Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How New Drugs Are Creating A Class Of Millionaire Doctors And Scientists
The Wall Street Journal: Biotech Labs Birth New Drugs—And New Fortunes
New drugs that extend or improve the lives of millions of people—and the potential of ones still in development—have lifted stocks of the biotechnology companies that own them and created a new class of millionaires from many of the scientists, doctors and investors behind them. Biotech leaders have joined hedge-fund and tech executives in the U.S. corporate winner’s circle, riding the success of new high-price drugs and investor enthusiasm for the high-risk business. Some have bought fancy houses. Others ... say not much has changed from lives spent in labs. (Walker and McGinty, 6/24)
Marketplace: What Brexit May Mean For The Pharmaceutical Industry
Drug makers are raising concerns Brexit could delay regulatory approval, slow down funding for basic research and overall increase the cost of drugs. So it’s little surprise just days after the historic vote, pharmaceutical executives are mapping out a new strategy after the unexpected vote. “Europe actually is very skilled at doing deals. That’s what it does best,” said Mike Thompson, the head of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry – a trade group. (Gorenstein, 6/28)
Bloomberg: Decoding Big Pharma’s Secret Drug Pricing Practices
The pharmaceutical industry has long said that list prices aren’t a reliable indicator of what Americans pay for prescription drugs because big customers, including health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, negotiate discounts. But a Bloomberg analysis of 39 medicines with global sales of more than $1 billion a year showed that 30 of them logged price increases of more than double the rate of inflation from 2009 to 2015, even after estimated discounts were factored in. Only six drugs had price increases in line with or below inflation. (Langreth, Keller and Cannon, 6/29)
California Healthline: California Drug Price Transparency Bill Clears Key Committee
A measure that would compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose and justify drug price increases overcame a show of skepticism by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday afternoon, passing the Assembly Health Committee 12-4 on a party-line vote. The bill — softened from earlier versions — would require drug manufacturers to notify state agencies and health insurers within days of federal approval for a new drug that cost $10,000 or more per year or for one course of treatment. (Bartolone, 6/29)
Bloomberg: Mayne To Buy Generic Drugs From Allergan, Teva For $652 Million
Australia’s Mayne Pharma Group Ltd. agreed to buy a basket of generic drugs from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Allergan Plc. for $652 million, as the two larger companies divest products to gain antitrust approval for their own deal. Mayne Pharma will acquire 37 marketed drugs and 5 more that are in development, according to a statement to Australia’s stock exchange Tuesday. The acquired products are expected to generate sales of $237 million in 2017, the company said. (Chen, 6/27)
Stat: Another Big Insurer Will Pay For Key Drugs Based On Patient Outcomes
Yet another health plan is aggressively pursuing deals with drug makers based on patient outcomes. In the latest instance, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, which is the second-largest health insurer in New England, has reached agreements with Novartis and Eli Lilly to calibrate payments for two of their most important medicines. (Silverman, 6/27)
Bloomberg: Global Pharma Spending May Reach $1.4 Trillion by 2020: Chart
Worldwide spending on pharmaceuticals is set to surge over the next few years, and IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics has estimated that it will touch $1.4 trillion by 2020, an increase of as much as 32 percent from 2015. Some of the fastest growth will come from emerging countries like India and China even as the U.S. remains the world’s largest drug market. (Khan, 6/26)
The Associated Press: Lawmaker To Woman: Buy Kid's Meds Yourself; Don't Ask State
A state representative told a Mississippi woman she should earn money for the insulin and insulin pump supplies that her diabetic 8-year-old daughter needs to survive instead of asking for state help. Nicole Nichols of Richland told The Clarion-Ledger she was "flabbergasted" by the email from Ocean Springs Republican Rep. Jeffrey Guice. Nichols said she emailed all 122 state representatives after calling 23 suppliers without finding one covered by Medicaid and in the approved network for the Medicaid-covered supply company she has used for the past three years. (6/28)
CBS News: The Cost Of Miracles
Can a miracle drug also be a bitter pill? It can when the price of a life-saving prescription drug - is more than most people could possibly afford. "Most people don't know that kids can get arthritis, too." Ten-year-old Graci Diggs may just make you believe in miracles. Only a year ago, Graci spent much of her time in a wheelchair. ...Humira is just one of several drugs that have transformed the lives of millions of Americans who suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis (or RA). With similar advances made in treatments for cancer, multiple sclerosis and Hepatitis C, the pharmaceutical industry should be basking in praise. Instead it's on the defensive, trying to explain why the cost of many of these treatments is so high. (6/26)
Harrisburg Patriot-News: Prices Rise For Life-Saving Overdose Rescue Drug
There is no question the use of naxolone to reverse opioid overdoses is saving lives across Pennsylvania. Police alone have administered naloxone 1,033 times in the past year in Pennsylvania, and demand is rising as more departments, EMS services and even individuals carry the drug. While supplies are holding, however, prices are rising, and how to continue paying for public stocks is something agencies already are thinking about. Officials will be looking for grant renewals or new sources of money to pay for the antidote. (Miller, 6/28)
