Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drugmakers To Fork Over $70 Million To California To Settle 'Pay For Delay' Allegations From State
Los Angeles Times: Three Drugmakers Settle With California Over Deals To Keep Generic Medications Off The Market
Two pharmaceutical companies will pay the state of California a total of nearly $70 million to settle allegations that they violated antitrust laws by making agreements to delay generic drugs from entering the market, according to the California attorney general’s office. A third company will be subject to an injunction as part of the settlement. (Masunaga, 7/29)
San Francisco Chronicle: California To Receive $70 Million From Drug Companies Accused Of Illegally Delaying Cheaper Generics
The settlements with Teva Pharmaceutical, Endo Pharmaceutical and Teikoku Pharma are the largest pay-for-delay settlements received by any state and the only ones to secure injunctive relief for a state against future pay-for-delay agreements, Becerra’s office said. The companies’ actions delayed generic versions of Provigil, a branded narcolepsy drug, from entering the market for nearly six years, and prevented a generic version of the shingles medication, Lidoderm, from entering the market for almost two years, according to the announcement. (Ho, 7/29)
CNN: Drug Companies To Pay $70 Million For Delaying Cheaper Generics, California Says
The California settlements also prohibit Teva and Endo from engaging in further "pay-for-delay" agreements for about a decade, Becerra announced. But in a statement, Teva said that these "injunctive provisions" were identical to those included in a February agreement with the FTC. Heather Zoumas-Lubeski, executive director of corporate affairs at Endo, called parts of the attorney general's news release "highly misleading." She distanced her company from Teva's multimillion-dollar payment, saying it "has nothing to do with Endo," and noted that California's settlement with Endo was reached in June. (Azad and Gumbrecht, 7/29)
Stat: Teva And Endo Settle With California Over Pay-To-Delay Deals
The settlements come amid increasing scrutiny of steps taken by drug makers to thwart competition in order to maintain profits. In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission and a growing number of lawmakers have cited pay-to-delay deal as a concern. (Silverman, 7/29)
The Associated Press: Pfizer, Mylan Strengthen Ties, Create New Company
Pfizer, the country’s largest drugmaker, is creating a hybrid new drug company by combining its off-patent branded drug business with the generic pharmaceutical company Mylan. Pfizer’s Upjohn, which sells one-time blockbusters like Viagra and Lipitor that have lost patent protection, will be spun off and then it will combine with Mylan, a $10 billion company. The complex deal, expected to close in the middle of next year, will create a company with estimated 2020 revenue in excess of $19 billion, with sales in more than 165 countries. The name for the new company has yet to be determined. (Johnson, 7/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Mylan Deal Furthers Pfizer CEO’s Bet On Patent-Protected Drugs
A deal to merge Pfizer Inc. ’s off-patent drugs business with generic drugmaker Mylan NV caps new Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla’s remodeling of one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. In his nearly eight months at the helm, Mr. Bourla has moved quickly to remake Pfizer into a company focused on patent-protected prescription medicines with the potential for significant sales growth, from a more diversified but slower-growing player. (Hopkins, 7/29)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: As Bernie Sanders Neared, Canadian Officials Were Urged To Say No
As more federal and state lawmakers propose bills to allow Americans to import medicines from Canada, several Canadian organizations representing hospitals, pharmacies, distributors, physicians, and patients late last week asked the Canadian health ministry to ensure domestic supplies are not disrupted. The missive was sent just as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was set to take a highly publicized weekend trip to accompany a caravan of people with diabetes across the board to Canada to purchase lower-cost insulin. (Silverman, 7/29)
Stat: Lyndra Therapeutics Is Working On Once-A-Month Birth Control Pills
What if you could take your birth control pill just once a month? That’s the vision behind the newest effort from Lyndra Therapeutics, which is hoping its slow-release drug delivery technology can help improve adherence rates for pill-based birth control. Oral contraceptives fail more often than some other birth control options, in part because many people struggle to remember to pop a birth control pill at the same time every single day. (Thielking, 7/30)
Politico Pro: Trump Administration To Continue Cuts To 340B
The Trump administration today proposed continuing a nearly 30 percent pay cut to certain participants in the federal drug discount program, despite a federal judge's ruling against the reductions in previous years. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras has sided twice with major hospital trade groups that challenged similar cuts the administration made in 2018 and 2019. (Roubein, 7/29)
