Drug Rebates’ Days Are Numbered, Pfizer CEO Says Of Latest Culprits In High Prices Blame Game

Bloomberg: Secret Drug Price Rebates Will Go Away, Pfizer CEO Predicts
Drugmakers will likely get rid of secret discounts to middlemen that have become a focus of the U.S. drug-cost debate, Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ian Read predicted Tuesday. “We’re going to go to a marketplace where we don’t have rebates,” Read told analysts while discussing the company’s second-quarter financial results (Hopkins, 7/31)

Reuters: Pfizer CEO Expects Trump To Eliminate Drug Rebates
"I believe the administration does want to remove rebates, and they consider it a priority," he said in an interview, following similar comments made on Pfizer's conference call to discuss second quarter earnings. The administration has already proposed a rule that would scale back protections currently in place that allow rebates between drug manufacturers and insurers and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs). Read said he believes the administration wants to get rid of them entirely. (Mathias and Erman, 7/31)

Stat: Pfizer CEO Predicts Controversial Rebates 'Going Away'
Rebates are essentially a type of discount that drug makers provide pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, off the wholesale, or list price, for their medicines in order to receive favorable placement on formularies, which are lists of insured medicines. But drug makers claim PBMs, which keep a percentage of rebates, demand higher amounts to bolster profits and in turn, they must respond by raising list prices. PBMs counter that rebates blunt price hikes that drug makers regularly take in order to boost their own profits. (Silverman, 7/31)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Raises Profit Forecast Amid Pressure On Drug Prices
Pfizer Inc. increased its full-year earnings outlook, a sign of relative confidence in profitability amid weaker revenue and pressure on drug prices from the Trump administration. The New-York-based drugmaker now sees earnings of $2.95 to $3.05 a share, excluding some items, after its second-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts anticipated $2.95 for the full year, on average. (Hopkins, 7/31)

Stat: California Lawmaker Scolds Lilly For Failing To Comply With Transparency Law 
Eli Lilly (LLY) was admonished by a California lawmaker for promoting a diabetes help center for patients who cannot afford their insulin while at the same time failing to lower prices or comply with a new state law that requires drug makers to disclose pricing details. In a harshly worded letter sent on Monday, state Sen. Ed Hernandez, who sponsored the transparency law, criticized the company for touting its Diabetes Solution Center at the same time that prices for insulin, made by several companies, has risen dramatically in recent years. An analysis published two years ago found that the cost of insulin, on average, more than tripled — from $231 to $736 a year per patient — between 2002 and 2013. (Silverman, 7/31)

Kaiser Health News: To Tame Prescription Prices, HHS Dips A Toe Into Drug Importation Stream
It came as something of a surprise when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the administration was exploring the importation of prescription drugs to fight high domestic prices. Azar and Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who also endorsed the new proposal, had previously opposed the idea. But drug prices in the U.S. have continued to rise and more than 80 percent of Americans say the government should take action. President Donald Trump has said drugmakers are “getting away with murder” and has angrily tweeted at companies about individual price hikes. (Bluth, 8/1)

Stat: GOP Lawmakers Want FTC To Probe PBM Mergers Over Drug Pricing Concerns 
As pharmacy benefit managers come under greater scrutiny for their role in rising drug costs, Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate past mergers that led three companies to dominate the behind-the-scenes middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain. In a July 27 letter, the lawmakers cite ongoing debate over the extent to which pharmacy benefit managers may dampen or accelerate the prices that insured consumers pay for their medicines. Also known as PBMs, these companies negotiate with drug makers for favorable placement on lists of insured medicines, or formularies, which are used by health plans and employers. (Sherman, 7/30)

Stat: Biogen Sales Rep Alleges She Was Fired For Flagging Off-Label Prescribing 
Aformer Biogen sales rep claims she was fired after complaining the company improperly sought to benefit from a prescription that was written for an unapproved use. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle, Danita Erickson claimed that she suffered retaliation after repeatedly voicing concerns that another sales rep last year sought to receive credit for the improper prescription and submitted paperwork to Medicare with false diagnostic codes. The Zinbryta multiple sclerosis drug was allegedly prescribed by a hematologist for aplastic anemia, according to the lawsuit. (Silverman, 7/30)

CNBC: Foreign Countries Get 'Free Ride' On Drug Prices: Former Pharma Exec
Perhaps other countries should be paying more for America's innovative prescription drugs, former pharmaceutical exec Fred Hassan told CNBC. "A lot of wealthy countries, including our neighbor to the north, a lot of the countries in Western Europe, Japan, they should be paying more," Hassan, former chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough, which was acquired by Merck in 2009, said Friday on "Power Lunch." (Ell, 7/27)

Stat: Two Akcea Drugs Are About To Hit The Market — But Are They Too Late?
It’s been quite a year for Akcea Therapeutics (AKCA). After going public in July 2017, the Cambridge, Mass., company almost immediately filed for FDA approval on two drugs for rare diseases. Volanesorsen, also known as Waylivra, is intended to treat familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), a condition that leads to a buildup of fat in organs. Inotersen, which has the brand name Tegsedi, treats hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, known as hATTR for short. The condition leads to a buildup of proteins that can cause issues in the nerves and heart. European authorities have already approved inotersen, and the FDA is set to decide on both those drugs before the end of the year. (Sheridan, 8/1)

Stat: For UMass Medical School, Spinraza Sales Add Millions To The Budget 
Spinraza’s sales were a bright spot in Biogen’s second-quarter earning call this month — and that’s very good news for the University of Massachusetts. A university spokesperson could not confirm the exact amounts and Biogen (BIIB) did not respond to a request for comment. However, based on figures provided by one of the inventors, STAT estimated that the university has received about $10.5 million since the FDA approved the drug for spinal muscular atrophy in December 2016. (Sheridan, 7/30)

The New York Times: Justice Dept. Investigating Claims That Drug Companies Funded Terrorism In Iraq
The Justice Department is investigating claims that major drug and medical device companies doing business in Iraq knew that the free medicines and supplies they gave the government to win business there would be used to underwrite terrorist attacks on American troops. In a regulatory filing last week, AstraZeneca, a drugmaker based in Britain, disclosed that it had “received an inquiry from the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with an anti-corruption investigation relating to activities in Iraq.” (Harris, 7/31)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana Considers A New Way To Deal With Sky-High Drug Prices 
The Louisiana Department of Health is working on a new strategy to expand access to a hepatitis C cure, one that involves the state agreeing to pay a drug company for medication for several years in exchange for unlimited access to treatment initially. If a deal is worked out, Louisiana's Health Secretary Rebekah Gee said the state would be able to make substantial progress toward eliminating hepatitis C from Louisiana. The arrangement between the state and drug companies would also likely be the first of its kind in the country, she said during an interview Thursday (July 18). (O'Donoghue, 7/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Sanofi Has Been Stockpiling Drugs For No-Deal Brexit For Six Months
French pharmaceuticals company Sanofi SA SNY 1.00% has been making drug-shortage contingency plans for more than a year to prepare for the U.K. failing to reach a deal with the European Union on Brexit, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move is the latest sign large European companies are worried about the prospects of a hard Brexit, where the U.K. doesn’t reach a deal over its future relationship with the European Union, despite repeated attempts at reassurance from British government officials. (Mancini, 7/31)

NJ.com: Some N.J. Drug Prices Are Skyrocketing. Here's How Much More You're Paying
Many of the 20 best-selling drugs in the U.S. have seen price increases that far outpace inflation in the past few years. Pharmaceutical companies headquartered in New Jersey produce eight of the medicines on that list. Common drugs used to treat conditions such as arthritis, nerve and muscle pain, and autoimmune diseases increased anywhere from about 8 percent to 19 percent, according to an analysis published by Pharmacy Benefits Consultants, a consulting company based in New Jersey. (Banco, 7/29)

Finger Lakes Times: Gillibrand Touts Prescription Drug Anti-Price-Gouging Legislation In Area Visit
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand promoted the “Stop Price Gouging Act” for prescription medication during a Monday visit to an independent living community. “No matter where I am in our state, one thing I keep hearing over and over again is that New York’s seniors are extremely worried about the high cost of prescription drugs,” Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said at Ferris Hills at West Lake. “We must solve this crisis, and one of the most effective ways we can do that is by finally holding drug companies accountable with tough penalties when they spike the price of prescription drugs that New Yorkers need to treat their illnesses.” (7/31)