Many Americans Place Country’s High Health Care Costs At Pharma’s Feet, But Rarely Look At Their Own Behavior

Politico: Poll: Americans Blame Pharma, Insurers And Providers For High Health Costs
Most Americans are focused on what they're being charged for health care, not how much they or an aging population are consuming, according to a new POLITICO/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll. Respondents blamed drug companies, insurers, providers and even the federal government for surging costs while dismissing overuse as a central issue. That's at odds with many politicians and health policy experts and raises questions about whether cost-cutting focused on overutilization could backfire politically. (Rayasam, 3/29)

Stat: Group Attacks Trump Plan To End Drug Rebates, Calling It A ‘Pharma Bailout’
A coalition that includes pharmacy middlemen and insurers has launched a six-figure ad campaign attacking a cornerstone of President Trump’s plan to lower drug prices, declaring it would amount to a “big pharma bailout.” The ads, launched by the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, are focused on Trump’s plan to end the rebates that middlemen and insurers negotiate with drug makers in exchange for a drug’s placement on insurance formularies. The ads seize upon the Trump administration’s own admission that the proposal could raise Medicare premiums, given rebates are typically used to make insurance cheaper for patients. (Florko, 3/28)

RealClearPolitics: Bernie Sanders: If Elected President, I Will Cut Prescription Drug Prices In Half
In an interview on Sunday's "Face The Nation," Sen. Bernie Sanders vowed that if he becomes president, he will cut prescription drug prices in half. "Let me make a campaign promise to you and you can repeat this, play this tape over if I'm elected president," Sanders said. "And that is, if I am elected president I'm going to cut prescription drug costs in this country by 50 percent so that we are not paying any more than other major countries are paying." (Hains, 3/31)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Website Now Lists Ceiling Prices For 340B Drugs
A 340B facility can now determine whether it's being bilked by a drug manufacturer for covered drugs thanks to an update to an HHS website. The Health Resources and Services Administration on Monday updated the Office of Pharmacy Affairs 340B Information System, which facilities use to register for the program. It now allows 340B providers to verify the accuracy of ceiling prices drugmakers are charging. (King, 4/1)

Stat: Medicare Part D Spending On Insulin Has Been Skyrocketing 
Amid intensifying scrutiny over the cost of insulin, a new analysis finds that total Medicare Part D spending on this diabetes treatment rose 840 percent in the decade between 2007 and 2017, from $1.4 billion to $13.3 billion, thanks to both rising prices and a growing number of patients. Average spending per person increased by 358 percent between 2007 and 2016, from $862 to $3,949. Aggregate out-of-pocket spending quadrupled from $236 million to $968 million. And among enrollees without low-income subsidies, average per capita out-of-pocket spending on insulin nearly doubled during that period, from $324 to $588, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. (Silverman, 3/2)

Stat: FTC Rules That A Pay-To-Delay Deal Was Meant To Thwart Competition 
In a notable development, the Federal Trade Commission reversed a ruling by an administrative law judge who last year maintained that a so-called pay-to-delay deal between Impax Laboratories and Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) was not anticompetitive. In doing so, the agency is not only reinforcing a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found these agreements could be scrutinized for antitrust violations, but it is also buttressing a litmus test for determining when a pay-to-delay deal may be problematic. (Silverman, 4/1)

Bloomberg: Startups Are Hawking Zoloft And Beta-Blockers For Off-Label Uses 
A new breed of online health-care startups are testing the boundaries of medical marketing, advertising prescription drugs for unapproved uses to college students with stage fright and men seeking to improve their sexual performance. Hims Inc. markets sertraline, a generic version of the antidepressant Zoloft, to treat premature ejaculation. “Ending the bedroom fun a little too soon? Sertraline can help treat premature ejaculation so sex can last longer for both you and your partner,” the company said in an Instagram post. (Brown and De Vynck, 4/2)

Boston Herald: Pharma Firms Spend Millions Lobbying As Mass. Lawmakers Consider Price Controls
Pharmaceutical companies are spending millions on lobbying as lawmakers consider a bundle of bills that address rising prescription drug costs and transparency. “Drugs are a huge contributor to health care costs, and it’s becoming, as many other parts of health care, more and more of a crisis in terms of people’s ability to pay for their health care,” state Sen. Cindy Friedman told the Herald. “We need to start with much more transparency around drug pricing, the true cost of bringing drugs to market and how those true costs relate to the cost of our drugs.” (Markos, 3/29)

Stat: Watchdog Pushes FDA To Reconsider Approval Of Acadia's Parkinson's Drug
A recent regulatory review of a controversial Parkinson’s drug may not have found any new or unexpected safety findings, but a nonprofit watchdog argues the assessment was insufficient and the Food and Drug Administration should reconsider its approval. In its report, the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices maintained that an FDA review issued last fall “provides no new reassurance that the benefits of (Nuplazid) outweigh its risks. Instead, the post-market data and new study warrant increased concern.” At the very least, the nonprofit argues the FDA should issue a warning that the drug may “substantially increase patient deaths.” (Silverman, 4/2)

Stat: The ‘Venture Creation’ Model Is Fueling Biotech
Starting a biotech used to be simpler, conceptually speaking; some scientist with an idea would pitch it to people with money. After a dozen years — and as many lucky breaks — that scientist might have a successful company. That doesn’t happen as much anymore. Some say that era is over. In its place, the “venture creation” model is fueling some of the highest-profile venture capital names in biotech, including Flagship Pioneering, Third Rock Ventures, and, increasingly, Atlas Ventures. They all work by gathering a bunch of seasoned executives around an idea they’ve developed in their own incubators. (Sheridan, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: Virginia And West Virginia Are First States To Ban Copay Accumulators
Virginia and West Virginia became the first states to ban an insurer practice that prevents drug manufacturer coupons and copay assistance from counting against a plan's deductible or out-of-pocket limit, and patient advocates believe more states are going to follow suit. So far another 10 states are considering passing their own laws to ban copay accumulator programs. (King, 3/29)

Stat: Novartis Faces A Trial For Allegedly Paying Kickbacks To Doctors
After several years of courtroom squabbling, a federal court judge ruled that Novartis (NVS) must face trial in a case brought by the federal government and more than two dozen states, alleging the drug maker violated kickback laws by paying doctors to prescribe some of its medicines. In his order, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe concluded the federal government provided sufficient evidence of a “company-wide kickback scheme,” but does not have to prove a direct “quid pro quo” agreement between Novartis and doctors for the company to be liable under the False Claims Act. (Silverman, 4/1)

Reuters: Swiss Drugmaker Novartis Must Face Doctor Kickback Suit, U.S. Judge Rules
Novartis AG must face a U.S. government lawsuit accusing it of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to doctors so they would prescribe its drugs, after a federal judge ruled in a decision released on Monday that the government had offered evidence of a "company-wide kickback scheme." U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan also rejected the Swiss drugmaker's bid to keep key government evidence out of the case, and ruled that the government does not have to prove a direct "quid pro quo" agreement between Novartis and doctors for the company to be liable. (Pierson, 4/1)

Stat: Seller Of Real World Data Wants To Eliminate Health Care's Blindspots
The use of real world data to assess the safety and effectiveness of drugs and medical treatments is among the most controversial topics in medicine. As chief executive of Aetion, a New York City startup that sells software to analyze those data, Carolyn Magill is in the middle of the fray — one whose outcome will have a huge impact on how medicines are studied and priced in the future. During an interview with STAT at last week’s Health Datapalooza conference in Washington, D.C., the former insurance executive passionately made the case that analyzing real world data is crucial for incorporating patient experiences into decision-making by drug companies, insurers, providers, and regulators. (Ross, 4/1)

Stat: Is Biotech Ready To Adopt Coding's Boot Camp Training Model?
Coding boot camps have proliferated here, as a way to train workers to get entry-level jobs in the booming tech industry. Now, a local biohacker wants to adapt that model in biotech, with an online education program aimed at teaching job seekers how to pipette and centrifuge in the lab. The new “biotech school,” announced on Tuesday, will be something of an experiment to test whether unconventional training can help students land jobs in a field where even entry-level positions often demand graduate degrees. (Robbins, 3/27)

Bloomberg: Mylan Must Face Narrowed EpiPen Class-Action Lawsuit 
Mylan NV still has to fight a class-action suit over its EpiPen allergy treatment, though a judge narrowed its scope on Friday, throwing out allegations that the company made misleading statements, didn’t disclose its regulatory risks and fixed prices for some generic drugs. Claims that the EpiPen rebate scheme violated antitrust rules remain. The lawsuit “adequately alleges both harm to competition in the relevant market, and the predominance of anticompetitive effects,” U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken ruled. (Dolmetsch and Griffin, 3/29)

Stat: Bristol-Myers Scores A Key Endorsement For Its Embattled Celgene Merger
Bristol-Myers Squibb, fighting off investor protests of its planned merger with Celgene, has won over the most influential advisers on Wall Street, improving the company’s odds of pulling off the $74 billion deal. ISS and Glass Lewis, two powerful investment advisory services, endorsed the proposed deal Friday, siding with Bristol-Myers over dissident shareholders who argue that Celgene is too risky to justify the acquisition price. The firms’ coveted blessing comes weeks before the April 12 shareholder vote that will decide whether Bristol-Myers gets its way. (Garde, 3/29)

Stat: Novartis Acquires IFM Tre. Its Drugs Target The Innate Immune System 
It’s the lucky biotech that has a short and sweet runway. Most companies bring a drug to market — and begin to bring in revenue — only after years or decades of work. But a company backed by Atlas Venture that’s less than a year old is the first acquisition of 2019 for Novartis. The pharmaceutical giant is paying more than $300 million upfront for IFM Tre, a Boston-based startup, in a deal that could be worth more than $1.5 billion if the company’s drugs meet certain undisclosed milestones. (Sheridan, 4/1)