Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Effort To Encourage Antibiotics Development, FDA Chief Suggests Hospitals Could Pay Subscriptions For The Drugs
Stat: Gottlieb Pitches 'Subscriptions' To Encourage Pharma To Make New Antibiotics
The Food and Drug Administration is talking with other federal agencies and even the private Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about new ways to encourage drug makers to develop more antibiotics, agency Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a speech Friday. The problem Gottlieb wants to address is twofold. First, as bacteria become immune to the current arsenal of antibiotic medicines, more than 20,000 Americans are dying each year from these hard-to-treat infections. Drug companies, however, have few financial incentives to develop better drugs. (Swetlitz, 9/14)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Reuters: Global Health Regulators Find Second Toxin In Common Heart Drug
European and North American regulators have found a second toxin that may cause cancer in humans in a commonly used blood pressure drug made by Chinese firm Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. Health regulators in the European Union, United States and Canada had already recalled drugs made with the company's active pharmaceutical ingredient valsartan after finding traces of the chemical N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), considered a potential human carcinogen, in the medicine. (9/14)
Kaiser Health News: 'Step Therapy' Cost-Cutting Tool Could Limit Drug Choices For Medicare Advantage Patients
Starting next year, Medicare Advantage plans will be able to add restrictions on expensive, injectable drugs administered by doctors to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration and other serious diseases. Under the new rules, these private Medicare insurance plans could require patients to try cheaper drugs first. If those are not effective, then the patients could receive the more expensive medication prescribed by their doctors. (Jaffe, 9/17)
Chicago Tribune: AbbVie Nears Settlement In Thousands Of Lawsuits Alleging Harm By Testosterone Drug AndroGel
Thousands of federal lawsuits alleging harm from AbbVie’s AndroGel are on the cusp of being settled, marking the end of a long legal saga about the safety of testosterone therapy and the marketing tactics used to promote it. An agreement has been reached between AbbVie and the plaintiffs on settlement terms, though the final settlement paperwork has yet to be executed, said Ron Johnson, an attorney for the plaintiffs. (Elajalde-Ruiz, 9/14)
