Drug Prices Bill May Put Maryland On Direct Collision Course With Pharma Industry

The Washington Post: Maryland Weighs New Approach To Curbing Prescription Drug Costs
A Maryland bill that would make the state a national test case for controlling prescription drug costs has garnered broad legislative support in Annapolis but could put the state on a legal collision course with the pharmaceutical industry. The proposal, introduced by Sen. Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore City) and Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s), would create a commission to decide the maximum amount that health plans, pharmacies and state programs could shell out for the most expensive brand-name and patented medications. The state has a similar rate-setting commission that determines how much hospitals can charge for their services. (Hicks, 2/16)

Stat: Two States Advance Bills For Importing Medicines From Canada
Angered by rising prescription drug prices, legislatures in two states — Utah and Vermont — this week advanced bills that would create programs to help residents purchase medicines from Canada. In Utah, a bill that was sponsored by a Republican lawmaker and received notable GOP backing passed the House and now goes to the Senate for approval. In Vermont, legislation passed a key Senate committee and will now be reviewed by other committees before going to the full Senate floor. (Silverman, 2/16)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Mull Making Prescription Drug Prices Transparent
Maine lawmakers are expected to consider a bill aimed at the high cost of prescription drugs. Democratic Sen. Eloise Vitelli's bill is set for a Tuesday work session, where a legislative panel could vote to support or kill the legislation. The bill as originally proposed would require more disclosure of the costs of drug production, research, development, marketing and advertising. The Attorney General's office would also be allowed to investigate violations of such provisions. (2/18)

Stat: Industry Consolidation Among PBMs Is Catching Washington's Eye
As Washington’s interest in drug prices has spiked in recent years, a largely invisible industry has suddenly found itself in the spotlight. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are the middlemen who stand between manufacturers and consumers in the nation’s drug business. And they’ve been blamed by pharma companies for being the real profiteers in the current pricing system. It seems at least some of that message is resonating with politicians. Last week the president’s council of economic advisers released a report on drug prices that raised alarms about PBM consolidation and called for policy changes to encourage competition. (Ross, 2/16)

Politico Pro: Health Interests Mobilize For Renewed Fight Over Part B Drugs
Doctors and other health interests are sharpening their knives for another fight over the $26 billion Medicare program that pays for drugs administered in providers' offices — part of a broader, and so far fruitless, push against the high cost of medicines. A recent White House report on drug prices and President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget request augur a new attempt to overhaul Medicare Part B drug payments. (Pittman and Karlin-Smith, 2/19)

Georgia Health News: The High Cost Of Surviving Rabies
The treatment regimen for rabies was first developed in the late 1800s, and it hasn’t changed much over the last 100 years. But the price of survival has gone up rather dramatically — nearly 400% over the last decade for those shots. (Goodman and Miller, 2/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Trial Tests FTC’s Power To Referee Drug Makers’ Fight Against Generics
A trial under way in federal court in Philadelphia is testing the power of U.S. competition regulators to crack down on drugmakers’ alleged moves to thwart the sale of low-cost generics. The trial, which began Feb. 7, stems from a 2014 Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing AbbVie Inc. ABBV -0.52% of filing baseless patent-infringement lawsuits against two generic-drug companies to delay competition for its testosterone-replacement therapy AndroGel. AbbVie denies the allegations. (Loftus, 2/20)

CNN Money: Painkiller That Once Cost $138 Is Now $2,979
The sticker shock for Horizon Pharma's Vimovo drug is magnified by the fact that the painkiller's two main ingredients can be purchased separately -- for just $36. Although patients typically pay just a fraction of the price for Vimovo, the dramatic price increase underlines what critics describe as a murky and wasteful system that ultimately leads to higher health care costs for all Americans. (Egan, 2/15)

Stat: Smaller Biopharma Companies Face More Securities Fraud Lawsuits Than Ever Before
The number of class-action lawsuits claiming securities fraud committed by life sciences companies climbed again last year, continuing a trend in which drug and device makers remain juicy targets for investors, according to a new analysis. A total of 88 class action securities lawsuits were filed against life sciences companies in 2017, a 31 percent rise from the 67 lawsuits filed the year before and a 225 percent increase from 27 such lawsuits filed in 2012, according to the Dechert law firm, which conducted the latest analysis. (Silverman, 2/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Deal Making Just Got Tougher For Struggling Generic Drugmakers
Merger mania has gripped health care. The generic drugs sector might have trouble joining the party. Generic drugmakers are being squeezed from both sides. Prices are falling because the companies that buy the drugs have consolidated, putting the relatively fragmented drugmakers at a disadvantage. And, the Food and Drug Administration has sped up approvals for new generic drugs, adding new competition to the market. (Grant, 2/21)

Bloomberg: Pharmaceutical Titan’s Senate Bid Will Test Voters’ Views On Drug Prices
Bob Hugin helped build a pharmaceutical powerhouse. As he seeks to claim the seat of an embattled Democratic senator in New Jersey, that legacy could be both a blessing and a burden. Raised in Union City, a blue-collar town at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, Hugin, 63, was the first member of his family to go to college. Princeton was followed by the Marine Corps and a successful stint on Wall Street. He left in the dot-com era to join what was then a small and, as Hugin tells it, near-bankrupt biotechnology firm. (Spalding, 2/20)

Stat: Spending Growth On Prescription Drugs Will Double This Year
Hold on to your wallets — the growth in spending on prescription drugs is forecast to more than double this year. Spending will increase by 6.6 percent in 2018, compared with a 2.9 percent increase last year, according to new estimates released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In actual dollars, spending on medicines is projected to reach $360.2 billion, up from $338.1 billion. The expected increase is being attributed to several factors. (Silverman, 2/14)

FiercePharma: Gilead Wins Reversal Of $2.54B Hepatitis C Patent Verdict, But Merck Says Fight Not Over Yet
The latest victory in a years-long hepatitis C patent battle between Gilead Sciences and Merck goes to Gilead. On Friday, a federal judge overturned a $2.54 billion verdict against the biotech on grounds that a key Merck patent used to support the infringement lawsuit is invalid. U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Delaware wrote that Merck's '597 patent is invalid, even after "taking all the evidence in the light most favorable to Idenix and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of ldenix," a Merck subsidiary. (Sagonowsky, 2/20)

Stat: Judge Voids Order Gilead Must Pay $2.5B To Merck Over A Patent Dispute
In a reversal of fortunes, a federal judge overturned a jury verdict ordering Gilead Sciences (GILD) to pay $2.54 billion to Merck (MRK) for infringing a patent in order to develop a pair of blockbuster hepatitis C treatments. In a 52-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Stark ruled late Friday that a Merck patent at issue was invalid, because the inventions did not meet a requirement for disclosing how to make and use the treatment it covered without undue experimentation. (Silverman, 2/17)