On The Defense, Pharma Lobbyists Say Lawmakers Need To Look At Big Picture When It Comes To High Prices
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
The Hill:
Drug Industry Faces Trump-Fueled Storm Over Prices
Drugmakers are trying to navigate a growing storm over high drug prices as President Trump prepares to unveil new actions on the issue. The drug industry has traditionally been able to beat back actions from Washington, notably escaping unscathed in the fight over ObamaCare. But the climate appears to be changing. (Sullivan, 5/2)
Stat:
Too Many Companies Are Making Copycat Immunotherapy Drugs
There’s an overabundance of copycat drugs in the cancer immunotherapy space, with companies pouring millions into developing drugs that only add incremental value to patients. That was the general consensus from a panel of biotech experts who spoke Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles — a commingling of Wall Street titans, policy wonks, industry leaders, and Hollywood elites. While excitement around harnessing the immune system to attack cancer is justifiable, they said, the way in which company resources are allocated in the immunotherapy space is skewed. (Keshavan, 5/1)
Stat:
Patient Groups Slam U.S. Trade Rep Report On Bad Patent Players
Several patient groups are lambasting the U.S. Trade Representative over its latest annual list that identifies and ranks countries based on a willingness to protect intellectual property, calling it “shameful” and “outrageous.” Known as the Special 301 Report, the yearly exercise is of great concern to drug makers, which regularly argue that some countries fail to sufficiently protect and enforce patent rights. By the same token, the list is also closely tracked by patient advocacy groups for clues into trade and patent policies that governments may adopt concerning access to medicines. (Silverman, 4/30)
CQ HealthBeat:
Health Groups Expect Trump Drug Price Speech Next Week
Industry groups expect President Donald Trump to formally take on high drug prices at an event as soon as next week. It’s set to be the first time that Trump, who has railed against the high costs of prescription drugs since his 2016 presidential campaign and spoke on the issue after meeting industry executives last year, delivers a formal price policy address. The speech is set to coincide with a request for information from the Department of Health and Human Services about how to curb drug costs. (McIntire, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
Pfizer’s 1Q Profit Up 14 Pct., Sales Just Miss Expectations
Pfizer posted slightly higher sales and a 14 percent jump in profit in the first quarter, thanks to lower restructuring costs and a much-lower tax rate, but its revenue still missed Wall Street expectations. The maker of pain medicine Lyrica and the blockbuster Prevnar 13 vaccine against pneumococcal infections said Tuesday that net income was $3.56 billion, or 59 cents per share. That was up from $3.12 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier, when there were more shares being publicly traded. (Johnson, 5/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer Revenue Growth Stalls As Company Mulls OTC Unit’s Future
Pfizer Inc.’s revenue was little changed in its latest quarter as the drug company shifts focus to a new generation of products and sorts out what to do with its over-the-counter medicines unit, which hasn’t attracted a buyer. In the quarter, rising sales of newer drugs including cancer treatments Ibrance and Xtandi and blood-thinner Eliquis offset falling revenue for longtime products such as male-impotence pill Viagra, which is facing lower-priced generic competition. (Rockoff and Lombardo, 5/1)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Part B Payment Cuts, 340B Growth Blamed For Oncology Clinic Closures
More than 1,200 independent oncology clinics have either closed or been acquired by hospitals in the last decade, and oncologists blame the 340B program and Medicare Part B for the consolidation. The Community Oncology Association on Monday said that 423 individual clinics closed from 2008 to 2018, while 658 have been acquired by or entered into contracts with hospitals; 168 practices have merged or been acquired. Some clinics send their Medicare patients elsewhere for chemotherapy, an issue attributed to Medicare sequester-related cuts to Part B drug reimbursement.But the association also said the 340B program contributed to the shrinking oncology landscape. (Luthi, 4/30)
CQ:
Hospitals Fight Efforts To Curb Their Discounts On Drugs
Some lawmakers are keen on pursuing changes to a program that allows hospitals to purchase drugs at a discount, even as political headwinds make it a difficult policy to tackle in an election year. Hospitals are fighting changes on multiple fronts. They worry that lawmakers might limit the discounts and are urging Congress to instead defend the program. The Trump administration already proposed last year to cut Medicare reimbursements for the discounted drugs, and hospitals are challenging that rule in court. That case, which was dismissed in December, might be a long shot. But on Friday, the hospitals will try again and seek to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that the lower court should restore the old reimbursement rates. (Siddons, 4/30)
Kaiser Health News:
How A Drug Company Under Pressure For High Prices Ratchets Up Political Activity
Business looked challenging for Novo Nordisk at the end of 2016. As pressure mounted over the pharma giant’s soaring insulin prices, investors drove its stock down by a third on fears that policymakers would take action, limit prices and hurt profits. Then things got worse. A Massachusetts law firm sued the company and two other pharma firms on behalf of patients, claiming that high insulin prices of hundreds of dollars a month forced diabetics to starve themselves to minimize their blood sugar while skimping on doses. At least five states began investigating insulin makers and their business partners. (Hancock and Lucas, 4/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Executive’s Fraud Trial Puts Valeant In Uncomfortable Light
The fraud trial of a former executive at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is set to begin this week in Manhattan federal court, the first criminal prosecution to emerge from multiple investigations into the embattled pharmaceutical giant over its sales practices. In this case, prosecutors say Valeant was the victim. Using a statute often applied to public corruption cases, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has accused the former Valeant executive, Gary Tanner, and a co-defendant, Andrew Davenport, of defrauding Valeant through an alleged multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving Philidor Rx Services, a specialty mail-order pharmacy. (O'Brien, 5/1)
Stat:
Hoping To Boost Sales, Regeneron And Sanofi Slash Cholesterol Drug's Price
Frustrated by tepid sales and practical stumbling blocks, Regeneron and Sanofi are offering a huge discount on their treatment for bad cholesterol in exchange for a promise that health care’s biggest middleman will make it easier for patients to actually get the drug. Starting in July, the two companies will sell their cholesterol-lowering drug Praluent, which carries a $14,600 list price, at roughly 60 percent off to clients of Express Scripts, the nation’s biggest pharmacy benefit manager. In exchange, Express Scripts will make their drug the only cholesterol-lowering injection available to the 25 million patients on its formulary, freezing out a rival therapy from Amgen. (Garde, 5/1)
Stat:
In Rebuke To Pharma, One-Fifth Of Bristol-Myers Shareholders Favor Proposal Tying Pricing Risks To Executive Pay
In a message to the pharmaceutical industry, 22 percent of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) shareholders voted in favor of a proposal that requires the drug maker to compile reports about the risks created by high prices and examine the extent to which pricing strategies propel executive compensation. The vote, which is the first of several that shareholders in other drug companies will consider this spring, comes as concerns mount over rising prices, an issue that has put the entire industry on the defensive. For this reason, the outcome was seen as a key temperature reading of public sentiment. (Silverman, 5/1)
Stat:
Another Drug Acquired From Peter Thiel-Backed Biotech Appears To Flop
AbbVie has halted an early-stage clinical trial testing an experimental cancer drug acquired in its takeover of Stemcentrx, the latest apparent failure from a high-flying biotech company backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel. The drug being tested, known as SC-007, is a type of antibody-drug conjugate, designed to home in on malignant cells while sparing healthy tissues. (Robbins, 4/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Million-Dollar Cancer Treatment: Who Will Pay?
The emergence of genetics-based medicines is pushing the cost of treating certain diseases to new levels, forcing hospitals and health insurers to reckon with how to cover total costs per patient approaching a million dollars. The therapies deliver new genes or genetically altered cells to tackle some of the hardest-to-treat diseases, including in children. They come at a high price: Novartis AG listed its newly approved cell therapy for cancer at $475,000, while Gilead Sciences Inc. priced its rival drug at $373,000. (Rockoff, 4/26)
Stat:
Can Amazon's Second Try Disrupt The Prescription Drug Market?
The headlines, spurred by Amazon’s entry into the pharmacy business, were as entertaining as they were exuberant. One hailed the company’s 1999 investment in Drugstore.com as “a likely gold mine.” In Canada, the Globe and Mail predicted a sea change in shopping habits, titling its story: “Farewell, Preparation H aisle.” Nearly 20 years later, shoppers are still awkwardly perusing that aisle and getting their prescription drugs from many of the same bricks-and-mortar pharmacies. Drugstore.com no longer exists and never recorded an annual profit. (Ross, 4/26)