Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers Make Plea For Federal Help Against High Drug Prices
Stat: 100 Lawmakers Ask HHS To Use Controversial Federal Laws To Combat High Drug Prices
A group of 100 federal lawmakers is urging the Biden administration to use controversial provisions of federal law to lower prescription drug prices, and also asked the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra for a meeting to discuss the issue. In a letter to Becerra, the lawmakers reiterated calls for the administration to invoke either march-in rights or another federal law known as Section 1498. Both approaches allow the federal government to sidestep patents and have been championed by academics and advocacy groups, but the administration has not pursued either tactic amid pushback from the pharmaceutical industry. (Silverman, 6/28)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Denies ERISA Suit Against Anthem, Express Scripts
The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from two self-insured employers and their workers, which sought to hold Anthem and Express Scripts accountable for prescription drug costs, the high court announced Monday. The court's decision not to take the case leaves unanswered the question of whether federal law obligates health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers to reduce group health plans' drug spending. The move does not mean the end of scrutiny for the PBM industry, or a narrower scope of health plans' fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, said Dan Kuperstein, a senior vice president of compliance at Corporate Synergies consultancy and an attorney who specializes in employee benefits. (Tepper, 6/28)
In other prescription drug news —
CIDRAP: Study Documents Rise Of Antibiotic-Resistant Typhoid
A new study by an international team of scientists reveals a new understanding of how antibiotic-resistant strains of typhoid fever have quickly emerged and spread from South Asia to other parts of the world. (6/23)
CIDRAP: FDA To Review Emergent's Adjuvanted Anthrax Vaccine For Adults
Emergent BioSolutions said in a news release late last week that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review an adjuvanted version of its anthrax vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of anthrax. The product, called AV7909—or Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, Adjuvanted—is designed to prevent disease caused by exposure to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, in adults 18 to 65 years old. An adjuvant is a substance in a vaccine that boosts the body's immune response, and the US government stockpiles anthrax vaccine in the event of a bioterrorism event. The FDA will review Emergent's Biologics License Application (BLA) in the coming months. (6/27)
JAMA: Temporal Trends In Antimicrobial Prescribing During Hospitalization For Potential Infection And Sepsis
These findings suggest that shortening the time to antibiotics administration for sepsis is feasible without leading to indiscriminate antimicrobial use, which can inform guidelines designed to accelerate early treatment for sepsis without having spillover effects onto other patients at risk for sepsis. (Hallie C. Prescott, MD, MSc, Sarah Seelyem PhD, Xiao Qing Wang, MPH, et al, 6/27)
ScienceDaily: Doctors Prescribe Fewer Painkillers During Nightshifts Than During The Day, Study Finds
Physicians were 20 to 30 percent less likely to prescribe an analgesic during nightshifts (compared to daytime shifts) and prescribed fewer painkillers than were generally recommended by the World Health Organization, according to a new study. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 6/27)
