Diabetics Are Taking Extreme Measures To Access The Pricey Insulin They Need To Live

The Wall Street Journal: Insulin Quest: When Lifesaving Drugs Are Out Of Reach
Nearly one in 10 Americans has diabetes. But because of rising insulin prices many of them struggle to afford the drugs they need and some diabetics ration their dosage. This episode of Moving Upstream examines how diabetics like Karyn Wofford, a 29-year-old freelance writer from Jackson, Ga., are finding unconventional ways to get their insulin. She trades diabetes medications with online friends on Facebook and Twitter , and she once created a GoFundMe page where she asked strangers to help pay for her medication. (Macnaughton and Jones, 12/3)

Stat: How Trump’s New Drug Pricing Idea, On Rebates, Fits With Earlier Policies
The Trump administration announced last week that, in an effort to lower drug costs for seniors, some “rebates” would be passed on to Medicare recipients at the pharmacy counter. At first blush, it sounded like a new version of the administration’s previous pledge to upend the pharmacy benefit manager industry and the system of “rebates,” which lawmakers and drug makers have blamed for high prices. It got some lobbyists wondering if the administration was pushing this small change in lieu of a more grandiose proposal. (Swetlitz, 12/4)

The Hill: GOP Balks At Trump Drug Pricing Plan
Republican opposition is building to a proposal from President Trump to lower drug prices in Medicare. The rare break between Trump and Republican allies follows an aggressive step from the president in October that would tie certain Medicare drug prices to lower prices in other countries, a departure from the traditional GOP position. (Sullivan, 12/2)

WSHU: Rep. DeLauro To Take On Prescription Drug Pricing 
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said she will champion legislation to lower prescription drug prices when Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January. The New Haven Democrat made the promise on Monday. In January DeLauro will chair the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on basic biomedical research. Speaking in West Haven she said she’ll use her new power to fight to lower the high cost of prescription drugs by bringing greater transparency and requiring drug companies to justify their exorbitant price increases. (Udoma, 12/4)

KTVZ: Merkley Intros Bill To Cut Prescription Drug Prices
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced a bill Thursday that he said would ensure Americans do not pay more for prescription drugs than people do in other developed countries, helping to address a top concern among Oregonians and Americans who time and time again are facing the impossible choice between affording prescription drugs or other necessities. (11/29)

FiercePharma: Trump's Drug-Prices-In-Ads Idea Gets Two More Nay Votes As Federal Comment Deadline Looms
In the latest salvos challenging the value of adding drug prices to pharma TV ads, two academics and a well-known advertising association have set out their arguments against the proposal. The authors of a New England Journal of Medicine article in mid-November and a blog post from the Association of National Advertisers last week agree the government’s push for lower drug prices is a worthy goal, but price tagging drugs won’t help. And like other opponents, the two detractors contend sticker prices in TV ads could confuse consumers, given the convoluted pricing and reimbursement system in the U.S. (Bulik, 12/3)

The Associated Press: GlaxoSmithKline To Spend $5.1B On Cancer Drugmaker Tesaro
Shares of Tesaro soared Monday after GlaxoSmithKline said it would pay about $5.1 billion in cash to buy the cancer drugmaker. Glaxo plans to pay $75 per share for Tesaro, which makes the ovarian cancer treatment Zejula. That represents a premium of more than 60 percent to the stock’s $46.38 closing price Friday. The total deal price includes Tesaro’s net debt. Glaxo CEO Emma Walmsley said in a statement that the deal will accelerate growth of the British drugmaker’s oncology business. (12/3)

The Wall Street Journal: GlaxoSmithKline To Acquire Tesaro For $4.16 Billion
The acquisition hands Glaxo Tesaro’s ovarian cancer drug Zejula, which went on sale in the U.S. and Europe last year. Zejula is one of a new class of drugs known as PARP inhibitors, which have increased survival rates for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. PARP inhibitors are also showing promise in other forms of cancer, such as lung, breast and prostate. (Roland and Chin, 12/3)

Bloomberg: Bayer's Health Unit Pinches Pennies As Monsanto Drains Cash 
Mass layoffs at the inventor of aspirin show that Bayer AG, the German maker of drugs and seeds, has more headaches than its Monsanto hangover. The conglomerate’s health-care division, which provides more than half its revenue, needs urgent attention. Bayer will begin losing patent protection for two blockbuster drugs in the next five years and has little under development to compensate. Growth in the consumer-health unit, beefed up four years ago with brands like Claritin, has stalled. (Loh and Kresge, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Bayer Sets New Growth Targets
Bayer AG said Wednesday that it is aiming to increase sales and profitability across all its divisions through 2022. The company said it aims to grow sales about 4% in 2019 and between 4% and 5% annually on average from 2020 and 2022. It also aims to grow adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization by 9% per year on average through 2022, the company added. (Bernhard, 12/5)

Reuters: Mylan To Recall All Batches Of Blood Pressure Medicine Valsartan In U.S.
Mylan NV said on Tuesday it is expanding a nationwide voluntary recall of its blood pressure medicine valsartan to include all lots, two weeks after it recalled select batches. The drugmaker said it was recalling 104 additional lots "out of an abundance of caution" after the valsartan-containing products were found to contain traces of a probable cancer-causing impurity. (12/4)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia Moves To Limit Mail-Order Specialty Pharmacies Following Concerns Of Mishandling Medicines For Complex Conditions
These pharmacies, which focus on high-cost medication therapies to treat serious, complex conditions, such as cancer or rare diseases, are growing in popularity as insurance companies favor the cost savings that result from negotiations and personalization of the prescription to the patient. As more people use the service, Virginia regulators are seeking greater control over the delivery of these medications from specialty pharmacies, either to a practitioner’s office — known as “white bagging” — or directly to the patient’s home — known as “brown bagging.” (Balch, 11/28)

Miami Herald: Teva Recalls Two More Valsartan Drugs For Cancerous NDEA
The list of blood pressure drugs recalled because they have NDEA grew by two Tuesday when Teva Pharmaceuticals yanked all lots of Amlodipine/Valsartan and Amlodipine/Valsartan/Hydrochlorothiazide combination tablets. Both have too much N-nitroso-diethylamine (NDEA) in its Valsartan, the active ingredient made by Mylan India. (Neal, 11/28)