Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How A Nonprofit Is Using A Complex Formula Developed Decades Ago To Shame Drugmakers Into Curbing Prices
The Wall Street Journal: Obscure Model Puts A Price On Good Health—And Drives Down Drug Costs
The makers of the cholesterol-lowering drug Praluent, which first went on sale for $14,600, offered to sell it for as little as $4,500, after rebates. A new migraine drug called Aimovig, expected to cost up to $10,000 a year, went on sale for $6,900. And Zolgensma, a lifesaving gene therapy for children that its maker said might cost up to $5 million, was priced at $2.1 million. Behind all the price restraint was a complex economic model invented decades ago to determine how to price health care fairly. These days, a little-known Boston nonprofit group is using it to shame drug manufacturers to lower their prices. (Roland, 11/4)
The Associated Press: White House And Pelosi Part Ways On Relief For Drug Prices
The White House on Tuesday signaled President Donald Trump's blunt thumbs-down to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Her office's sharp retort: "Working people won't like it if he sells them out. "Despite the House impeachment inquiry, the White House and top aides to the California Democrat have been in regular contact on efforts to curb drug prices, a mutual objective and a top concern for Americans across party lines. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/5)
San Diego Union-Tribune: Drug Pricing Bill Will Stop Innovative New Medicines, California Trade Groups Say
Drug price control legislation now in Congress would reduce the supply of new drugs from California’s large life science sector by as much as 88 percent, as well as cutting 80,000 R&D jobs nationwide, the state’s two life science trade groups said Thursday. Those conclusions were contained in a report commissioned by Biocom and the California Life Sciences Association. The study was performed by Vital Transformation, a Belgian health care consulting company, about the potential effects of the bill, H.R. 3. (Fikes, 11/1)
Stat: What Money? The CDC Is Urged To Acknowledge Industry Funding
Several advocacy groups petitioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop making claims that it does not accept commercial support or have financial relationships with drug makers and other companies that may benefit from agency research. In arguing their case, the groups contend that disclaimers appear in various CDC publications, even though the agency has actually accepted tens of millions of dollars of commercial support through the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nonprofit, which was created by Congress to generate private sector support for the agency’s work, was launched in 1995. (Silverman, 11/5)
Reuters: UPS Drone Makes First Home Prescription Deliveries For CVS
United Parcel Service Inc Flight Forward drones have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit's first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health Corp. Flight Forward's maiden delivery flight on Friday in Cary, North Carolina, beat rivals in one phase of the race for the nascent market. The second drone flight delivered medications to a public space at a retirement community. (Baertlein, 11/5)
Bloomberg: UPS Debuts Drone Service To Homes With Delivery Of CVS Medicine
UPS Chief Executive Officer David Abney is betting that drone deliveries will grow quickly, especially in rural areas, and investing to keep the courier competitive with Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and FedEx Corp. UPS was the first company to gain authority from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly commercial drones under the broadest airline rules, giving the green light to build out the business despite certain restrictions. (Black, 11/5)
Stat: With High Stakes, Eight Experts Would Wield Extraordinary Influence On Fate Of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug
After 17 years of hope and frustration, the decision over whether to approve, at last, a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease could come down to eight people sitting in a suburban hotel ballroom. Biogen is planning to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for a once-disregarded drug, and if everything goes according to plan, the company will have a date with the agency’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee. That revolving group of outside experts is one of about 50 committees tasked with voting on whether the FDA should approve a product. The results aren’t binding, but experts’ opinions can sway how regulators rule on controversial applications. (Garde, 11/5)
Stat: China Is Pharmacy To The World — And A National Security Risk For The U.S.
As concern mounts over the global pharmaceutical supply chain, more fingers are being pointed at India and China due to increasing quality-control infractions at manufacturing facilities. Such problems have led to shortages of key medicines — notably, the lower-cost generics that account for 89% of all prescriptions filled in the U.S. But Rosemary Gibson, a health care and patient safety expert at The Hastings Center, a bioethics nonprofit, argues that developments in China pose an even greater risk. (Silverman, 11/5)
Stat: Cleveland Clinic’s Nissen Denies Any Communication With FDA About Amarin’s Vascepa
Drama, thy name is Amarin. If you want to get a rise out of investors who have been following Amarin, the maker of the fish-oil-derived heart drug Vascepa, try mentioning the name of Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen. (Herper, 11/4)
Reuters: Mylan Shares Slide After Warning Of Hit To Revenue
Generic drugmaker Mylan NV (MYL.O) said on Tuesday reevaluation of its portfolio of medicines will continue next year and cautioned of a hit to revenue, and its shares nearly 6%. Mylan, which posted higher-than-expected third-quarter profit with the help of cost constraints, said it would reassess products it sells outside United States and had nearly completed its review of U.S. products. (Joseph, 11/5)
Bloomberg: Baker Brothers Make $1.4 Billion In Two Weeks On Biotech
Even in the volatile world of biotech, Baker Bros. Advisors has notched some extraordinary returns in the past two weeks. On October 21, Seattle Genetics Inc. added $2.1 billion to its market capitalization after a study showed one of its therapies slowed the spread of breast cancer, including for patients whose disease had metastasized to the brain. Then on Friday in Hong Kong, BeiGene Ltd. gained 32% after Amgen Inc. said it would take a $2.7 billion minority stake in the Chinese-American drug developer. (Foxman, 11/1)
