Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Evidence Grows That Statin Drugs Are Safe, Beneficial For Elderly
The New York Times: For Older People, Reassuring News In The Statin Debate
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, already one of the most popular medications worldwide, may become even more widely used as evidence grows of their safety and value to the elderly and their potential benefits beyond the heart and blood vessels. Among the latest are reports of the ability of several leading statins to reduce deaths from common cancers and blunt the decline of memory with age. Perhaps such reports will persuade a reluctant 65-year-old friend who has diabetes, and others like him, that taking the statin his doctor strongly advised is a smart choice. (Brody, 9/21)
Kaiser Health News: It’s Not Just Insulin: Lawmakers Focus On Price Of One Drug, While Others Rise Too
Michael Costanzo, a Colorado farmer diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016, has a well-honed ritual: Every six months, he takes an IV infusion of a medicine, Rituxan, to manage his disease, which has no cure. Then he figures out how to manage the bill, which costs thousands of dollars. For a time, the routine held steady: The price billed to his health insurance for one infusion would cost $6,201 to $6,841. Costanzo’s health insurance covered most of it, and he paid the rest out-of-pocket. (Pradhan, 9/22)
In other pharmaceutical updates —
Stat: Legend Biotech CEO Detained In China As Part Of Investigation
Legend Biotech’s man in charge will be working from home for the time being. The Chinese company announced Monday that its CEO and chairman, Frank Zhang, has been detained by Chinese customs as part of an investigation involving Genscript Biotech, Legend’s majority shareholder and former parent company. Current CFO Ying Huang has been named interim CEO, effective immediately. (Chan, 9/21)
Stat: Keytruda Rules The Immunotherapy Market, But Challengers Are Lining Up
Keytruda is the immunotherapy king. In the U.S., the Merck anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitor is approved to treat 16 cancers and has 26 indications overall. Sales were $11 billion in 2019 and $6.7 billion through the first half of this year. Keytruda is not only the most successful cancer drug ever developed, but it ranks among the best medicines ever. (Feuerstein, 9/22)
Stat: Senators Urge Judge To Prevent Purdue From Paying CEO Bonus
A group of U.S. senators is urging a bankruptcy judge to prevent Purdue Pharma from paying its chief executive officer, Craig Landau, a bonus worth up to $3.5 million, because he may have overseen “criminal activity” during his tenure at the infamous opioid maker. Earlier this year, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain decided that Purdue was justified in giving Landau a bonus because it would help to keep him at the company, where he has been chief executive since June 2017. (Silverman, 9/21)
