Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Biden's Patent Chief Will Have Immense Power Over Drug Prices; Don't Hog The Covid Patents
Stat: Choosing The Right USPTO Director Can Help Lower Drug Prices
As the Biden administration fills key Cabinet positions, its attention must turn to other critical areas of the U.S. government, like appointing a new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This agency is unusual in the federal government because it operates solely on fees collected by its users and not on taxpayer dollars. The office has been working under an acting director, Drew Hirshfeld, since the previous director, Andrei Iancu, officially resigned on Jan. 19, 2021. The USPTO director that President Biden selects will provide important signal of the administration’s patent priorities and can have a positive impact at a time when patents are being abused to support high drug prices. (Matthew Lane, 3/12)
Stat: Reining In Drug Patents Isn't A Silver Bullet Against High Drug Prices
One of the top orders of business for the Biden administration is curbing drug prices. It’s a laudable goal. High drug prices are a major public health concern; there is broad political support for reining in the cost of drugs; and Americans pay a lot for drugs. (Jacob S. Sherkow, 3/12)
The New York Times: How To Lower Drug Prices
It’s true that Congress grants monopolies to new drugs so that their makers can charge high prices. That is how drug companies reap financial rewards for their inventions. But that brief period of market exclusivity is supposed to be followed by competition that will ensure that those same drugs are affordable into the future. (Peter B. Bach and Mark R. Trusheim, 3/15)
The Washington Post: Poor Countries May Not Be Vaccinated Until 2024. Here’s How To Prevent That.
Now we are in the middle of another global health emergency. Two-thirds of WTO members back waiving patent rules during the pandemic, but the United States and others argue that patents are critical for innovation and are not slowing the global supply of vaccines. Neither is true. First, patents played little, if any, role in stimulating the “warp speed” development of covid-19 vaccines. The Moderna vaccine was almost entirely funded by the U.S. government, with an additional $1 million donated by Dolly Parton. It is inappropriate for a private company to monopolize technology funded by taxpayers. Moderna itself recognizes this, having previously announced that it will not seek to enforce its vaccine patents. (Matthew Kavanagh and Sunder, 3/10)
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The Wall Street Journal: Pharma Giants Get Their Pennies Pinched On Drug Pricing
The pharmaceutical industry’s reputation as an omnipotent market force is increasingly out of date. Washington, D.C., hasn’t yet caught on, but Mr. Market is in on the secret. Drug companies do have wide freedom to set their own sticker prices for their products in the lucrative U.S. market. That hardly means they have carte blanche. To actually sell medication, a drugmaker needs to persuade public and private health plans to place their product on the plan’s formulary, which is a list of drugs the plan is willing to purchase. That means paying middlemen rebates and discounts to choose their drug over any other rival treatments. Failure to secure favorable formulary access could mean low sales even for a highly-effective and safe medication. (Charley Grant, 3/12)
Lexington Herald Leader: Don’t Let Medical Middlemen Jack Up The Price Of Healthcare
The ability to access healthcare has never been more important. With modern medicine, the U.S. was able to avoid the worst-case pandemic scenario. To that point, as the coronavirus lingers, the Biden administration has reopened the enrollment period to sign-up for healthcare coverage via the government-regulated exchanges. Kentuckians have until May 15 to take advantage of the opportunity. Ensuring that Kentucky residents have access to healthcare is important, but it’s not the only barometer elected leaders should care about. Healthcare and prescription drugs should be affordable. It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to take a trip to the clinic or visit the pharmacy counter. (Molly Rutherford, 3/11)
