaman, 1/30)
Stat: Roche Looks To Rival A Blockbuster Therapy With Newly Approved Vision Drug
Roche announced Friday that it received Food and Drug Administration approval for the first-ever bispecific antibody treatment for two common causes of vision loss, setting the stage for a battle with Regeneron, which markets a blockbuster drug in this space. The approval comes just a week after two studies published in The Lancet showed that the drug, Vabysmo, proved safe and effective in improving or maintaining vision in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, conditions that together affect nearly 1.9 million people in the U.S. and 40 million worldwide. (Wosen, 1/28)
Stat: Illumina's Embrace Of Long-Read Technology Signals Shift In Market
If DNA is the book of life, there’s a subplot around the race to read genetic information quickly, accurately, and cheaply. And the next chapter promises to be interesting. Gene-sequencing giant Illumina announced during this year’s J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference that it plans to roll out a new technology in the latter half of 2022, dubbed Infinity, which will read DNA in far larger chunks than the firm has ever tackled before. It’s an approach that could help diagnose rare diseases and decipher parts of the human genome that have long remained a mystery to researchers. (Wosen, 1/31)
