Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Arthritis Drug Humira Challenged By Biosimilar Costing Half As Much
NPR: Humira Loses Monopoly As Copycat From Amgen Comes To Market
After 20 years and $200 billion in revenue, Humira — an injectable treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and several other autoimmune conditions — has lost its monopoly. Early Tuesday morning, California-based biotech firm Amgen released Amjevita, the first close copy of the best selling drug of all time. At least seven more Humira copycats, known as biosimilars, are expected to debut later this year. (Walker and Gorenstein, 1/31)
Bloomberg: Amgen Takes On Blockbuster Drug Humira With Biosimilar As Much As 55% Cheaper
Amgen Inc. is challenging one of the world’s best-selling medications with an unusual strategy: charging two list prices for the same medicine. (Peebles, 1/31)
Stat: Amgen Pricing For Its Humira Biosimilar Will Limit Savings For Patients
Underscoring the opaque and confusing nature of pharmaceutical pricing, Amgen announced long-awaited discounts for its biosimilar version of Humira — the world’s best-selling medicine — and the numbers suggest the biggest winners may be health insurers and others in the supply chain, but not patients. (Silverman, 1/31)
On eye health —
NBC News: CDC: Eyedrops Sold At Walmart, Other Stores Linked To Infections
One person has died and at least three others are left with permanent vision loss because of a bacterial infection possibly linked to a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A majority of those affected reported using preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears before becoming ill, the CDC reported in a statement dated Jan. 20. (Edwards, 1/31)
Stat: 6 Things To Know About Apellis’ Eye Drug Ahead Of FDA Decision
The Food and Drug Administration is nearing a decision on the first treatment for geographic atrophy, a progressive eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in older people. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, the drug’s maker, has expressed public confidence in the data supporting approval. Investors are more divided. (Feuerstein, 2/1)
In other developments from the health care industry —
The Boston Globe: Dr. Megan Ranney Named Dean Of Yale’s School Of Public Health
One of Rhode Island’s best-known health experts, Dr. Megan Ranney, will be the new dean of the Yale School of Public Health, Yale University President Peter Salovey announced Tuesday. She’ll begin her new job on July 1. Ranney, an emergency room doctor who is the founding director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Alphonse, 1/31)
NPR: Obesity Training That Could Help Reduce Stigma Is Missing In Medical School
Tong Yan grew up in a Chinese-American enclave of Los Angeles in a family that revered food, but thought little of those who carried excess weight. "Definitely there was like an implicit fattist kind of perspective, like small comments that are made about people's weight," Yan says. Obesity did not affect him or his family, but a friend — who wasn't even that heavy — became the butt of jokes. "Also implied was that people who are obese are lazy and not motivated," he recalls. (Noguchi, 1/31)
KHN: Podcast: Can They Freaking Do That?!? (2023 Update)
The “An Arm and a Leg” podcast is back. This season, host Dan Weissmann will tell stories about patients finding creative ways to fight back against outrageous bills. This first episode of Season 9 updates a story from 2019 about a listener who got a $35 bill from a medical testing lab she had never heard of. Soon a follow-up bill arrived demanding $1,300 if she didn’t pay right away. (2/1)
