Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
For Pharma, 9.9 Percent May Be Magic Number For Price Hikes On Drugs
Stat: Valeant Avoids Double-Digit Price Hikes With 9.9 Percent Increases
In response to intensifying criticism over drug prices, Allergan chief executive Brent Saunders promised not to raise prices by more than single-digit percentage points. So far, no other head of a large drug maker has spoken publicly about this notion or agreed to do the same thing. Yet some companies may adopt this approach quietly — and push the envelope in the process.How so? One way is to raise prices on drugs by 9.9 percent. And this is what Valeant Pharmaceuticals did last week. (Silverman, 9/22)
Stat: Freeze-Dried Drug Factories Could Make Various Medicines, Just Add Water
The contraption looks and sounds like a washing machine: a rumbling box with a circular window near the floor. But if you look inside, you won’t see a whir of clothes; instead you’ll see a ring of crystalline ice. This device is called the Freezemobile, and it isn’t your standard household appliance. By hooking up a few test tubes to its metal piping, chemists have used the Freezemobile to make drug ingredients designed to be transported into the remotest corners of the developing world. (Boodman, 9/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Rite Aid Same-Store Sales Pressured By Generics
Rite Aid Corp. said sales figures came in below Wall Street estimates in its second quarter as pharmacy reimbursement-rate pressure and generic drugs cut into results. Same-store sales decreased 2.5% in the quarter from a year ago as a 0.1% increase in retail sales was offset by a 3.6% decrease in pharmacy sales. The company said new generic drugs, which are generally cheaper and less profitable, were responsible for much of the pharmacy decrease. The company also cited a “challenging reimbursement-rate environment.” (Hufford, 9/22)
Stat: The Drug Industry Might Finally Have An Answer For Migraines
A handful of drug companies are pressing ahead with novel injectable therapies for migraines, chasing a blockbuster market that Wall Street analysts say could reach $8 billion a year in worldwide sales. The new drugs target a bodily protein called CGRP, which plays a role in the dilation of blood vessels in the brain. Scientists haven’t nailed down just how the protein affects migraines, but they’re sure about two things: CGRP levels rocket up when headaches attack and normalize when they go away.And thus four drug makers — Amgen, Eli Lilly, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Alder Biopharmaceuticals — have fashioned antibodies that can bind to CGRP molecules and block their activity. (Garde, 9/23)
On Capitol Hill, Sen. Joe Manchin defends his daughter, the CEO of Mylan. And FDA's Janet Woodcock talks generic drugs —
The Hill: Democrat Defends Daughter After Tough EpiPen Grilling
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) delivered a robust defense of his daughter, Mylan Pharmaceuticals CEO Heather Bresch, one day after House lawmakers rebuked her for the recent price increases of her company's EpiPen allergy medication. "We can criticize and beat the living crap out of anyone we want to, and that was proven yesterday. But does that solve the problem? Do they really want to solve the problem?" Manchin told CNN in his first public remarks about the EpiPen controversy, which has involved both his wife and daughter. Bresch sat through about five hours of combative questioning by House members from both parties on Wednesday about her company’s decision to raise the price of its EpiPens, as well as her $19 million salary. (Ferris, 9/22)
Morning Consult: FDA Official Details Challenges Of Approving EpiPen Generic At Senate Hearing
A Wednesday Senate hearing about how the Food and Drug Administration plays a role in the generic drug marketplace shifted in large part to a company whose CEO was testifying across the Capitol. While Mylan CEO Heather Bresch was testifying before a House Oversight panel about the rising cost of EpiPens, Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee focused on agriculture and the FDA that it was often difficult for the agency to approve the first generic drugs to enter the market. (McIntire, 9/21)
