Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Secretary Promises Curbing High Drug Prices Is 'Absolute Priority'
Bloomberg: Lower Drug Costs Still ‘Absolute Priority’ For Trump, Price Says
Tackling the high price of prescriptions drugs in the U.S. is still “an absolute priority,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told senators Thursday. Pharmaceutical companies have been the target of President Donald Trump ever since he said they were “getting away with murder” in January. While he has threatened on several occasions to force them to bid for government business as a way to reduce prices, he hasn’t translated the threat into action. For instance, he didn’t include any drug pricing proposals in his recent budget request, a document usually seen as a list of priorities for an administration. (Edney, 6/8)
In other pharmaceutical news —
The New York Times: Cancer Drug Proves To Be Effective Against Multiple Tumors
The 86 cancer patients were a disparate group, with tumors of the pancreas, prostate, uterus or bone. One woman had a cancer so rare there were no tested treatments. She was told to get her affairs in order. Still, these patients had a few things in common. All had advanced disease that had resisted every standard treatment. (Kolata, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Teva Pharmaceutical To Nominate Four New Directors
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will seek to overhaul its board by nominating four new directors, the latest step toward remaking the struggling drug company. Teva, the world’s biggest seller of low-price generic drugs, will ask shareholders to approve the nominees at the company’s annual meeting July 13, said Sol Barer, the board’s chairman. The nominees would replace longtime board members who have decided to step aside or aren’t seeking new terms. (Rockoff, Roland and Jones, 6/8)
