Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drugmakers Deploy New Patents To Delay Generic Versions Of Humira And Enbrel
The New York Times: Makers Of Humira And Enbrel Using New Drug Patents To Delay Generic Versions
The best-selling drugs Humira and Enbrel have a lot in common. They both use biotechnology to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases. And they come with giant price tags approaching $50,000 a year. Now the two companies behind the competing drugs have found common ground in keeping those prices so high: They are deploying new patents to prevent patients and insurers from getting two essentially generic versions of the drugs for less money. (Pollack, 7/15)
WBUR: New IV Drug For Postpartum Depression Gets Boost In Small Study
Sage Therapeutics, a Boston-based pharmacological startup, saw their stocks jump 40% on Tuesday to $48.02 after announcing results from a clinical study that showed SAGE-547, an intravenous drug the company is developing, could be effective in treating postpartum depression. The stock opened at $42.50 on Friday. Ten women with severe postpartum depression were administered the drug and within 60 hours they were in remission from depression while only one woman from the placebo group was found to be in remission, according to the company's news release. (Michaels, 7/15)
Kaiser Health News: Fraud Concerns Emerge As Compounding Drug Sales Skyrocket
Government spending on “compounded” drugs that are handmade by retail pharmacists has skyrocketed, drawing the attention of federal investigators who are raising fraud and overbilling concerns. Spending on these medications in Medicare’s Part D program, for example, rose 56 percent last year, with some of the costliest products, including topical pain creams, priced at hundreds or thousands of dollars per tube. The federal workers’ compensation program has also seen a recent spike in spending. The spending jump, along with a sharp increase in the number of patients getting the compounded drugs “may indicate an emerging fraud trend,” said Miriam Anderson, who helped oversee a June report on the Medicare spending by the inspector general’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services. (Appleby, 7/18)
