High Drug Cost Controversy Reflected In Drop Of Expected Sales For First Time In A Decade

Stat: Pricing Pressure And Patent Expirations Force A Drop In Projected Drug Sales
Ongoing controversy over drug prices and a rising number of patent expirations on some big-selling medicines has prompted a downward revision in global sales over the next five years, according to EvaluatePharma, a market research firm. Last year, the firm forecast global drug sales to hit $1.12 trillion by 2022, but the pharmaceutical landscape is shifting sufficiently to now expect worldwide sales to reach $1.06 trillion. Even so, that represents a healthy 6.5 percent compounded annual growth over the upcoming five-year period. (Silverman, 6/20)

Reuters: Worldwide Drug Sale Forecasts Fall As Pricing Pressures Mount
Forecasts for global sales of pharmaceuticals have declined for the first time in a decade as continuing pressure on prices in the key U.S. market has caused analysts to moderate revenue expectations, according to a report on Tuesday. Evaluate Pharma, which compiles consensus numbers based on analysts' forecasts, said worldwide drug sales were now expected to hit $1.06 trillion in 2022, down from $1.12 trillion predicted a year ago for the same period. (6/20)

The New York Times: Draft Order On Drug Prices Proposes Easing Regulations
In the early days of his administration, President Trump did not hesitate to bash the drug industry. But a draft of an executive order on drug prices appears to give the pharmaceutical industry much of what it has asked for — and no guarantee that costs to consumers will drop. The draft, which The New York Times obtained on Tuesday, is light on specifics but clear on philosophy: Easing regulatory hurdles for the drug industry is the best way to get prices down. (Kaplan and Thomas, 6/20)

Stat: Turning To The States To Solve The National Problem Of Drug Pricing
Drug pricing is a national problem. So a nonprofit wants to help hand off some of that burden to the states. The National Academy for State Health Policy just launched a new center, called the Center for State Rx Drug Pricing, to help state governments navigate the treacherous waters of drug pricing. It just received about a million dollars in funding from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to help states get drug pricing initiatives underway. (Keshavan, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: Increasing Transparency On Generic Drug Cost Data Could Save $4 Billion 
Increasing transparency on the cost of generic drugs could save about $4 billion a year in overall healthcare spending in the U.S., according to a new paper. Making actual generic drug acquisition costs available to third-party payers would empower health plans to negotiate lower rates and essentially level the playing field in a pharmaceutical supply chain that's shrouded in secrecy. Ultimately, patients would pay less at the expense of pharmacy benefit mangers' profits, researchers said. If the average prescription generic drug priced at $26 was reduced by $1, that would reduce health spending by $4 billion every year, data shows. The average price for branded drugs is $308. (Kacik, 6/15)

Stat: At Pharma's Academy Awards, The Top Prize Went To ... No One
There’s a reason you see so many drug ads featuring the same boilerplate images of happy embraces and beautiful landscapes: It’s hard to get too creative without running afoul of regulations. That reality was reflected this weekend at the drug industry’s Oscars, where a jury at the big annual advertising awards fete in the south of France declined to award the top prize in the pharma category to anyone. It’s the second time that’s happened since the Cannes Lions Health creative award was first introduced in 2014. (Robbins, 6/18)

Bloomberg: Billionaire John Paulson Joins Valeant’s Board Of Directors
Billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson bought into Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. stock on its way to the top. Now, he’s trying to help push it off the bottom. Paulson will join the board after the noisy exit of another high-profile investor: onetime backer Bill Ackman. The appointment of Paulson, whose firm became Valeant’s biggest shareholder after Ackman bailed out in March, could help comfort shareholders that he’s sticking with the drugmaker while it tries to rebuild itself after high-profile scandals. (Koons and Weiss, 6/19)

Marketplace: Is Competition The Solution To High Drug Prices?
The U.S. Supreme Court this week unanimously ruled in support of a new class of generic drugs that some argue will inject more competition into the market. The decision coincides with several meetings on the subject of drug pricing — the Senate met on the topic yesterday, while the American Chamber of Commerce will discuss prices today. (Gorenstein, 6/14)

Stat: This Bill Would Reinstate A Controversial Drug Discount For Some Hospitals
A bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress this week in a bid to lower drugs costs for some hospitals, potentially reviving a contentious battle that the pharmaceutical industry appeared to win nearly two years ago. The legislation would restore a coveted discount for some 1,200 rural hospitals and a handful of cancer-care hospitals when purchasing drugs with so-called orphan designations, which are granted to medicines for treating rare diseases. A court ruling in 2015 had eliminated the price break. (Silverman, 6/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hospitals Don't Have To Pass Drug Savings Along To Patients
The evolution of 340B represents one of the many oddities of health care financing. In this case, a program that was designed to make it more affordable to provide care to needy people today offers the biggest financial payoffs to hospitals that have lots of paying patients. (Teegardin, 6/16)

Stat: Cancer Patient Sues Celgene For Thwarting Generic Versions Of Pricey Meds
In what may be a first, a patient has filed a lawsuit accusing a drug maker of hiding behind a mandated safety program to thwart generic competition. The company, in this case, is Celgene. The lawsuit, which was filed by a cancer patient and consumer advocate named David Mitchell, accused the biotech of exploiting a Food and Drug Administration program that is designed to boost safety. Typically such a program, known as a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, requires drug makers to develop a plan to educate physicians and monitor distribution. (Silverman, 6/15)

Columbus Dispatch: Which Side Should We Believe In Battle Over Ohio Drug Prices?
The Ohio Drug Price Relief Act comes in response to many of the consumer concerns. The initiated statute would require the state to pay no more than the lowest cost of drugs purchased by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a discount of at least 24 percent and potentially up to 40 percent when rebates are included. (Johnson, 6/18)

Stat: Are Drug Makers Overlooking The Next Big Category Of Sleep Drugs?
Drug makers have long flocked to sleep, trying to develop treatments to help people snooze longer and more soundly. But they’ve barely scratched the surface in exploiting the emerging connection between poor sleep and the inflammation that plays a key role in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and HIV/AIDS...Evidence is piling up from both animal and human studies that suggests the link between sleep and inflammation may go both ways, in something of a vicious circle. Sleep problems are hypothesized to be both the partial cause and consequence of inflammation, in a process that plays out by activating signaling pathways at the molecular and cellular levels. (Robbins, 6/16)

Bloomberg: FDA To Clear Path For Drugs Aimed At Cancer-Causing Genes 
For years, doctors have identified cancers by the affected body part: lung, breast, kidney. Now, in a long-awaited move, U.S. drug regulators will simplify the approval of treatments targeting specific gene mutations that can spur tumors in a variety of organs. The Food and Drug Administration will soon announce a plan to update agency policies and facilitate the approval of critically needed drugs, including so-called “tumor-agnostic” therapies that target cancer-linked DNA, according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. (Edney and Cortez, 6/20)

Stat: Will Trump's FDA Bend The Rules? Coming Portola Decision Could Be A Clue
Is the FDA under new Commissioner Scott Gottlieb willing to be flexible with the rules, and maybe even lower regulatory standards a wee bit, to approve new drugs? It’s a question that will be partially answered in the coming days when the FDA hands down a decision on betrixaban, a new anticoagulant developed by Portola Pharmaceuticals. Portola is asking the FDA to approve betrixaban to reduce the risk of dangerous blood clots in patients who are leaving the hospital after treatment for a medical (as opposed to a surgical) illness. The betrixaban clinical data, however, are messy. The drug failed to significantly reduce blood clots, when compared with placebo, in its sole phase 3 clinical trial. (Feurstein, 6/21)