Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Mark Cuban And Others Are Trying To Cut Our Prescription Costs
CNN: Prescription Drugs Are Too Expensive For Many Americans. These Companies Are Trying To Change That
It's an experience millions of Americans have had: you go to the doctor, get a prescription, take it to the pharmacy and get hit with a staggering bill, sometimes running into hundreds of dollars even if insurance covers a part of the cost. "In the US, we're unique in letting drug companies basically set their own prices," Andrew Mulcahy, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation who focuses on prescription drugs, told CNN Business. Americans spend around $1,200 a year on average for prescription drugs — more than any other country — according to the latest available OECD data. (Iyengar and Gonzalez, 7/22)
The Washington Examiner: Prescription Drug 'Sticker Prices' May Rise In 2021 After Years Of Decline
The number of list price increases of prescription drugs is expected to rise in 2021, reversing a trend of the past five years. A study from 46brooklyn Research, an organization tracking drug prices, found the number of list price increases of brand-name drugs in 2021 has already exceeded the number in 2020, and it is likely to exceed 2018 and 2019. (Hogberg, 7/21)
The Boston Globe: Biogen In A Bind: The High-Stakes Fight Over Alzheimer’s And What Makes A Drug Worthwhile
Biogen’s new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease is heading to market blessed by regulators but dogged by controversy that there’s no conclusive evidence that it works — and a fair amount of evidence that it doesn’t. A polarizing decision by the Food and Drug Administration last month has only intensified a yearslong fight over the treatment: The Cambridge company and some doctors hail the medicine as a pivotal step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s, the fifth-leading cause of death among Americans over 65. Critics say the FDA should never have allowed Biogen to seek approval based on a less rigorous standard of efficacy, after the drug produced muddled results in two late-stage clinical trials. (Edelman, 7/25)
