Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Buttigieg Follows Up Aggressive Drug Pricing Plan With Message That He Wants Pharma 'To Thrive'
Stat: Buttigieg Wants Lower Drug Prices — Even As He Hopes Drug Makers ‘Thrive’
Just hours after he released an aggressive plan to lower prescription drug prices, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared his counterintuitive message for drug makers: “We want you to thrive. ”Thrive, that is, in a way that is “compatible with a decent life for Americans,” he explained during a Monday interview with STAT. Buttigieg, long seen as one of the most moderate candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, released a sweeping plan Monday that included ideas once seen as radical, even among Democrats, like levying heavy fines against drug makers and seizing patents. (Florko, 10/7)
CQ: Trump Aide Calls Drug Price Deal Possible If Impeachment Fades
President Donald Trump's top domestic policy adviser on Monday predicted that the White House could strike a deal with House Democrats on drug prices — if the impeachment inquiry into the president ultimately doesn't go anywhere. Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan said House Democrats deserve credit for proposing a drug price bill, which he called ambitious. He said he met last week with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's health care adviser, Wendell Primus, as well as House committee staff, and the two sides had a "great" conversation about the legislation. (Siddons, 10/7)
And in other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: Public Citizen Urges FDA To Withdraw Drug For Preventing Premature Birth
As an Oct. 29 regulatory meeting nears to review the Makena treatment for preventing premature births, a consumer advocacy group is urging the Food and Drug Administration to immediately withdraw the controversial drug because it failed a confirmatory study. In a citizen’s petition being filed with the FDA on Tuesday, Public Citizen pointed to a required followup effectiveness study that was released in March, showing Makena is no better than a placebo in preventing preterm birth or major complications from preterm birth. (Silverman, 10/8)
Stat: With A New Lobbying Group And A Day At The White House, Synthetic Biology Looks For Footing In Washington
Synthetic biology, the industry built around using back-end technologies to engineer the life sciences, has long prided itself on having a quirky, countercultural ethos — and having more fun than those stuffy suits in biotech and pharma. It was just two years ago, after all, that a biohacker CRISPR’d himself on stage at the industry’s big annual conference. Now, though, the industry is trying to establish its footing here in a town with a culture utterly unlike its own. (Florko and Robbins, 10/8)
