Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Celgene Expected To Rake In $15B This Year With Strength Of Its Blockbuster Cancer Drug
Bloomberg: Celgene Seeks Balance Between Price Anger And Protecting Profits
Celgene Corp. has profited for years from steady price increases for its blockbuster cancer drug. Now, it must appease critics of high pharmaceutical costs while finding an heir to its most important moneymaker. Rising drug prices have been a favorite political target of President Donald Trump, who has frequently tweeted about his anger over the issue and persuaded pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and others to reverse or delay planned increases. (Spalding, 7/26)
Stat: Patient And Provider Groups Ask State Officials To Probe A Cost-Shifting Tool
A few dozen groups representing patients, providers, and consumers are asking insurance commissioners across the U.S. to investigate the growing use of copay accumulators — a new weapon against widely used but controversial copay assistance that drug makers offer to consumers. These have been embraced by a growing number of insurers and employers to keep down drug costs because accumulators do not count the value of any co-pay assistance cards or coupons toward out-of-pocket medicine costs that are applied toward deductibles. (Silverman, 7/26)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: Here's Why Biogen Lost $7 Billion Overnight Despite 'Positive' Alzheimer's Data
The world had fairly high expectations for Biogen and Eisai’s latest clinical trial on Alzheimer’s disease, and the data, revealed Wednesday, seemed to exceed them. So why is Biogen now worth $7 billion less than it was 24 hours ago? That’s the conversation reverberating around biotech Thursday, and the answer boils down confusion about patient groups and, of course, renewed skepticism of the amyloid hypothesis. (Garde, 7/26)
Bloomberg: McKesson Sales Growth At Risk As Drugmakers Curb Price Increases
Drugmakers are tapping the brakes on price increases. For McKesson Corp. investors, that could mean lost sales. The drug distributor earns a percentage of a given medication’s list price. If pharmaceutical companies continue to put off plans to raise prices amid pressure from the Trump administration, that could threaten San Francisco-based McKesson’s bottom line. (Kasumov, 7/26)
Reuters: Amgen Profit Beats Street View, Will Not Raise Prices Again In 2018
Amgen Inc on Thursday reported a better-than-expected second quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast, and its chief executive pledged not to raise drug prices again this year. Amgen joined several drugmakers that have vowed to limit or delay price increases under intensifying pressure from the Trump administration to cut health care costs for U.S. consumers. (Erman and Respaut, 7/26)
