Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Arthritis Medication At Center Of Biosimilar Battle Between AbbVie And Amgen
Stat: AbbVie, Amgen Squabble Over Biosimilars
In the latest contest over biosimilars, AbbVie has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Amgen, an erstwhile rival in the market for hard-to-make treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. And the move highlights a strategy designed to indefinitely delay the arrival of a lower-cost biosimilar indefinitely while the litigation plays out. The lawsuit, which was filed last Thursday in federal court in Wilmington, Del., alleged that Amgen’s version of Humira violates 10 different patents. In its complaint, AbbVie asked the court to keep a biosimilar version from becoming available if the US Food and Drug Administration decides to approve the Amgen medication. (Silverman, 8/8)
Stat: Pfizer Closes Plant In India After Regulators Find Problems
More than a year after spending roughly $17 billion to acquire Hospira, Pfizer is finding that curing the manufacturing woes at the company is not going to be easy. The big drug maker recently halted production at a plant near Chennai, India, after inspectors from several regulatory agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, found various quality control problems. (Silverman, 8/8)
Kaiser Health News: Syncing Up Drug Refills: A Way To Get Patients To Take Their Medicine
You have your red pill and your green pill. There’s the one you take at breakfast, the one you take before bed and the one you have to take six hours after eating. All told, it is a lot to keep track of. And remembering the refills, all of which often happen at different times of the month, gets so complicated that sometimes you forget — and simply go without. For the quarter of Americans with multiple ailments, this scenario is very familiar. It is also part of the reason, experts suggest, close to half of people with chronic conditions don’t take their medications as directed by their doctors. This noncompliance costs the health care system hundreds of billions of dollars. (Luthra, 8/8)
San Jose Mercury News: Drugging Our Kids: Legislation To Halt Overmedicating Foster Children Faces Key Votes
California's sweeping efforts to curb the overprescribing of psychiatric drugs to foster children face crucial votes in Sacramento this week, as legislators scramble to negotiate behind the scenes with doctors' groups and the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown whose support is key to the fate of the reforms.At stake is a series of bills that would monitor and investigate doctors for dangerous prescribing; require that judges have a second opinion for the most dangerous prescribing requests; and require better transparency and tracking of mental health services for foster kids in every California county. (Seipel, 8/8)
